Creating a Compelling Vision for Your

Product Roadmap

Jim Semick

How well are you communicating your company’s

product strategy?

Signs of Roadmap Chaos• Strategic objectives not clear• Confusion about current

roadmap & what’s coming• Lack of transparency into

decisions • Roadmaps disjointed across

org• Execs not on board or lost in

weeds

Question: How often do you meet with the executive / management team to

review the product roadmap?

Consider Your Audience

Executives? Engineers?Sales?Customers?

You might need a different roadmap for each audience

Align your roadmap with goals

Keep your initiatives high level

Tell a compelling story

Getting Stakeholder Buy-in

• Tell the story – be visual• Be transparent about

your process - involve them

• Align decisions with Goals and KPIs

• Give them access to the roadmap

Group features into themes that deliver

value

Ways to Organize Your RoadmapsEach product might have its own roadmap

• Product Line• Product Category (e.g. Web, Mobile, Platform)

• Markets Served• Strategic Initiative (e.g. monetization, growth)

• Team / Product Manager• Outcomes, Goals• Sales Channel• Status

Discussion:What are the primary elements you use

to organize your product roadmap?

Roadmap Samples

Typical Executive Facing Roadmap

Product Lines or Categories

Long-term Timeframe

Strategic Goals

Details: Value, Features, Effort

Other Formats

romanpichler.com, S. Doubinski

Discussion:What tool/software/template are

you using to share and communicate your strategic

roadmap today?

www.productplan.com

Thank You!