Product Roadmaps : Focus on Outcomes not Outputs

After collaborating with multiple product owners and observing the evolution of product roadmaps, the most prevalent pattern among struggling products I have observed is the way roadmaps are structured - a list of features and dates!

Over the past few weeks, delving extensively into this subject has enabled me to summarise key aspects of product roadmaps. Read on to know more -

While the features and their timelines can be part of the roadmap, a good roadmap should be a strategic communication tool, a direction towards what value it intends to deliver with every increment. In a nutshell, features are outputs but the value they create to the customer is the outcome!

Emphasising the 'why' within roadmaps rather than the 'what' distinctly illustrates how customers will benefit from the product. This also shift the team's focus on delivering value rather than the features that may or may not be used at all.

So where does the features fit in here? The roadmaps should involve outlining the customer or business issue we aim to address—the end goal—while delegating the specifics of features, functionalities, and solutions we intend to experiment with, to platforms like JIRA and Trello.

Smart Product managers also consider using 3 versions :

1. Delivery-specific roadmaps with granular timelines for development teams.
2. Objective-led roadmap focused on broad timelines for senior executives and stakeholders with details on market opportunity and estimated financial benefits.
3. Objective-led outcome focussed roadmap for customer-facing teams like sales, marketing and customer support to help them know what's in store for the end users which helps them channelize their market strategy?and handle customers wisely.

Researching further, I could synthesise the key steps for achieving an effective product roadmap:

1. Unify around the product vision, strategy, and objectives Product Vision : What’s your reason for creating the product Product Strategy : What’s your plan to bring your product vision to life Objectives : clear, measurable goals aligned with specific outcomes
2. Determine priority objectives for your product roadmap by focusing on desired outcomes. Once the product vision is defined, determine the prioritised objectives
3. Construct your roadmap as a comprehensive representation of your plan.
4. Effectively communicate your roadmap and unite the team around it.

Here is a sample objective led and outcome focussed roadmap for an HR app -

Benefits of Embracing Outcome-Driven Roadmaps:

• Strategic Alignment: By tying features to specific outcomes, we align our product strategy with the broader business goals, ensuring everyone in the organization is marching towards the same objectives.
• Customer-Centric Focus: Shifting the focus from features to outcomes allows us to deeply understand and cater to the actual needs and pain points of our users, leading to more meaningful and impactful products.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: Unlike rigid feature-driven plans, outcome-driven roadmaps offer flexibility. They allow us to adapt quickly to market changes, emerging trends, and customer feedback, steering us towards more responsive and agile development cycles.

Conclusion:

As the landscape of product management continues to evolve, a paradigm shift towards outcome-driven roadmaps is evident to ensure we deliver impactful outcomes that drive value for our users and businesses.

So next time instead of asking "Did you ship that feature on time? (output-oriented)", ask "Did that feature deliver value to customers and grow revenue? (outcome-oriented)?"

Share your experiences, insights, and challenges in adopting outcome-driven roadmaps or issues with feature-only roadmaps.