With a static roadmap, every day the product’s development progresses the roadmap grows more outdated and less useful. The Risks of a Static, Presentation-Only Roadmapīecause at any given moment, a product roadmap should reflect the latest strategic thinking, planning and needed resources, based on the most current information available, for the product - and information and priorities can change often. As a result, the typical product manager is forced to use PowerPoint or similar applications to create and present to stakeholders a roadmap that is essentially a static image. They treat this all-important strategic document, the product roadmap, as merely a presentation tool. It is a hands-on, living tool - where the product manager’s work of determining high-level planning should be reflected. In fact, a product roadmap should supplement your in-person product strategy conversations - setting goals and planning strategic initiatives. It is not meant to just be built after determining a product’s strategy. In this post, we discuss in more detail the following three variations of a product roadmap example:Ī product roadmap should not solely be a presentation document. The visual display of a roadmap is generally consistent, however. Some teams use roadmaps to plan releases, while others use roadmaps to manage entire product lines.
The best strategy for creating your roadmap and format for communicating it will depend on your product and your organization. There are countless ways to create a roadmap. But where do product managers start? Sometimes, it helps to see a well-crafted product roadmap example.
It’s no secret that a good product roadmap can improve your team’s efficiency. It’s a strategic document as well as a plan for executing your strategy. A product roadmap communicates the why behind what you’re building. A product roadmap is a high-level summary that maps out your product vision and overarching product strategy.