Best practices for a benefits roadmap
Creating a benefits roadmap is a useful tool, and addendum to project plans, to communicate the value and impact of a transformation programme over time.
It uses similar skills as delivery timeline mapping, but its not identical, and crucially - its usually the only thing that stakeholders, shareholders or senior leaders really truly care about.
The objective is to produce a roadmap that is clear, credible, aligned with stakeholder expectations and free from extraneous clutter.
Here's my view on what it should contain, shouldn’t contain, and how it should be structured.
Link each benefit milestone to business goals and delivering initiatives
Ensure each benefit ties two-way:
Upwards - Directly to a strategic objective or business goal.
Downwards: To the specific initiative or project that delivers it.
You don’t get one without the other.
This ensures traceability and prevents “orphan” benefits that sound good but aren’t actually delivered by the programme.
Categorize benefits into Logical groups
e.g., revenue growth, customer experience, operational efficiency, cost reduction, compliance, risk reduction etc.
Not all benefits are financial, and nor should they or will they be. Implementing strategy is typically and ideally, a multifaceted approach. Reflect this when presenting a benefits roadmap.
Quantify where possible
Use KPIs, targets, or ranges (e.g., “Reduced processing time by 30%”).
Benefits will be assumed at the start - make clear where the assumptions have been derived from (e.g., target sales x increase in commission, benchmarking, pilot results, expert estimates etc.).
Benefits that can’t be measured
Describe the benefit in clear, observable terms—what will people see, feel, or experience that’s different?
State what success looks like in practical, observable terms. Example: “Success = Teams proactively share knowledge across silos.”
Use before-and-after scenarios or short stories to make the change tangible. Use icons, colour-coding, or callout boxes to highlight qualitative benefits and distinguish them from quantitative ones.
Success is about visible change, not just numbers.
Show Enablers
There are some initiatives that are critical enablers (e.g., tech platforms, process changes, training) that don’t directly deliver a benefit.
You need to handle these carefully - make them visible on the roadmap, but clearly distinguish them from benefit milestones.
Show the dependency that a benefit has on an enabler i.e., “This benefit cannot be realised until this enabler is in place.”
Use the past tense
This is a subtle one, but in my view, language matters.
For both project milestones and benefit milestones, my preference is to use the past tense, i.e. £200k Opex saved, 2000 new customers onboarded, £2.3m additional revenue generated by end of month 12
Assign benefit owners
Every benefit should have a named owner responsible for tracking, validating, and reporting on its realisation.
Ownership drives follow-through and ensures benefits don’t fall through the cracks.
Iterate and Regularly Validate
Co-create with stakeholders.
Review regularly to update based on progress, risks, or changes in strategy.
What to Avoid
Don’t overload the roadmap with every possible benefit. Focus on a few for each initiative - first and foremost - those that are meaningful to the business.
Avoid vague, generic, or unsubstantiated claims (“improved culture”, “better processes”) unless you can define how they’ll be measured and why they matter.
Don’t present benefits in isolation from the initiatives that deliver them, or from the strategic objectives they support.