CIOs Need Roadmap Visibility to Regain Control of Growing IT Project Backlogs, Says Info-Tech Research Group

Many enterprises are facing growing project backlogs as demand outpaces available IT resources, while funding requests often lack the cost, benefit, and risk data needed for prioritization. To help address this challenge, Info-Tech Research Group's newly published blueprint, Visualize Your Strategic Roadmap With Power BI, provides a practical two-step methodology and templates to help CIOs build roadmap visibility with the data they already have.

ARLINGTON, Va., May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - As IT project demand continues to outpace available capacity, many CIOs are struggling to determine which initiatives should move forward, which should wait, and where limited resources can deliver the greatest value. To help leaders address this challenge, Info-Tech Research Group has published its Visualize Your Strategic Roadmap With Power BI blueprint, which outlines a methodology for creating decision-informing roadmaps, even when traditional portfolio data is incomplete.

Info-Tech's findings indicate that many organizations are approving or receiving project requests without reliable data on costs, benefits, risks, and timing. Lacking that visibility, executive teams are left trying to prioritize competing initiatives in portfolios where projects can be difficult to distinguish from one another.

The research also examines how changes in operating models, governance structures, and decision-making practices have made it harder for executive teams to maintain visibility into project prioritization and resource allocation. By restoring structure to roadmap development, the firm's approach is designed to help organizations balance agility with stronger portfolio governance.

"At a time when organizations are accelerating change but losing visibility into their own project portfolios, leadership needs a way to reassert control without slowing momentum," says Barry Cousins, Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow at Info-Tech Research Group. "These templates and tools are designed to restart the decision-making conversation by presenting project demand in a way that is transparent and actionable."

Info-Tech's Two-Step Framework for Strategic Roadmap Visualization
Info-Tech's framework follows a clear, two-step process to develop and publish a strategic roadmap in the absence of data for a conventional project portfolio management (PPM) dashboard:

Step 1: Establish Minimum Request Standards – CIOs, PMO leaders, and portfolio managers define the minimum information needed to compare roadmap options, including initiative name, rough start and end dates, and classification by department, CIO playbook theme, management and governance category, or enterprise architecture value stream.

Step 2: Publish and Maintain the Roadmap – IT and PMO teams use Excel, Power BI Desktop, and Power BI Service to localize, deploy, refresh, and maintain roadmap views for leadership and other target audiences.

The blueprint also includes a PowerPoint storyboard, Excel and Power BI templates, and supporting videos that walk leaders through the key concepts, phases, installation steps, and deployment process. Together, these resources help CIOs and executive teams present strategic roadmaps without conventional cost, benefit, and risk data, visualize initiatives across timelines and strategic themes, distinguish between competing priorities, and better understand resource constraints.

Info-Tech's Visualize Your Strategic Roadmap With Power BI blueprint details a practical, scalable way for organizations to regain control of project prioritization in an increasingly complex operating environment. By applying the tools and methodology, organizations can re-establish clearer accountability for portfolio decisions across the organizational hierarchy.

For exclusive and timely commentary from Info-Tech's experts, including Barry Cousins, and access to the complete Visualize Your Strategic Roadmap With Power BI blueprint, please contact [email protected].

About Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group is the "get things done" partner for over 30,000 IT, HR, and marketing leaders worldwide. The fastest growing research and advisory firm, Info-Tech enables leaders to make well-informed decisions and transform their organizations through AI, strategic foresight, step-by-step methodologies, practical tools, industry-leading advisory, and training programs. For nearly 30 years, tens of thousands of private and public organizations have trusted Info-Tech to lead their most important initiatives through periods of change and deliver outcomes that truly matter.

To learn more about Info-Tech's HR research and advisory services, visit McLean & Company, and for data-driven software buying insights and vendor evaluations, visit the firm's SoftwareReviews platform.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software, and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

For information about Info-Tech Research Group or to access the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and X.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group