Long-Term Goal Roadmap
Design a planning tool that turns a broad personal goal into a realistic sequence of researched next steps.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Long-term goals such as changing careers or moving abroad involve uncertain costs, dependencies, and decisions. Generic checklists can make complex goals appear easier or more certain than they are.
User context
Mei hopes to become a licensed landscape architect within four years. She needs to compare education paths, understand prerequisites, and decide what she can do during the next three months.
Product problem
The product must transform research into an actionable plan while separating verified requirements from assumptions and user-created tasks.
Objective
Create the goal setup, researched roadmap, source review, and progress adjustment experience.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Define an outcome, target date, budget, and current situation
- Review a proposed roadmap with dependencies
- Inspect sources and confidence for researched steps
- Edit the plan and track the next milestone
Screens and states
- Goal setup
- Roadmap overview
- Step and source detail
- Plan adjustment
- Progress check-in
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Mei describes her career goal and current qualifications
- 02
The service proposes stages and flags licensing details for review
- 03
She validates sources and changes the timing
- 04
She commits to a short-term milestone and records progress
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Distinguish sourced requirements, estimates, and personal tasks
- Let users change a dependency without rebuilding the entire plan
- Show cost and time ranges instead of false precision
- Preserve prior versions when a roadmap changes
Constraints
- Research may be incomplete or region-specific
- Goals can span several years
- The service cannot guarantee an outcome
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- A responsive five-screen roadmap experience
- A visual system for sourced facts, estimates, and user decisions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.