Platform Evolution/Roadmap/Structure

Purpose
One of the primary objectives of Platform Evolution is to develop a 3-5 year roadmap for our Technology Platform. This document defines the content and structure of that plan in order to help define the end goal of the planning process. The content of the roadmap is designed to provide context for long term scheduling and decision making.

The roadmap is meant to be a living document which is updated continually, on at least a quarterly basis or anytime priorities change. Rather than being fixed or unchangeable, the content was designed to help product owners and management better understand impacts and tradeoffs when priorities change.

Components
The roadmap has 5 major parts:


 * A list of goals and outcomes that guides the planning and prioritization of projects. These provide the framework of the roadmap - the help us decide which projects should be developed and, just as importantly, which ones we should say “no” to.
 * A 6-12 month schedule that shows high level sequencing of projects with rough estimates for time and resourcing. This enables us to understand the order we need to execute work in the near term, and to be realistic about the amount of work we can accomplish.
 * A prioritized list of projects with rough time estimates for the next 3 years. This allows to see longer multi-year efforts that will not be realized within the 12 month detailed schedule. This provides a larger context for near term work by showing the full picture.
 * Descriptions for each project including relevant information that affects its prioritization. To understand why each project is on the roadmap, we need to provide enough context. For each project, we will include several key pieces of information which are detailed below.
 * A list of major technical questions that can block projects or significantly impact priorities. We have several major questions that could lead to vastly different plans. These need to be tracked and purposefully explored in order to unblock future planning.

Together these 5 parts prove the full picture of the work we need to accomplish over the next several years with clarity in the near term and direction in the long term. It also includes the guidelines for adding work to it, as well as what major decisions could significantly impact it.

Project Descriptions
Each project includes a specific set of information that enable us to communicate its significance and impact. This information also allows us to prioritize and schedule the project. Some of these items become more detailed as the project moves closer to completion. Each description is updated as the status changes.


 * Project Lead(s)
 * Status
 * Current state
 * Expected start
 * Summary
 * Significance and motivation
 * Milestones and tasks
 * Success metric
 * Outcome
 * Baseline
 * Target
 * Methodology and rationale
 * Dependencies
 * Open questions
 * Phabricator
 * Plans and RFCs