Guide · C05
Distinguish the marketing plan from its roadmap
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a roadmap?
Direct answer
The roadmap makes sequence, milestones and dependencies visible; the plan also contains objectives, resources, ownership, measurement, risks and decision rules.
01Define what belongs in the plan and what the roadmap should visualise.
02The rule, the evidence and the next review date stay visible.
How to use this
Move from the question to the deliverable.
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a roadmap?
Define what belongs in the plan and what the roadmap should visualise.
Plan–roadmap comparison
Original chart · SQ-16
Measure the plan’s time coverage
The roadmap does not summarise the plan: it checks that funded initiatives, dependencies and decisions have a place in time.
Quantified case: 12 funded initiatives, only 9 of which are sequenced.
- 01Inventory
List funded commitments and their owners.
- 02Sequence
Place work packages, milestones, dependencies and decision dates.
- 03Measure
Calculate the coverage of critical objects in the roadmap.
- 04Correct
Rephase or remove commitments without a realistic place.
Coverage of plan objects in the roadmap
The plan appears complete, but one quarter of funded initiatives and nearly half of gate decisions remain outside the calendar.
Coverage = objects present in the roadmap ÷ objects expected| Object | Expected | Present | Coverage | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funded initiatives | 12 | 9 | 75% | 3 without dates |
| Decision milestones | 14 | 8 | 57% | 6 unscheduled |
| Critical dependencies | 10 | 7 | 70% | 3 without a window |
| Reviews | 6 | 6 | 100% | Complete |
01The three initiatives without dates must not remain in the committed budget.
02The six missing milestones are the main risk of a late decision.
03100% coverage does not prove that durations are realistic; it only proves that the objects are present.
Fictitious data. Time coverage complements workload and critical-path controls.
Coherence controls
Minimum conditions before validation.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
Usable deliverable
Plan–roadmap comparison
Explore the decision further with an interactive control, or start from a structured template to produce your deliverable.