The software world in 2023 is moving faster than ever and is filled with variables. This will affect the execution and realization of the product roadmap in various ways. With more and more problems, the world needs ever-evolving solutions. Therefore, this article combines the common problems currently existing in product roadmaps and draws on the successful experience of enterprises to summarize six major measures to develop an achievable product roadmap.
Talk to any product manager and they will share one major issue: how difficult it is to create a viable product roadmap. I mentioned "feasibility" in the title because in most cases, product teams create a roadmap only to find out that it is not feasible.
There may be many reasons why this problem occurs. Maybe the estimate wasn't accurate, or didn't take into account unknown factors, or maybe a different project became a priority. When this happens, both the product manager and the entire technical team lose motivation.
In this article, we’ll explore the problems with current product roadmaps and explain what one fast-paced mid-sized startup discovered on how to create a roadmap that actually works.
01. Basic understanding of product roadmap: concepts & stakeholders
1.1 The concept of product roadmap
A product roadmap includes all the details needed to complete the project. This roadmap can be annual, semi-annual, or quarterly, and then broken down into monthly, and sometimes even weekly. The idea is to break it down into smaller, achievable parts so that the engineering team has a realistic output. There are other reasons product teams use roadmaps, including:
- It provides real requirements to all teams involved;
- It helps to check whether the team is developing in the right direction and at the right pace;
- It helps to understand what all involved teams need to do to achieve the main goal;
- It helps clarify dependencies between other teams;
Without a product roadmap that aligns all stakeholders, it’s nearly impossible to build a successful product.
1.2 Product Roadmap Stakeholders
Product roadmaps are a tool used throughout the company. Ultimately, anyone affected by a product is a stakeholder in that product roadmap. Top stakeholders for the product roadmap include:
- Product Manager – The primary owner of the product roadmap , that is, the person who owns the product development process. This responsibility falls under the product manager’s purview.
- Engineering and Design – Any team directly or indirectly involved with the product is actively involved in developing the product roadmap. This typically includes engineering and design teams who will help execute the projects on the roadmap.
- Top Management/Executives – They are also interested in the roadmap because they want to know when the project will be completed.
- Sales/Marketing/Customer Service – In addition to this, several other teams are not only interested in the product roadmap but play an active role in shaping the roadmap and the initiatives contained within it. They are the sales, marketing and customer service teams.
- Internal/External Users – In cases where the users of the product are internal (or even external), they are also one of the parties involved in the product roadmap.
02. Four common problems in the current product roadmap
The development of the product roadmap is done by product managers , who understand the user problems, communicate with the engineering team, make estimates, and then develop the roadmap. Once this document is developed, it will be shared with relevant stakeholders. This is the traditional way to create a roadmap. But what would you think if I told you that this approach no longer works in 2023?
After talking to many product managers, most of them have some common problems. As shown below.
- Treat the roadmap as a finished document – Most companies believe that once a roadmap is created, it is a finished document that should never be changed. They treat it as a static file. They spend a month building a roadmap and then lock it in.
- Not involving relevant teams early – Product managers create the roadmap alone, and relevant teams share their concerns about the roadmap later in the creation process.
- Inaccurate Estimating – Teams fail to estimate work correctly, creating unrealistic expectations.
- Inability to break down the roadmap into executable parts – Product managers are unable to break down the roadmap into smaller executable parts, making it challenging to map the high-level roadmap to low-level requirements.
03. How to develop an achievable product roadmap?
A product manager at a mid-sized startup solved these problems. It successfully lays out a roadmap that is achievable in most cases. They shared some interesting insights, so let’s take a look at what their team is doing right!
Work backwards to identify goals within a year that are aligned with company strategy and vision
Using this approach, identify goals for the year that are aligned with the company's strategy and vision. Divide the year's plan into two six-month roadmaps, then create quarterly roadmaps. Divide the quarterly roadmap into sprints. This will help connect the one-year roadmap to smaller sprint planning. This is one way to understand the achievability of the roadmap.
Estimate relevant data based on known information
When developing a roadmap, one issue is how to accurately estimate the effort. This is important in determining whether the roadmap is achievable or unachievable. It’s difficult to accurately estimate how long a roadmap will take to complete. But one approach shared by product managers at mid-sized startups is to break the roadmap into smaller topics and then have the engineering team estimate each topic in T-shirt sizes (S, M, L, XL). This will help you estimate your roadmap. T-shirt sizing isn't a perfect estimate, but they sure are close to perfect.
Define sprint goals
Once the roadmap is broken down into sprint plans, give each sprint a clear sprint goal. Show it to users (if they are internal users) at the end of each sprint, she said. “Ultimately, you’ll be able to see how all of these specific goals come together into a road map,” she added. This was evident among their team when they started developing specific sprint goals.
Estimate the unknown quantity
If you have experience in product development, you know that finding all use cases at once is complex. Even if you know the product well, new use cases may arise. And the probability of this happening is 9/10. So how to deal with this unknown use case?
Unfortunately, no one can predict these use cases, so your best bet is to set aside a reserve. If the timeline given by the engineering team is three months, then allow one month for unknown use cases. Of course, this depends on the complexity of the project and how confident the technical team is in estimating and understanding the project's forecasts. But maintaining reservations will help with the roadmap.
Develop an iterative roadmap
All relevant stakeholders (users, designers, engineers, marketing, sales, upper management) should be included from day one. Provide prompt feedback to them and keep them informed throughout the process. That way, as a product manager, you can address their concerns from the start. A good practice is to create a biweekly meeting for all stakeholders that lasts for a month or until the roadmap is finalized. This way, you can continually improve your roadmaps while maintaining their consistency. Additionally, even if the roadmap is finalized, understand that unknown situations may arise in today’s rapidly changing product development process, as the roadmap may need to change. Always think of the roadmap as a strategic forecast, not a mandate.
Determine team capabilities
Determining Team Capacity Another problem related to incorrectly estimating the roadmap is not knowing the available team capabilities. By capacity, she means the number of engineers and designers needed to complete the roadmap within a given time frame. In most cases, this small piece of information is not taken into account, affecting the roadmap. To overcome this problem, her team created a spreadsheet at the beginning of the year and shared it with all team members involved in the product development process. She asked them to enter their possible vacation plans. When calculating capacity, she takes into account team members' holidays as well as public holidays. This gives a good understanding of the overall available capacity of the roadmap.
Through these measures, the company achieves its planned roadmap, which helps increase trust and confidence in the product team while delivering products on time, thereby positively impacting users. Additionally, involving all stakeholders from the beginning facilitates the integration process and removes roadblocks.
The software world in 2022 is getting faster and faster, and there are many variables, which will affect product roadmaps in different ways. Faced with growing problems, the world needs evolving solutions. These measures appear to be effective and are already making life easier for companies, which speaks to the viability of this approach.
What do you think of these measures? Did you encounter any problems while setting the product roadmap or afterwards? What was the problem and how was it overcome? Welcome to leave a comment below.
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