PDM #3 - on Product Roadmap and Prioritization

Let's talk about one of our all-time favourite challenges: roadmaps! ??? We all know that striking the right balance between our internal stakeholders' demands (cue the C-level and other teams) and the expectations of our external partners (hello, investors and clients!) can feel like navigating a treacherous terrain. This week, I've handpicked a collection of posts that will equip you with the insights and tricks you need to create kickass product roadmaps and conquer prioritization like a pro. ??

This week, I will mention articles about:

1. When is it appropriate to provide a Roadmap by John Cutler
2. Why do some product managers still use timelines in their roadmaps by Andrea Saez
3. Six alternative methods for Startups to prioritize better by Enzo Avigo
4. Three ways to create ten times better product roadmaps" by Pawe? Huryn
5. A Simple Three-Step Process for Prioritizing a Product Roadmap by Sid Arora
6. Different frameworks for prioritization such as “Buy a Feature” by ? Bü?ra Co?kuner
7. The False Dichotomy of Impact vs. Effort in Product Prioritization by Andre Albuquerque

1) When it is appropriate to use a Roadmap by John Cutler

John rightly distinguishes between roadmap-related and non-roadmap-related questions to help product managers understand when they should provide a roadmap.?

Key learnings:?

• A roadmap is useful for questions related to long-term planning, strategy, and priorities.
• Non-roadmap-related questions focus on specific details such as delivery dates, progress updates, and task assignments.

This serves as a good reminder that roadmaps tend to be misused in project-led organizations.

I had the experience of presenting a "Now, Next, Later" Roadmap to the CEO only to be told "That is great but this is not a Roadmap" so after digging into what they were looking for I realized they wanted a Gantt Chart with timelines (more on this later), capacities, and so on, something that happens a lot in Sales driven organizations.?

2) Why do some product managers still use timelines in their roadmaps by Andrea Saez

Andrea Saez explains why some product managers still utilize deadlines in their roadmaps.

Andrea illustrates why, despite the emergence of agile approaches that encourage continuous delivery and working in iterations, some product managers continue to employ deadlines in their roadmaps. Timelines are used in a waterfall context, whereas outcome-based roadmaps are preferable in agile teams. However, timetables are still utilized to communicate with stakeholders who want predictability and certainty in the delivery process and insist on deadlines. What is essential for me here is that you may need to provide those dates or seek assistance from a project manager to appease stakeholders until your organization achieves more "product" maturity.

3) Six methods to prioritize insanely well pre-Product Market Fit (PFM) by Enzo Avigo

Product prioritization is key for any startup, but traditional methods such as collecting feedback and applying frameworks may not work pre-PMF. Enzo provides six methods to prioritize insanely well pre-PMF:?

1. Set one priority?
2. Start with big bets?
3. Aim for big swings?
4. Reduce deadlines?
5. Just in time?
6. Dedicate 10%-30% of resources to bugs and tech debt.?

The idea here is to recognize that early-stage startups must prioritize differently than later-stage companies to move fast and uncover large pockets of value. As the first product manager of a pre-seed startup, you will need to educate the founders on how to effectively use a roadmap at this stage.?

I've had founders of not-yet-launched startups ask me for a list of features we'd like to deploy in two years. While your efforts should be focused on getting the product-market fit in the short term, you can still "please" the founders by making an educated guess of what will drive value to users in the long term (taking into account data such as market trends, user interviews), knowing that it will most likely evolve.

4) Three ways to create ten times better product roadmaps" by Pawel

Pawel discusses methods for developing an effective product roadmap that brings everyone in the business together. To enhance product roadmaps, he emphasizes the following critical concepts:?

1. Focus on outcomes, not features:? set outcome-based goals using OKRs
2. Do not commit too soon?
3. Shorten the planning horizon and keep it simple

The post emphasizes that concentrating on outcomes will help your team develop a sense of ownership.

I discovered that involving developers and the rest of the product team in the roadmap creation process significantly increases team motivation. They recognize that they are working toward attainable goals within a reasonable time frame.

5) A simple three-step process for prioritizing a product roadmap by Siddharth Arora

Siddart provides the easiest-to-follow methodology to get you started with your Roadmap.?

1. Create a list of ideas
2. Prioritize based on your methodology
3. Create a ranked list of ideas.?

He then provides tips for maintaining a healthy backlog that you will use for your Roadmap

• Look for signals and data to enrich your backlog?
• Use impact and cost for prioritization
• Ensure a common currency for all items on the list?
• Assign a "Now/Next/Later" status to all?
• Ignore everyone who has a "better" way to prioritize.?

The trick is to keep the Roadmap simple and manageable while creating it for the first time as you might have to update it often. You will have enough time to adjust and add complexity. I normally begin with a straightforward impact vs. effort prioritization.

6) Which feature would you spend your last penny on? by Bü?ra Co?kuner

"Buy a Feature" is an innovation game that helps make collaborative product decisions in stakeholder-driven environments. The game involves inviting stakeholders to a workshop and giving them a budget to buy features they believe customers want to be built next. It helps keep conversations focused and shifts the focus to customer impact. It is useful in stakeholder-driven environments and can help stakeholders focus on customer impact and get beyond "I want" thinking.?

I used this methodology to motivate my development team and to ensure we were not only building “product” features, which may be demotivating for developers when they have a lot of tech debt. So I gathered everyone in a meeting, explained whatever technical or non-technical elements we might work on, and asked them to vote on what they thought was a priority.?

7) The False Dichotomy of Impact vs. Effort in Product Prioritization by Andre Albuquerque

As a product manager, it is important to understand that product prioritization isn't just about impact vs. effort, although it is an important variable. Several other factors need to be taken into account, such as dependencies between teams and projects, a carryover from a previous roadmap, management politics, strategic themes, economic and market changes, competitor edge, fundraising makeup, and short-term vs. long-term bets.

The main takeaway is that product prioritization is a complex process that involves several factors that aren't always mathematical but carry weight in deciding what to build next. This, I feel, is a fundamental takeaway from any framework: you can't use it as an exact tool, but you can use it to assist you come up with a systematic way to build a roadmap.

Bonus section:

• Seven prioritization frameworks for product managers, each with free templates to use by Pawe? Huryn
• Why not create a roadmap for your career? by Lisa Zane

I hope this post was helpful. Follow for more.