The situation in the IT world is changing more and more rapidly and this directly affects the project business. The impact mapping method has proven to be extremely effective for reacting accordingly. Impact mapping helps development teams to clearly formulate their goals, understand the impact on their stakeholders and the overarching business objective and take targeted measures. In this blog post, we therefore want to take a closer look at this approach and show how it can be used successfully in agile software development.

What is impact mapping?

Impact mapping is a planning technique that enables development teams and companies to clearly define their goals and gain an overview of the impact of different actions on a specific goal. This allows strategic goals to be formulated and the focus placed on value creation.

In practice, impact mapping consists of four parts.

1. Goals - Why should something be done? The goal is the central point of an impact map. It not only states why something should be done, but also what exactly should be achieved or which problem should be solved. Important: The goal must be measurable.

2. Actors - Who are the actors? The actors are the people who are necessary to achieve a goal. This can also clarify the questions of who is positively or negatively influenced by the achievement of the goal and which person can influence the result and to what extent.

3. Impact - What are the effects? This indicates how the stakeholders can now achieve the objectives in concrete terms. The actual "impacts" are thus identified at this point.

4. Delivery objects - what are the results? This step defines what exactly needs to be done to achieve the impacts defined in point 3. The results are therefore the activities that need to be completed or the epics, user stories, requirements, etc. that need to be implemented in order to achieve the business objective.

The importance of impact mapping in IT:

Agility and flexibility: In IT, change is often the norm. Impact mapping makes it possible to react flexibly to fluctuating requirements by focussing on clear goals and stakeholder concerns.

Alignment with business objectives: IT projects must not only be technically successful, but also make a clear contribution to the overarching business objectives. Impact mapping bridges the gap between IT activities and business benefits.

Implementation of impact mapping in IT projects:

Stakeholder analysis: Identifying and involving all relevant stakeholders, from developers to product management and users, is crucial to the success of IT projects.

Visualisation: Impact maps support the visualisation of complex relationships between requirements, functions and the intended impact on the user experience or business.

Advantages of impact mapping in IT:

Resource optimisation: The efficient use of resources is crucial in IT. Impact mapping helps to ensure that resources are only used for those activities that make the greatest contribution to strategic goals.

Clear communication: In the complex world of IT, clear communication is crucial. Impact maps provide a visual language that is understood by all team members.

Application of impact mapping in different phases of an IT project:

Project initialisation: In the initial phase of an IT project, impact mapping is used to define clear objectives and ensure that all team members and stakeholders have the same expectations. Development and test phases: During the project, the impact map is regularly updated to ensure that development and tests are also contributing to the defined goals.

Implementation and maintenance: Even after implementation, impact mapping remains relevant to ensure that ongoing maintenance work delivers the desired business benefits.

Challenges and solutions in IT:

Rapid technological changes: The IT industry is characterised by rapid technological change. With impact mapping, development teams can focus on business relevance without getting lost in technical details.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: As IT projects often involve different specialist areas, impact mapping supports interdisciplinary collaboration by taking different perspectives into account.

Conclusion

Impact mapping is an effective method for ensuring that projects are aligned with business objectives. By clearly defining objectives, actors and impacts, impact mapping enables efficient planning and realisation of projects. The visual nature of this approach encourages collaboration and improves communication within the development team and with stakeholders. In order to meet the constantly changing requirements, we recommend using the method iteratively and adapting it regularly. Through targeted application and a clear focus on business objectives, impact mapping significantly supports the success of the project.