How to Build a Product Roadmap That Actually Matters: Strategy Over Timelines

by Anne T Griffin, Fractional Product Manager

Many startups hire a product manager to manage the roadmap. However, many don’t know how to build a product roadmap that matters, or what a roadmap actually is. To many, a roadmap looks like a timeline for launching new features. You might be shocked to hear that roadmaps are not timelines.

Roadmaps reflect your strategy. A key part of strategy is understanding which opportunities and ideas you will say no to and why. The roadmap is a visual representation of your priorities. Time is often factored in at some level, often on a quarterly basis. This is more so to give a general idea of when priorities may start, not a guarantee of when the feature will be successful if launched.

“Ready for success” doesn’t mean perfection or launching before realizing the feature’s core value because “we promised the customer.” Promise your customers value. Don’t promise them dates. Dates mean little if a feature doesn’t provide value. Many startups rush to the next thing and never find time to iterate on poorly implemented features. Whatever you launch often remains until a year or so later when your customers’ complaints about the feature form a mountain so high that you can no longer ignore them.

Roadmaps are also not suggestion boxes. Everyone wants their ideas prioritized. Your product person should determine the roadmap based on your strategy. If everyone, including leadership, rewrites the strategy for their pet projects and shiny objects on the roadmap, you are not setting your product or customers up for success. Eventually, it will throttle your growth. Often times, that throttling coincides with your next fundraising round. It manifests as slow growth, customer churn, or worse, both.

Ask yourself these key questions for a reality check on your roadmap:

• Is your roadmap saying no to things your strategy says you should say no to? Including “good” ideas?

• Are the things on your roadmap aligned with the most critical and valuable things for your customers based on your unique value-chain?

• Is your roadmap focused more on prioritization of problems to solve or is it more a linear timeline of when you can tell customers a new feature shipped?

• Is your roadmap purely a list of things sales prospects claimed they needed in order to buy the product?

Your roadmap will change, but if your strategy is good, it won’t change as frequently as your roadmap. And if your startup lacks strategy altogether, your roadmap is a wishlist. Wishlists are wishy-washy. Customer feedback is important, but having a vision that allows creative ways to solve their problems will take you farther. Next time you look at your roadmap, ask if it reflects your strategy and highest and best use of your team’s time and resources.

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Anne Griffin is a product leader and AI product strategist that helps ambitious founders with their product strategy and roadmaps. She helps them discover customer problems aligned with AI opportunities that customers actually want. She's the strategic partner who turns AI buzz into business results. Reach out at anne@annetgriffin.com or visit annetgriffin.com.