Create impact maps using Gojko Adzic's methodology. Structure strategic planning from Goals to Actors to Impacts to Deliverables for clear product roadmaps.
Create structured impact maps using Gojko Adzic's methodology to align product work with business goals. Use when planning features or roadmaps to trace from business objectives through actors and behavioral changes to specific deliverables.
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Impact Mapping is a strategic planning technique invented by Gojko Adzic that helps teams align their work with business objectives. It creates a clear connection between business goals and product deliverables by mapping out the behavioral changes (impacts) needed from specific actors.
Impact Mapping answers four key questions:
| Level | Question | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Why? | What is the business objective? |
| Actors | Who? | Whose behavior needs to change? |
| Impacts | How? | How should their behavior change? |
| Deliverables | What? | What can we do to cause the change? |
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GOAL │
│ (Why?) │
└─────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌─────┴─────┐ ┌─────┴─────┐ ┌─────┴─────┐
│ ACTOR │ │ ACTOR │ │ ACTOR │
│ (Who?) │ │ (Who?) │ │ (Who?) │
└─────┬─────┘ └─────┬─────┘ └─────┬─────┘
│ │ │
┌─────┼─────┐ ┌─────┼─────┐ ┌─────┼─────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact
(How?) (How?) (How?) (How?) (How?) (How?) (How?) (How?) (How?)
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
D D D D D D D D D
(What?) (What?) (What?) (What?) (What?) (What?) (What?) (What?) (What?)
The business objective we're trying to achieve.
| Criterion | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Specific | Clear and well-defined | "Reduce customer churn" |
| Measurable | Quantifiable metric | "...by 20%" |
| Achievable | Realistic target | "...from 8% to 6.4%" |
| Relevant | Aligned with strategy | "...to improve ARR growth" |
| Time-bound | Has deadline | "...by end of Q2" |
✅ Good Goals:
❌ Bad Goals:
People or systems whose behavior we need to influence.
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Direct users who benefit | End users, customers |
| Secondary | Enable or influence primary | Administrators, managers |
| Off-stage | Indirect stakeholders | Executives, regulators |
| Negative | Those who could hinder | Competitors, detractors |
| Actor | Influence | Effort to Change | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Users | High | Low | P1 |
| New Users | High | Medium | P1 |
| Administrators | Medium | Low | P2 |
| Competitors | High | Very High | Watch |
Behavioral changes we want to see in actors.
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Create | New behavior | "Start recommending to colleagues" |
| Increase | More of something | "Use the product more frequently" |
| Decrease | Less of something | "Spend less time on manual tasks" |
| Stop | Eliminate behavior | "Stop using competitor" |
| Prevent | Avoid behavior | "Don't abandon during onboarding" |
[Actor] should [direction] [behavior] so that [goal connection].
Examples:
❌ Deliverables disguised as impacts:
❌ Too vague:
Features, content, or changes that could cause the desired impacts.
For each impact, generate multiple options:
| Size | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| XS | Trivial change | < 1 day |
| S | Small feature | 1-3 days |
| M | Medium feature | 1-2 weeks |
| L | Large feature | 2-4 weeks |
| XL | Major initiative | > 1 month |
Consider both impact and effort:
High Impact
│
┌──────────┼──────────┐
│ Quick │ Major │
│ Wins │ Projects │
│ (Do!) │ (Plan) │
├──────────┼──────────┤
│ Fill │ Money │
Low │ Ins │ Pits │ High
Effort│ │ (Avoid) │ Effort
└──────────┼──────────┘
│
Low Impact
For each priority actor:
For each impact:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 10 min | Introduction and goal alignment |
| 15 min | Goal refinement (SMART criteria) |
| 20 min | Actor identification and prioritization |
| 30 min | Impact discovery (per actor) |
| 45 min | Deliverable brainstorming |
| 20 min | Prioritization and roadmap |
| 10 min | Next steps and commitments |
Goal: Increase developer trial-to-paid conversion from 5% to 15% by Q2
Goal: 15% trial conversion by Q2
├── Actor: Trial User
│ ├── Impact: Complete onboarding in first session
│ │ ├── Interactive tutorial
│ │ ├── Pre-configured sample project
│ │ └── Progress celebration notifications
│ ├── Impact: Experience "aha moment" within 24 hours
│ │ ├── Guided first workflow
│ │ ├── Comparison with manual approach
│ │ └── Success metrics dashboard
│ └── Impact: Invite team members during trial
│ ├── Team invitation wizard
│ ├── Collaborative features highlight
│ └── Multi-seat trial offer
├── Actor: Engineering Manager
│ ├── Impact: See ROI justification
│ │ ├── Time savings calculator
│ │ ├── Executive summary report
│ │ └── Case study library
│ └── Impact: Approve purchase request
│ ├── Security documentation
│ ├── Procurement-friendly pricing
│ └── Enterprise features demo
└── Actor: Competitor User
└── Impact: Switch due to superior experience
├── Migration assistant
├── Feature comparison page
└── Competitor user testimonials
Given a business goal:
From stakeholder conversations:
Generate map as Mermaid mindmap:
mindmap
root((Goal: 15% Conversion))
Trial User
Complete Onboarding
Tutorial
Sample Project
Experience Aha
Guided Workflow
Success Dashboard
Eng Manager
See ROI
Calculator
Case Studies
Inputs from:
design-thinking skill: User needs → Actors + ImpactsOutputs to:
opportunity-mapping skill: Impacts → Opportunitieslean-startup skill: Deliverables → MVP hypothesesFor additional Impact Mapping resources, see:
Master authentication and authorization patterns including JWT, OAuth2, session management, and RBAC to build secure, scalable access control systems. Use when implementing auth systems, securing APIs, or debugging security issues.