Define a Product Roadmap

Embrace the Power of a Strategic Product Roadmap

How can teams ensure their efforts are focused on the most critical tasks while communicating their commitments accurately? The answer lies in a strategic roadmap. This powerful tool not only guides the team but also inspires. However, the creation of an effective roadmap requires careful thought and consideration.

1. Begin with a captivating product vision. This doesn’t necessarily have to be realistic, but it absolutely must inspire.
2. Translate this vision into strategic objectives that are succinct, valuable, and time-bound.
3. Distill these objectives further into tangible work themes.
4. Place these themes within a flexible time frame.
5. And lastly, don’t forget to consider potential challenges and setbacks along the way.

Beware of Traditional Roadmap Pitfalls

With a traditional roadmap, any item added automatically generates a deadline. This “promise” often becomes a trap, especially when the proposed solution proves to be subpar. This problematic approach often leads to half-baked solutions or frustrating delays.

The key to avoiding these pitfalls is simple – fall in love with the problem, not the solution. This article serves as your guide to implement this essential mindset in your product management practice.

The Value of a Strategic Roadmap

A strategic roadmap is primarily a communication tool. As Janna Bastow, CEO of ProdPad, beautifully phrased it, “A product roadmap is a prototype of the strategy.” It emphasizes the challenges to be overcome rather than just the expected deliverables.

A well-structured roadmap, whether crafted in Trello, Excel or any other tool, comprises five crucial components:

1. An inspirational product vision
2. A clarifying product strategy
3. A temporal structure for organization
4. Tangible themes for guidance
5. And lastly, disclaimers for those unforeseen circumstances.

Aiming for simplicity is key in crafting these components. An overly complex roadmap risks disuse, thus undermining its purpose.

The Visionary Aspect of a Product

A product vision is your beacon, guiding everyone in the organization towards a common future. Microsoft’s initial vision, for instance, was to place “A computer on every table and in every home.” This wasn’t a realistic goal during the 1980s, but it was indeed inspiring, and look at where they are now!

Adopt the Strategy of Success

While the vision provides inspiration, the product strategy offers clarity on how to reach the vision. It outlines the impacts we intend to make in our company and our customers’ lives, explaining measurable outcomes and timelines.

The Themes That Make It Tangible

Themes, in the strategy hierarchy, are expansions of the objectives. They serve to group the product’s focus areas and must address a problem or a customer’s goal. Remember, the goal here is to prioritize problems, not solutions.

The Time Frame That Organizes

A roadmap must provide a sequence of actions but remain flexible enough for the team to maneuver. Broad horizons, like a quarter, are generally recommended. However, only those objectives with assessed risks should have a definitive delivery date.

The Essential Legal Notices

A roadmap disclaimer helps everyone maintain realistic expectations for the future. It reminds everyone that uncertainties can arise and plans may need to be adjusted. This doesn’t reduce responsibility or pressure, but it helps avoid unrealistic expectations.

In conclusion, a roadmap is agile and flexible enough to adapt based on new learnings, but solid enough to uphold the core business values.

Executing the Plan

Each of the five steps should take approximately three days:

1. Define or review the vision. This can be done individually or in a group, but the vision needs validation from the area leader.
2. Translate the vision into strategic objectives.
3. Break down the objectives into work themes.
4. Set a flexible timeframe.
5. Include disclaimers on the roadmap. It’s a good time to add a user guide for the tool you are going to use.

The roadmap should be primarily assembled by the product manager. It’s a challenging task, but shortcuts are counterproductive.

Collaborative Effort

Once each step is completed, it should be reviewed by the area leader. In steps three and four, input from other business areas is crucial. Here are some recommendations:

• Always present the objectives individually to the main stakeholders in other areas to maximize buy-in.

• Define and prioritize themes in groups to foster inclusion and transparency. An efficient strategic roadmap thus communicates the company’s vision, encourages collaboration, and helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the company’s future.