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Create a Winning Product Roadmap

· By Christoffer Kaltenbrunner

In this guide about product roadmaps you’ll learn:

  • What a product roadmap is
  • Why it matters
  • How to create a successful one

Ready? Let’s dive in.

What is a product roadmap?

A product roadmap provides an overview of a product’s strategy, and outlines its associated goals, milestones, and features that a team plans to deliver within a specific time period.

It is a living document that helps align stakeholders, such as product managers, developers, designers, and other team members, around a shared vision for the product’s development.

Why is a product roadmap important?

Not all product roadmaps are created equal. Some are created for the development team, others for executives and stakeholders, and some are tailored to customers.

Aligning team goals and priorities

An internal product roadmap provides a clear and transparent vision of the product’s direction and goals to all members of the development team.

It aligns everyone towards a common objective and provides a clear understanding of the product’s priorities and milestones so the team knows what should be worked on first and what can wait.

Communicating product strategy and vision

Product managers can use a product roadmap to communicate a product’s strategy and vision to the development team and other stakeholders. It helps to ensure everyone is on the same page and has a clear understanding of the product’s direction.

Providing a timeline for product development

A product roadmap establishes a timeline for the product’s development, outlining when specific features and milestones are planned for completion.

This not only helps the team stay on track but it also sets expectations for stakeholders by showcasing what the product is aiming to achieve and when.

It also serves as a valuable tool for demonstrating a company’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, building trust and confidence in the product and the team behind it.

Building excitement among customers

A public product roadmap can build excitement among customers. It shows a company’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, building trust and confidence in the product and the team behind it.

Also, a company can build loyalty by allowing customers to suggest features and vote on others’ ideas.

How to create a product roadmap (step-by-step)

You have a product idea and you’re excited to get it out there.

So, how do you create a product roadmap?

It’s easy — follow these steps:

Step 1: Define the high-level goals of the product

Before creating a roadmap, it’s good to have a clear understanding of your product’s vision and how it fits into the overall business strategy. This will help guide your decisions regarding features, priorities, and timelines.

Begin by defining the high-level goals of the product. What is the main objective: revenue growth, market share expansion, increased brand awareness, or something else?

Step 2: Refine product requirements

The key to building great software products and experiences is to always build them with the customers’ needs and wants in mind. Don’t waste time adding features nobody wants.

Unless the Feature solves a real problem it doesn’t matter that you think it’s the coolest thing since ChatGPT; it doesn’t matter that Bob spent the last two weeks rewriting it in the hottest framework so it could “scale better”; and it doesn’t matter that Alice created the most visually appealing interface man has ever seen.

Beautiful interfaces and systems that scale effortlessly are pointless if they don’t solve actual problems that people are experiencing.

So conduct research, collect data, and gather feedback from customers.

Seek to understand their needs, pain points, and expectations. Then, use this information to refine the product requirements and solve a problem worth solving

Step 3: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize

After deciding which features to include, the next step is to determine the order in which they will be added.

A product roadmap should reflect the most important and impactful features and improvements that will bring the most value to your customers and align with your business objectives.

To prioritize effectively, consider using a prioritization framework like the MoSCoW method (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, and Won’t-have) or consider the effort vs. value ratio.

Also, don’t forget to balance short-term and long-term goals when prioritizing the roadmap.

By establishing a prioritized product roadmap, you ensure that your team focuses on the most important features and improvements first.

Step 4: Establish a timeline

Establishing a timeline for your product roadmap is crucial to keep your team on track and set expectations for stakeholders.

Start by creating a high-level, rough timeline indicating when specific features and milestones are planned for completion. Factor in dependencies, team capacity, and other constraints that may impact the product’s development schedule.

Keep in mind that timelines may change as the project progresses, so make sure to regularly update and adjust the roadmap as needed.

Also, don’t forget to plan for exploratory work like product experimentation.

Step 5: Continuously review and update the roadmap

A product roadmap is a living document that should be continuously reviewed and updated based on new insights, customer feedback loops, market changes, and business priorities.

There’s no need for an outdated product roadmap.

Continuously review development progress, gather feedback from your team and stakeholders, and make any necessary adjustments or refinements.

This iterative process ensures that your product roadmap remains aligned with your product vision and business objectives.

Conclusion

A product roadmap outlines a product’s strategy, goals, milestones, and features for a specific time period, aligning team members and stakeholders around a shared vision.

To create a product roadmap:

  1. Define the high-level goals of the product
  2. Refine product requirements
  3. Prioritize features
  4. Establish a timeline
  5. Continuously review and update the roadmap based on new insights and feedback

I hope you found this guide on product roadmaps helpful. Now it’s your turn to put this guide into action and create a winning product roadmap.

What will you build?