How do you explain your product roadmap to your team and managers?

1 Understand your audience

Before you share your product roadmap, you need to know who you are talking to and what they care about. Different audiences may have different levels of interest, involvement, and influence on your product. For example, your team may want to know the details of the features, dependencies, and timelines, while your managers may want to know the strategic alignment, outcomes, and risks. You should tailor your product roadmap presentation to suit the needs and goals of each audience, and use the appropriate language, format, and level of detail.

2 Define your scope and assumptions

Your product roadmap is not a fixed plan, but a dynamic and evolving document that reflects your current understanding of the market, customers, and product. Therefore, you need to clarify the scope and assumptions of your product roadmap, and set the right expectations for your audience. You should explain what time horizon, themes, and outcomes your product roadmap covers, and what assumptions or hypotheses you are basing them on. You should also acknowledge the uncertainties and dependencies that may affect your product roadmap, and how you plan to validate and adjust them.

3 Highlight the value and impact

Your product roadmap is not just a list of features or tasks, but a story of how you are creating and delivering value and impact for your customers and business. You should focus on the why and the what of your product roadmap, rather than the how and the when. You should explain how your product roadmap aligns with the vision, mission, and strategy of your product, and how it supports the goals and objectives of your organization. You should also show how your product roadmap delivers value and impact for your customers, and how you measure and evaluate them.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?