Impact Mapping: Making a big impact with software products and projects

A good, measurable goal is required as input for impact mapping. It is often useful to schedule two sessions: the first to define the expected business goals and measurements, and the second to create a map.

The role of testing becomes to prove that deliverables support desired actor behaviours, instead of comparing software features to technical expectations. If a deliverable does not support an impact, even if it works correctly from a technical perspective, it is a failure and should be treated as a problem, enhanced or removed.

We assume that delivering that feature will change players' behaviour. Once the feature is delivered, we can track if the assumption was true or not.

Never aim to implement the whole map. Instead, find the shortest path through the map to the goal!

Impact mapping is a great way to engage senior business and technical experts at the start of work on a product module or project milestone to create a shared understanding of scope – not from a technical but from a business perspective.

You can break down high-level features into lower-level scope items, such as user stories, spine stories, basic or extension use cases later. These items can become fourth, fifth or sixth level map branches.

The first step in defining a good roadmap is to make sure that we have a clear mission statement that everyone agrees on. The best way to define this mission statement is by expressing the expected business goals.

An impact map communicates scope, goals and priorities, but also assumptions on two levels. The first is that a deliverable will cause a change in behaviour of an actor, produce an impact. The second is that once the impact is achieved, the relevant actor will contribute to the overall objectives. This visualisation makes impact maps a powerful too

The structure of an impact map facilitates a good discussion, helping the entire group benefit from the wisdom of crowds. This often leads to discovering quick wins, alternatives to original suggestions that are cheaper and faster to deliver but achieve the same outcomes.