Catalog
concept#Governance#Product strategy#Architecture#Delivery

Strategy Map

Visual representation of strategic objectives and their cause‑and‑effect relationships to align initiatives and metrics.

A strategy map visualizes strategic objectives and their cause‑and‑effect relationships across perspectives.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Organizational
  • Organizational
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Strategy and portfolio management toolsReporting and dashboard platformsOKR or performance management systems

Principles & goals

Map objectives as cause‑and‑effect relationshipsFocus on a few strategically decisive objectivesDerive KPIs and initiatives from map relationships
Discovery
Enterprise, Domain

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Incorrect causality assumptions lead to misprioritization
  • Political interests may distort objective setting
  • Too many objectives reduce clarity and effectiveness
  • Focus on a few high‑impact objectives
  • Document and test causal assumptions
  • Set regular review cycles and ownership

I/O & resources

  • Vision and mission
  • Strategic priorities and business goals
  • Existing KPIs and performance data
  • Visualized strategy map
  • Derived KPIs and targets
  • Prioritized initiatives list

Description

A strategy map visualizes strategic objectives and their cause‑and‑effect relationships across perspectives. It makes assumptions explicit, aids prioritization, and aligns initiatives with business goals. Commonly associated with the Balanced Scorecard, it serves as a communication and decision instrument for management. It also supports deriving metrics and clarifying responsibilities.

✔

  • Improved alignment between strategy and operational actions
  • Clarification of assumptions and causal links
  • Better prioritization and communication

✖

  • May oversimplify complex causalities
  • Requires good data and consistent KPIs for implementation
  • Will become outdated without governance

  • Number of strategic initiatives

    Counts initiated projects directly linked to map objectives.

  • Strategic progress index

    Aggregated value from KPI progress of key objectives.

  • Objective clarity (survey)

    Employee survey on understandability and relevance of objectives.

Bank: aligning product roadmap

Strategy map links customer satisfaction to digital payments features and operational efficiency.

IT organization: service strategy

Map shows how investments in observability and automation lead to availability and business outcomes.

Nonprofit: fundraising focus

Strategy map connects donor retention, program impact and communications to increase fundraising.

1

Identify stakeholders and consolidate objectives

2

Collect preparatory data and KPIs

3

Run workshop: map and link objectives

4

Derive initiatives and KPIs

5

Establish governance for review cycles and maintenance

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Non‑standardized KPI definitions
  • Manual data collection instead of integrated measurement flows
  • Lack of automation for reporting and review
Lack of alignment between functionsUnclear ownershipMissing or inconsistent data
  • Used as pure reporting tool without deriving initiatives
  • Excessive focus on short‑term KPIs over long‑term impact
  • Creating a map without maintenance and review processes
  • Assuming causality without evidence
  • Too many stakeholders delay decisions
  • Inconsistent metrics across levels
Moderation and workshop facilitationStrategic analysis and causal reasoningKnowledge of KPI definition and measurement logic
Clear objective hierarchy and responsibilitiesData availability to derive KPIsGovernance for maintenance and review cycles
  • • Limited management time for alignment
  • • Organizational silos and incentives
  • • Technical limits to measurability