“A network of questions we want to answer” – a more nuanced and transparent strategy, and a more accurate roadmap than what most people call roadmaps.
A roadmap is a diagram which shows a network of roads (and not necessarily even the path through them).
A roadmap is a diagram which shows a network of roads (and not necessarily even the path through them).
A literal roadmap looks like this.
(No, that’s not a screenshot of Google Calendar)
(No, that’s not a screenshot of Google Calendar)
🤔 One thing I’ve always wondered… why aren’t graphs or maps, as information structures, more pervasive?
Why aren’t people more comfortable / confident in reasoning about them?
Why do tables, lists, and calendars dominate corporate knowledge management?
Why aren’t people more comfortable / confident in reasoning about them?
Why do tables, lists, and calendars dominate corporate knowledge management?
People use Google Maps just fine on a daily basis. People are perfectly 👌 with inherent uncertainty in their daily commute.
Why is it that in a work enviornment, people reach for the calendar as an organizing tool? It’s as if the seasons affect our yield, like we’re farmers! 👩🌾
Why is it that in a work enviornment, people reach for the calendar as an organizing tool? It’s as if the seasons affect our yield, like we’re farmers! 👩🌾
How powerful would it be if, instead of asking, “where is [work item] on the list?” or “when is [work item] going to be done?”, we asked:
“What paths do we – or don’t we – travel, to get to where we want to go?”
I’m talking about graph traversal as a planning tool.
“What paths do we – or don’t we – travel, to get to where we want to go?”
I’m talking about graph traversal as a planning tool.
1. The territory you’re addressing is modeled as a graph
2. Nodes are beliefs/assumptions/hopes&dreams about the territory, edges are dependencies
3. Search algorithms are a strategy for exploitation
4. Exploration should reveal more nodes, more edges. Expanding the fog of war
2. Nodes are beliefs/assumptions/hopes&dreams about the territory, edges are dependencies
3. Search algorithms are a strategy for exploitation
4. Exploration should reveal more nodes, more edges. Expanding the fog of war
Real-world limitations in using these as “roadmaps”:
1. There is no way to highlight possible paths of traversals through nodes in the graph
2. Unlike Google Maps, you don’t know (roughly) how much each path will cost you, how long it might take, and what vehicle you need
1. There is no way to highlight possible paths of traversals through nodes in the graph
2. Unlike Google Maps, you don’t know (roughly) how much each path will cost you, how long it might take, and what vehicle you need
What if we could annotate the graph’s edges with additional data?
Possible “transport” options (interventions) and their cost, cost of delay, time to realization, etc.
That way, you’re reframing time & cost as factors inherent to the option you pick, than a foregone conclusion
Possible “transport” options (interventions) and their cost, cost of delay, time to realization, etc.
That way, you’re reframing time & cost as factors inherent to the option you pick, than a foregone conclusion
If you think a path is too “slow”, whatever that means, pick a different path, or pick a different vehicle.
This is of course more nuanced than a literal roadmap.
The destinations in your map are assumptions/beliefs: you could find out those beliefs are false when you arrive!
This is of course more nuanced than a literal roadmap.
The destinations in your map are assumptions/beliefs: you could find out those beliefs are false when you arrive!
