When building an enterprise application, having a high-level technology roadmap can help in decision making and communicating with the rest of the team.
While there is no standard one-size-fits-all template, there are key components to keep in mind:
The business model outlines both the business and the application. Make particular note of the Business Description and Vision; it is important to articulate what the business as a whole does and how the new product fits in. Since revenue and marketing channels are key to a successful enterprise application, it is important to state them and keep updating them as the business model changes.
Elements of the business model can include the following:
It’s important to assess technology needs from the ground up. One approach is to start with infrastructure and business needs. Another approach would start with the team. The most important thing is to categorize elements and deal with them point by point.
A sample approach is listed below:
Product stakeholders have to decide on three key questions:
Identifying skill sets that the current team has and future needs:
What goes into the beta, minimum viable product (MVP), V1.0, V1.1, V2.0, and beyond? Outlining the parameters of your enterprise application and product lifecycle is essential to the success of any business venture. Every application has a unique set of requirements, and therefore every product needs a unique set of guiding principles to help prioritize those requirements.
For more information, check out our article on prioritization.
When budgeting the true total cost of technology projects, it’s important to remember that launch is just the beginning. A study by Stanford University found that up to 90% of the overall cost can come after the launch of V1.0.
Example of budget line items.
Written by Ali Usman, CEO of PixelEdge.