The risk of a flawless roadmap

A plan can be executed perfectly while the reasons behind it change.

Technology roadmaps bring discipline to investment, engineering and development. They also direct attention toward what has already been chosen. The difficult questions arise when something outside the plan changes: regulation, market expectations, infrastructure or the basis of competition itself.

Looking across different futures reveals the conditions under which a chosen path would still create value. Engineering provides rigor; strategic perspective helps leaders decide when to stay the course, adapt or open another option.

• All perspectives
• See the field notes

We start by understanding what is at stake.