8 Build your roadmap
You now have two scores for every use case: business impact from Step 5, and feasibility from Step 7. This step uses them to produce a prioritised, sequenced roadmap you can take to leadership.
The impact vs feasibility matrix
Plot each use case in one of four quadrants:
- Quick wins (high impact, high feasibility) — do these first. They deliver value fast and build the credibility that funds everything else.
- Strategic bets (high impact, low feasibility) — invest in closing the gap. Identify the specific data or capability investment required and plan for it explicitly.
- Easy fills (low impact, high feasibility) — do these when you have spare capacity. They add polish without distorting priorities.
- Deprioritise (low impact, low feasibility) — park unless the strategy or data situation changes.
For the purposes of this matrix, treat a score of 3 or above as "high" on either dimension.
Example — B2B SaaS
| Stage | Use case | Impact | Feasibility | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Which campaigns bring in accounts that convert and stay? | 4 | 3 | Quick win |
| Ongoing usage | Retention / churn risk (combined use case) | 5 | 2 | Strategic bet |
| Renewal | Which accounts are at risk of not renewing? | 5 | 2 | Strategic bet |
| Signup | Where are people dropping off? | 2 | 4 | Easy fill |
Plot every scored use case from Steps 5 and 7 — this table shows how quadrants read, not your full portfolio.
Example — Non-bank lender
| Stage | Use case | Impact | Feasibility | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document collection | Settlement timing risk / delays | 4 | 2 | Strategic bet |
| Servicing | Early stress before missed payment | 5 | 2 | Strategic bet |
| Marketing | Budget shift to “right” applications | 4 | 3 | Quick win |
| Application | Volume by channel (monitoring) | 2 | 4 | Easy fill |
Sequence into phases
Quick wins go first. Then use the breathing room they create — both the credibility and the time — to close the gaps on your strategic bets.
For each strategic bet, identify the specific blocker and treat it as a project in its own right. A use case that is blocked on data needs a data engineering workstream. A use case that is blocked on capability needs hiring, upskilling, or a vendor. Do not add strategic bets to the roadmap without a concrete plan for closing the gap.
B2B SaaS — phased roadmap (illustrative)
| Phase | Use case | Strategic connection |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Quick wins: attribution, win-rate views, obvious revenue leaks | Credibility and breathing room |
| Phase 2 | Data/feature work that unlocks predictive use cases | Closes gaps on strategic bets |
| Phase 3 | Renewal risk, churn prediction, activation interventions | Protects and grows ARR at scale |
Non-bank lender — phased roadmap (illustrative)
| Phase | Use case | Strategic connection |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Document pipeline + broker mix diagnostics | Addresses stated bottlenecks early |
| Phase 2 | Data / ML foundations for monitoring | Unlocks predictive book |
| Phase 3 | Early stress, settlement risk, collections prioritisation | Credit quality at scale |
A working engagement produces a phased roadmap tailored to your scores, not a generic template. Learn about the TrueState 360 Engagement.
The test of a good roadmap
Every item on the roadmap should have a clear answer to three questions: what decision does this improve, whose decision is it, and why does it matter to the strategy right now?
If an item cannot answer all three, it should not be on the roadmap. If your roadmap does not visibly connect to the strategic priorities you identified in Step 3, go back and check your work. The value of this process is not the roadmap document — it is being able to explain, to any stakeholder, exactly why you are building what you are building.
Done well, this process takes you from a blank page to a roadmap that leadership can fund and a team can deliver, with every item traceable back to a business decision that matters.