You need an overview in order to prioritize
This is an example Project Map.
What is a Project Map?
A Project Map or Project Landscape Map is a generic overview of the structure of a project.
The project structure is often unclear amongst the project stakeholders. Sometimes, only the project manager or some of the steering group members have this kind of view. However, too often, there is no clear or shared view of the project structure.
In that case, repairing faults, doing damage control, and improving the structure is impossible. Because: where do you start?
An old Chinese saying is: if you don't have an overview of your soldiers, you cannot prioritize the actions for the attack by your army.
A Management Report View of your Project
A Management Report View of your Project is a visualization wherein the status and progress of the structure of a project is reported.
Below is an example of the Project Landscape Map Report View. This visualization is the same as the previous one; now, every item on the diagram only has a color indicating whether the underlying document or product is correct, completed, available, and/or approved on time.
The red color on this example report view tells us a viewer quickly which products or documents are incorrect, incomplete, not available, or not approved on time. And now you can start to fix things. You can prioritize because you have a (shared) overview of the current status of the project's structure.
A Project Landscape Map Report View.
How did the Project Map already save project time & project budget?
This visualization has already saved project time & project budget for a large number of projects. Below are three practical case situations in projects where this visualization has helped to solve the problem.
- Case 1 - A project was started up, and the consultants of the suppliers were creating deliverables. Only half the project, it was found out that the deliverables would not fit together. We then made the project landscape map and showed that a solution architecture blueprint was missing, and three conflicting standards were used. Based on this visualization, the decision was made to create a solution architecture blueprint, select the correct standards, and recreate some deliverables using only the correct standards. The project could be finished before time as a success, saving time and money.
- Case 2 - A project was already running for 7 years. The business processes in the organization were analyzed and redesigned to have the solution realized in the project be used optimally during work. Only it was found that functionality in the solution was missing. No deliverables were defined for this functionality, and there was no budget or time to create the functionality.
At that moment, the Project Landscape Map was designed for us, and it showed that the original business case was no longer a valid financial business case because I was not linked to any of the business goals. The project took too long (more than 9 months) to execute, outdating the current solution concept by years. The project manager advised the owner client to stop the project. The owner client ordered creating a new valid business case using the project time and budget.
- Case 3 - A program consisting of 5 projects was already running for three years. The project was running out of time but not out of budget. So, more and more consultants were hired to create the planned deliverables to deliver the project on time. However, on every deliverable created, the projects defined two or three new unplanned deliverables, so the time necessary to round the project increased weekly.
At that moment, we created the Project Map, which shows that the business case was never approved, there was no document for requirements, and there was no single solution architecture blueprint giving a logical overview of all deliverables as solution components integrated. Based on this visualization, the business case was updated and approved, and the requirements Excel sheets were incorporated into a single approved document. Next, a solution blueprint could be created, showing that 70% of the deliverables were not necessary within the scope and context of the solution. This all leads to successfully rounding the project exactly on time.
HOW to Create a Project Map?
Enter your project data in the project model. Next, you alter the project landscape view, addressing your concerns and issues. Next, you enter the rules for the indicators on the progress and status layer (making items color green, orange, or red). Next, you have Dragon1 generate the Project Landscape Map for you. Next, you publish the Project Landscape Map publicly or privately for your stakeholders. Finally, the stakeholders will use the Project Map to support their decisions.
Also Read
- Blogs > Chart your project on a project landscape map
- Solutions > Strategic Planning
- Software > Dragon1 BPM Tool
- Visualizations > Enterprise Architecture Blueprint Diagram
- Solutions > Project Management
Get Started
Create dynamic Project Maps by signing up for a Trial Account. The Step-by-Step Guide is waiting for you in your Digital Workplace.
If you do not have the time and you need a Project Landscape Map on short notice, also consider our Consultancy Services.