An impact map can be very useful in project development and planning. In many ways, they are similar to the User Story used in Extreme Programming and SCRUM (one of the leading agile methodologies).
Below we look at the benefits of project mapping and how you can use influence maps in your team.
A bit about the history of Impact Mapping
Performance mapping was first mentioned by Mijo Balić and Ingrid Ottersten in their article Effect Managing IT (2007).
This information was reinterpreted and formed the basis of another work, but by author Gojko Adzic, winner of the 2011 Most Influential Agile Testing Professional of the Year award, in the book Specification by Example (2011).
In 2012, the same author published a comprehensive guide to the methodology he invented — Impact Mapping: Achieving High Impact with Software Products and Projects.
What is Impact mapping
Impact Mapping is a modern methodology for facilitating collaborative strategic planning for organisations and project teams.
This technology fits perfectly with most modern project management trends and is compatible with many current software development methodologies (Agile, Lean and others). But it can also be used for other types of projects.
Impact mapping helps you implement effective plans and roadmaps that align your business with your delivery channels. These maps are adaptable to change, easy to read and allow you to visualise connections and understand where bottlenecks exist in your business.
With influence maps you can visualise:
- Project backlog,
- A risk map of the project
- hypotheses for its development
- and much more.
A simple example of an impact map:
Although no one forbids you to arrange the card in a physical form, for example, like this:
As you can see, the map is made up of the simplest elements (blocks) and the arrows indicate the links between them and the directions of impact.
Project mapping can be used independently or in conjunction with other management methodologies. It is a convenient tool for reflection and visualisation.
Who the influence cards are suitable for (who should use them)
The author of the methodology states that mapping is an effective planning tool for:
- Project Managers,
- Product Managers,
- technical leads
- business sponsors
- and other senior technical project management.
Impact maps are a great way to define a vision for a new product, especially when solutions are identified rather than goals.
Therefore, they can be used in the following situations:
- Defining features for a non-existent product.
- Finding reliable evidence that your ideas are correct.
- Planning the next sprint/release of a project with prioritised features.
- Proving to the customer that the feature they ordered is useless.
- Prove to the customer that the feature is worth putting in the product.
- Get all business goals and strategies on the same page.
In fact, the Impact Mapping strategy has found its way into healthcare, e-commerce, marketing departments, design and many other business niches.
How to map your impact
The impact maps should be developed by the senior management representatives we have listed above. However, the role of the different actors in the system, known as stakeholders, should be taken into account when developing the maps. In the Impact Mapping methodology, however, they are called ‘actors’.
In order to achieve a high quality result, it is best to use dedicated project management software.
Since the impact map is a visualisation of the main assumptions, it should ideally be created during the discussion, i.e. as a result of a joint brainstorming session.
What aspects need to be considered:
- Goal. This is the heart of the map and should answer the ‘why’ question.
- Actors. This is the first branch of the map and answers the ‘who’ question. Elements of this type include those who can produce the desired effect or action, as well as those who can prevent the goal from being achieved. This could include product users, sponsors, developers and others.
- Impacts. This is the second level of the tree and should answer the ‘how’ question. As elements, you should list specific actions of actors that will help or hinder the achievement of the goal. This can also include effects that will change the behaviour of the actors.
- Deliverables. The last element of the branch, which should answer the question ‘What?’. It should list all the specific actions (operations and/or tasks), linked to the actor and impact theme, that will lead to the desired impacts. There may be internal subtasks within the outputs if the root elements are too complex to be understood or perceived.
If you branch all the way to the last element, you get a cycle of ‘why’, ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions.
It looks very simple… But in practice it is not immediately implemented, and problems can arise.
For more clarity, you can also separate the elements with different colours, e.g. if the impact is negative, you can highlight it in red, positive — in green, etc.
The pitfalls of project mapping
There is a reason why the author has written an entire book dealing with all aspects of the Impact Mapping methodology.
- It is desirable to formulate objectives in a SMART way. That is, with specific numerical indicators and with reference to specific deadlines.
- You should not use a specific product as a goal, but you can describe a change in state, as the methodology is designed for a project approach.
- It is important to find a balance between detail and time in the influence mapping process. Formally, the process is not time-limited, you can add elements to the map whenever you want. But you need to set a limit on when the map can be considered complete.
- A mind map cannot replace the terms of reference. It is only a tool to help you visualise your understanding of the key influences and actors.
- When working with customers, impact mapping may not be an effective way of describing tasks. Therefore, use methods that the customer is comfortable with. Maps can become a purely internal tool for the team.
- Maps alone do not make the project happen. They only provide visibility for planning and increase the coverage of business objectives.
It is important to remember that the real value of any business project is only realised at the time of completion. Therefore, if you want to please the customer and avoid a negative experience, you should stick to iterative rather than incremental development.
A simple explanation of why this is the case and not otherwise can be found below:
It is good for the client to see the end result immediately and to be able to detail the features as the project progresses. While ‘partial’ progress has little correlation with understanding the big picture.
All of this can lead to a situation where the customer says that they did not get what they expected, even after the project has been delivered.
This is exactly the kind of situation that Impact Mapping should prevent.
