Why Start an Identity Project with a Roadmap

Imagine this; you’ve decided to pack up and move across the country because you’ve heard that it’s better there. Rather than make one large trip you decide that you’d split up the work and have each member of your family take some parts of the household with them. Now imagine that no one has directions or even a specific address to be at, yet they’re all supposed to be there at the same time.
Sound crazy? Maybe not to some, but most of us would never attempt such an endeavor without understood and agreed upon instructions of how to get there, or more appropriately, a roadmap.

Such is the idea of building a roadmap before starting down the road toward an identity management project. The roadmap doesn’t attempt to design connectivity to various systems, break down political walls, or provide detailed technical specifications. Rather, a roadmap is used to give direction to not only the identity management project, but to the identity management strategy across the organization as a whole. Also, the roadmap should be a document to be shared and approved by as high a level of management as practically possible.

C/D/H frequently uses the roadmap to provide a common view of the project and the strategy from technical, administrative, and managerial perspectives. This approach frequently results in the organization coming to realizations that they weren’t aware of due to the proverbial “can’t see the forest for the trees” problem. This roadmap provides the foundation on which the entire project is built with an understood and agreed upon direction of travel and destination. Because identity management projects tend to progress over relatively long periods of time (and never really end), this roadmap must be revisited and revised to represent current organizational objectives and priorities as they change over time.

We’ve too frequently encountered identity management projects implemented as a point solution, then attempted to be expanded into a full identity management solution. This is akin to buying a motorcycle, then trying to turn it into an SUV when you find out that you have to take more people with you. It’s OK to buy the motorcycle, just realize that you’re going to have to replace it if your requirements change. Better yet, once your route has been planned with a roadmap, you’ll see from the start that you’re going to need an SUV to get over that mountain pass after you pick up some friends.
Happy travels!