Session 01: Project Kick-Off

Hi! Welcome to the kickoff session for the 2019 Road Map project where I will analyze and plan major milestones for Cryptiquest. For this project I’ll follow the project management workflow that was used for the previous projects (which looks something like: Project Scope > Deliverables > Implementation > Clean Up) which will culminate in both the road map and a project retrospective.

What is a Road Map?

When planning to travel a long distance, let’s say from Seattle to St. Louis, it’s handy if you review your route ahead of time – plotting out where you are now (Seattle), where you want to go (St. Louis), then all the roads and stops in between (i82 to Boise, i84 to Blairtown, i80 to Julesburg, i80 to Nebraska City, i29 to i70 to St. Louis). Each of those towns would be a stop for the night and reserving nightly stays would be important to do before the trip. Once that’s complete, you now have lots of smaller trips instead of one giant one, which can make it more manageable. This is your road map.

Cryptiquest’s road map will also take us from point A to point B with stops in between – but instead of traveling, our journey will be one of change – from the current state of the company to the future state. And the stops in between are not places to stay but BIG project deliverables: milestones. For instance, instead of “stay in Boise for the night”, a milestone might be “release CQ StoryHammer game system”.

Speaking of which, I have a Road Map from 2018. Here it is:

This did not go according to plan as the CQ StoryHammer beta game system was not released (since it became clear that having an audience was important which led to a few side projects and backtracking, and eventually to the creation of this site and the restructuring of the company, etc.).

The projects in the 2018 Road Map are still integral initiatives but it seems that there will be a lot of documentation to do up front which will improve workflow and help mitigate rework.

Why a Road Map?

The idea of this project was first sparked during Session 02 of the CQ Vision, Mission, and Value Statements project since the road map on the company site is currently incorrect. However, the road map is pertinent to the monthly newsletter and other communications (people new to the studio and its work, for instance). This is necessary in order to outline the overall plan toward something – the future state.

Updating the Road Map supports Cryptiquest’s mission to MODEL corporate humanistic POLICIES for the industry; specifically under the “Respectable” value: Business must serve as an industry role model regarding culture, conduct, and professionalism. Leaving an out-of-date road map would undoubtedly be unprofessional. The road map – a thoughtfully plotted out list of milestones – fits with the project management philosophy Cryptiquest subscribes to and having it is better as an industry role model than not having it.

Goal and Objectives

The goal for this project originally was going to be “update the Road Map” but I think that might limit the results. The goal should be to create a proper road map and not assume the original was well structured.

Goal: Create a long term Road Map which outlines Cryptiquest’s future milestones.

I’m not crazy about it but maybe if I start to plot out objectives, the goal will become more clear. Since this is a policy-based project, I’ll keep the policy value statements in mind as I work on these. Let’s break down the goal…

Could “Create a long term Road Map which outlines Cryptiquest’s future milestones” be rewritten as “Create a Road Map; defined as list of milestones toward Cryptiquest’s future state”? And perhaps that can be rewritten as “Plot out milestones to a future state”?

That’s the thing I don’t like about this goal – “future” seems too vague. Should this be the state of Cryptiquest at a specific point in time (e.g. end of 2025)? Or should it emphasize an event where Cryptiquest achieves X (despite the amount of time it takes)? That’s the way the previous Road Map was done (up to the point where all three brands had been released). If I go that route again, I should come up with a name for that state (something like, “brand realized”, etc.).

Of the two potential factors to base the future state off, I think the latter makes a lot more sense. The goal would then be something like “plot out milestones until Cryptiquest is brand realized.”

Goal: Define the required milestones for brand realization.

Now that feels a lot more precise. I’m concerned that this does not seem to imply dates but I’m also concerned that adding dates would make updates painful. In fact, the use of deadlines in the past has been ridiculously stressful and led to corner cutting and backtracking. Maybe there should just be a queue of projects and dates are withdrawn on purpose? That makes sense. Also, no more PDFs. There was no reason for it.

Objective 1: The definition will display a concise queue of projects.

This objective has a subjective metric, specifically referring to the qualifier of “concise”. I’ll have to use feedback to determine whether this objective was met or not which isn’t a big deal.

Objective 2: The definition will clearly define “brand realization”.

As above, this objective has a subjective metric referring to the qualifier “clearly” and again, feedback will be used to determine whether the objective was met or not.

Objective 3: The definition will be date-agnostic.

As mentioned earlier, dates and deadlines might be more of a detriment simply due to the fact that the projects would need to have their deliverables plotted out to better understand timing.

That seems to include everything from the goal while adhering to applicable values. Here is the scope of the project:

Goal: Define the required milestones for brand realization.

Objective 1: The definition will display a concise queue of projects.
Objective 2: The definition will clearly define “brand realization”.
Objective 3: The definition will be date-agnostic.

Does that fully address the need described above?

However, the road map is pertinent to the monthly newsletter and other communications (people new to the studio and its work, for instance). This is necessary in order to outline the overall plan toward something – the future state.

Yes, I think the proposed Goal and Objectives will meet the need of the project. In the next session, I’ll identify the objectives. I have a feeling they will be very similar to the deliverables for the CQ Vision, Mission, and Values Statements project. See you there!