Design roadmapping: Guidebook for future foresight techniques
| Author | Emily Montgomery |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X221120296 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Review
Evaluation Journal of Australasia
2022, Vol. 22(4) 285–288
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1035719X221120296
journals.sagepub.com/home/evj
Design roadmapping:
Guidebook for future foresight
techniques
L. Simonse (2018). Design roadmapping: Guidebook for future foresight techniques. BIS Publishers.
ISBN: 978-90-6369-459-3
Reviewed by: Emily Montgomery,University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD,
Australia
Design roadmapping: Guidebook for future foresight techniques by Lianne Simonse is
an instructional text written for designers, strategists and innovators alike. It outlines
the metaphorical expedition of roadmapping the future through landmarks of products
and services. Explorations and definitions of theoretical concepts are included to
provide insight on the power of visualisation for decision-making and enable orga-
nisations to devise creative responses to future strategic challenges. Simonse covers
seven topics that dissect the process of roadmapping, along with a science interview
and a lab for active self-study. This review offers both a tour of Simonse’sroadmapping
design and my personal response as an emerging evaluator.
At first glance, the book is not an obvious choice for evaluators to use when ex-
ploring useful tips and tricks to add value in their craft, and I held mild scepticism.
While this held true for the majority of the book, there are concepts that will be
presented in this review that can be included in a theory–based evaluation approach.
Some of the core principles Simonse shares I found can be utilised in a systems thinking
method, specifically using a creative visual design lens to map interrelationships,
perspectives and boundaries in evaluations undertaken in a variety of settings. Un-
derstanding a project in a visual context can simplify the view of constituent parts in a
system, especially when these parts are multi-layered and can intersect and interconnect
to form complex networks. As a result, evaluators are armed with additional creative
tools when dealing with multi-dimensional and complex evaluation problems.
As you would expect from a book that is all about visualising complex ideas,
Simonse includes many excellent visuals to help the reader unpack the design
roadmapping methodology. Chapter 1 introduces an illustration of the core elements of
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