From a catalogue to a plan that makes sense

A catalogue explains the work you offer. A roadmap explains how that work is organised for a particular project. Preparing them together helps uncover services that appear in the price but not in the plan, or phases that promise something outside the scope.

Select the included work first

Start with the services this proposal needs. Copy useful items from your catalogue and adapt their descriptions to the engagement. A reusable service is a starting point, not wording you must send unchanged every time.

In this fictional example, a studio is preparing a website with content structure, design and implementation. The durations below are illustrative. They are neither universal recommendations nor estimates for your project.

Build phases around understandable decisions

Illustrative phase	Included work	Reviewable outcome	Example duration
Define the structure	Content organisation	Page map	3 days
Design the experience	Visual design and navigation	Designs for the agreed pages	7 days
Prepare the delivery	Implementation and review	Website ready for final review	8 days

Phase names should explain the process to the client. Use your usual terminology if it is clear, but you do not need to impose these phases on every engagement. A film production or research project will follow a different sequence.

Real editor screenshot with fictional data. Select the image to enlarge it.

Link the work and check the result

Connect each phase to its services and review the deliverables. If a service contributes to more than one phase, explain what it does at each point. Appearing more than once in the plan does not mean charging for it again.

Check that the plan covers the important parts of the offer. When removing a phase, decide what happens to its work: it moves elsewhere, remains outside the roadmap for an explicit reason, or is removed from the scope.

Distinguish sequence from overlap

Two phases may overlap when the project allows it. That does not mean every duration should be added together. Check the end of the whole journey and the conditions for the client's participation.

Before sharing, open the client view. They should be able to recognise each phase, its duration and its included work. A visual roadmap is useful when it makes the price easier to understand, not simply when it turns a list into coloured bars.