Product Strategy is different from Roadmap

Before explaining backlog and user stories, it is important to clarify the difference between Product Strategy and Roadmap. This article is inspired by some questions posed by my colleague, Gabriel Reis

Start with Why no matter what

Recently in Logikfabriken my colleagues Hannes Winb?ck , Nataly Araujo , Amanda Bj?rklund , and I joined a new challenge in the company to build a new product from scratch, and after 2 years without touching innovative projects I felt like an old car that came back to life again, I take a deep breath and I started to reflect what are the initial steps necessary to conceptualize a new product. The answer became evident:

First: Ensure the idea, goal, and strategy are defined.

Second: Ensure alignment across all team members.

Third: Determine the expected timeline for delivering the MVP and establish the roadmap.

Upon reflection, I pondered if any steps were missing and realized I needed to return to the basics.

What is Product Strategy?

According to the Product Plan: "A product strategy is a high-level plan describing what a business hopes to accomplish with its product and how it plans to do so. The strategy should answer key questions such as who the product will serve (personas), how it will benefit those personas, and the company’s goals for the product throughout its life cycle."

After knowing clearly what is the goals, we have to think about how to achieve this goal and it is this part that the roadmap enters.

What is a Product Roadmap?

According to Atlassian: "A product roadmap is a shared source of truth that outlines the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of a product over time. It’s a plan of action that aligns the organization around short?and long-term goals for the product or project, and how they will be achieved."

Having a goal without a plan is akin to setting sail on a ship without a map or compass. But then you might ask, "Tai, what techniques do I employ to define my Product Strategy and build my Roadmap?"

Techniques for Building a Product Strategy

My favorites include:

1) SWOT Analysis: Assess the product's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This helps identify areas for improvement and potential risks that need to be addressed in the strategy.

2) Goal Setting: Define clear, measurable goals and objectives that align with the product vision and overall business strategy. Use techniques like SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to ensure that goals are well-defined and actionable.

3) Lean Canva: This framework succinctly captures key aspects of your product strategy, including customer segments, value propositions, channels, revenue streams, and cost structure.

Techniques for Building a Roadmap

Building a roadmap requires a bunch of steps to be done together, so when I am going to build a Roadmap this is what I do:

1) Have the Stakeholder Collaboration: Engage key stakeholders from across the organization, including product managers, developers, and customer support representatives, in collaborative workshops or meetings. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, you can ensure that the roadmap reflects the collective goals and priorities of the entire team.

2) User Research and Feedback: Gather insights from user research, surveys, interviews, and feedback channels to understand user needs, preferences, and pain points. Incorporating user feedback into the roadmap helps prioritize features and enhancements that deliver the most value to customers.

3) Agile Frameworks: Adopt Agile frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban to iteratively plan and deliver features based on changing requirements and market dynamics.

4) Prioritization Techniques: Utilize prioritization frameworks such as MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have) or RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to prioritize initiatives and features on the roadmap especially when you have to deliver an MVP. These frameworks help focus on delivering high-impact value early in the development process.

5) Visual Roadmapping Tools: Use visual roadmapping tools and software platforms to create and share interactive roadmaps with stakeholders. I strongly recommend using Jira, because visual representations help communicate the strategic vision, timeline, and dependencies more effectively, fostering alignment and transparency across the organization.

6) Continuous Iteration and Review: Treat the roadmap as a living document Schedule regular reviews and iterations to refine priorities, adjust timelines, and incorporate lessons learned from previous releases.

By employing these techniques, your roadmap effectively communicates the strategic direction, priorities, and progress of the product, empowering it to deliver value to customers and achieve business objectives.

Reflecting on your experience, what strategies have you found most effective in crafting your roadmap? Have you ever encountered a situation where returning to a particular project or field felt like reviving an old car after years of dormancy? I invite you to share your insights in the comments below – I'm eager to learn more about your experiences :) !!

References

Product Strategy: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/product-strategy/

Product Roadmap Guide: What is it & How to Create One: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/product-management/product-roadmaps#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20product%20roadmap,how%20they%20will%20be%20achieved

Online Lean Canva: https://next.canvanizer.com/demo/lean-canvas