Definition of "road map"

road map

noun
plural road maps
1. A map with a visual representation of roads used for automobile travel and navigation. A road map may contain other relevant data, such as terrain or railway lines.
2. (figuratively) A plan of action, laying out the future actions of participants.
  Quotations
  On the agenda: a “work-athon” to discuss the road map for improving the main Facebook app, including a revamp that would change how users browse the service.
  2022 July 26, Mike Isaac, “‘Operating With Increased Intensity’: Zuckerberg Leads Meta Into Next Phase”, in The New York Times‎
  Through her characters’ personal growth and interpersonal relationships, Hoover offers readers an emotional road map to recovery from imposter syndrome, domestic abuse, betrayal, victimization.
  2023 July 6, Pamela Paul, “What’s the Story With Colleen Hoover?”, in The New York Times‎
3. (originally computing, computer hardware) A structured representation of objects to display a development plan, used in business for strategic planning and communications.
  Quotations
  CPU speeds continue to increase with no end in sight. For instance, Sun's UltraSPARC processor roadmap, shown in Figure 16-2, show CPU speed increasing from 143 MHz in 1995 to 1.5 Ghz in 2002, roughly doubling every year as predicted by Moore's Law.
  1999, Marc Hamilton, Software Development: Building Reliable Systems, Prentice Hall Professional, page 236
  In the software business, a product roadmap gives an overview how a product is going to develop over the strategic timeframe of up to 5 years in terms of new releases or versions, their schedules and major themes.
  2008, Hans-Bernd Kittlaus, Peter N. Clough, Software Product Management and Pricing, Springer Science & Business Media, page 77