What is your experience with product roadmaps?

Start by gaining a clear understanding of the overall business goals and strategy. Gather input from key stakeholders, including executives, customers, sales, marketing, and customer support. Describe the purpose of the product, the problems it solves, and the value it delivers to users. This vision serves as the guiding principle for the product roadmap. Stay informed about market trends, competitors, and emerging technologies. Market research helps you anticipate changes in customer expectations and industry standards. Develop a timeline that outlines when each feature or initiative is expected to be delivered. Recognize that a product roadmap is a living document that may need adjustments.

In the swiftly evolving tech landscape, I advocate for a 6-month product roadmap horizon. While a clear vision and strategy are crucial as a guiding north star, it's equally important to maintain agility in our roadmaps. Market dynamics shift rapidly, and continuous learning from testing brings new insights. An agile roadmap that is adaptable to change and innovation is more effective in fast-paced environments.

I review my product roadmap after every sprint (2 weeks). First, I look at deadlines for each feature, what user stories need to be completed under them, and the value that each one delivers. This allows me and my team to strategize what to work on next. I also use the roadmap to map and keep dependencies in mind, so that I can anticipate other's team's feedback and involvement early on.

My experience with product roadmap has been different across different organisations. Often roadmap discussions were part of the overall work week and not formally called out. The roadmap is started by gaining a clear understanding of the overall business goals and strategy, and input is gathered from key stakeholders across the organisation, external partners and on ground support teams. Tactical roadmap was reviewed weekly, while strategic roadmap was reviewed once a month. This would help develop a timeline outlining when a feature or platform was to be delivered and ascertain whether we were on track as expected. The roadmap however needs adjustments based on internal & external factors

While it's important to have a detailed process, being too rigid can stifle innovation and adaptability. Product Management is not just about following a set process, but also about navigating ambiguity, making informed yet instinctive decisions, and pivoting when necessary. So, while processes provide structure and consistency, they should not limit creativity and flexibility. It's crucial to find the right balance.

Craft a clear and concise narrative around your product roadmap. Collaborate closely with the development team to ensure that the roadmap aligns with the team's capacity and capabilities. Involve cross-functional teams in the roadmap planning process. Consider using specialized roadmap tools and software to create, visualize, and share your product roadmap efficiently. Regular reviews and adjustments are crucial to ensure that the roadmap remains relevant and responsive to changing circumstances.

The one thing that stuck with me in our product roadmap discussions was the involvement and feedback of the stakeholders. Objectives & Key Results were defined, reviewed and adjusted regularly to ensure that the key purpose of the product being developed was kept sacrosanct, given any constraints faced. The engineering/development roadmap was tracked on JIRA from an execution standpoint. Senior stakeholders however were given an overarching view progress instead of minutiae using presentations. An effort was made to ensure that the roadmap not only aligned with overall objective, but also with team's capacity and capabilities.

In my experience, I have dealt with three broad variations of product roadmaps. First, the roadmap for developing a product from scratch, focused on development phases and the features/systems that are absolutely essential for the product to function, the goal is to get to market while meeting target KPIs. The second is the roadmap for a live product/service, this is geared towards driving growth by increasing retention, monetization and reducing user acquisition costs. And the third type is for strategic pivots like entering a new space/platform, or drastically altering/adding value propositions/segments. The fundamentals of these are all the same but the priorities, goals and risk mitigations differ greatly.

Scenario 1 - where user Feedback Indicated need for additional features - Evaluate the feedback and reprioritize features. Transparently communicate changes to stakeholders and the team, emphasizing responsiveness to user needs. Scenarios 2 - Technical Issues Delayed Implementation of feature Collaborate with the development team to understand the nature of the technical issues. Communicate the adjusted timeline to stakeholders, managing expectations. Scenario 3 - Market Trends Shifted Towards Remote Work Collaboration A significant shift occurs in the market, with an increased demand for features supporting remote collaboration. Assess the impact of remote work collaboration features on the product's competitiveness and align.

My experience with product roadmaps involves creating strategic plans for product development, outlining key milestones, and aligning them with overall business objectives. I've collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure a cohesive approach and effective communication throughout the product lifecycle. Regularly reviewing and adjusting roadmaps based on feedback and market dynamics has been integral to achieving successful outcomes. Additionally, my experience with product roadmaps includes prioritizing features, considering resource constraints, and adapting to evolving customer needs. I've utilized various tools to visually represent timelines and dependencies, fostering transparent communication within the team and stakeholders.

Identify dependencies between different features and initiatives. Understanding dependencies helps in sequencing and scheduling tasks effectively. Consider budget constraints and resource availability when planning the roadmap Be aware of any industry-specific regulations or compliance requirements that may impact the development and release of certain features. Collaborate with the marketing team to align product releases with marketing strategies. Plan for internationalization and localization efforts if your product serves a global audience. Consider sustainability and environmental impact in product development.

We generally follow a Scrum approach for our projects. The product backlog is maintained in a Kanban Board and project roadmap On a typical timeline on Asana. Each sprint typically spans 2-3 weeks having 4-5 crucial story points to be developed.