Hello hello,
Quick update: I am in India as I write this. I am here to meet family and will be there for ~five weeks, of which I will be WFH for two weeks. I am obviously looking forward to spending time with my family. But I am also excited about December as I plan to use all the extra time to learn, create more guides, make a few changes to the recently launched course, and do a few free workshops online.
If there is absolutely anything you want to learn more about, let me know by replying to this email. I will be sure to include it in my Dec plan.
Now, moving to today's post on product roadmaps.
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Some form of a roadmap or a plan that helps the team know what to build next has existed for a long time.
Yet, many product managers struggle to understand the true meaning, need, and the process of building a roadmap.
In this guide, I will deconstruct the roadmap into the most basic form so you understand what it takes to create world-class roadmaps.
Let's start with the basics:
Why do we need a product roadmap?
Before understanding "what" a roadmap is, let's understand "why" we need one.
A roadmap is essential to help the entire team move in the right direction and achieve multiple goals:
1. Impact
A roadmap ensures that the team is investing in solving the highest-impact problems. It also ensures that the team is NOT investing in low-impact ideas.
2. Priority
A roadmap is essential to help everyone know the sequence in which the team will solve the x problems mentioned above.
3. Collaboration, coordination, and alignment
A roadmap ensures everyone is on the same page, working on the correct problem statements, and heading in the same direction.
4. Communication
Roadmap alignment is also an excellent opportunity for teams to share feedback, ideas, and comments that should all improve the quality of the roadmap.
5. Iteration
Roadmaps are not set in stone, as they shouldn't be. Well-crafted product roadmaps allow teams to iterate and make changes if and when needed.
So, now we know that a roadmap is essential to unlock impact, align priorities, collaborate, communicate, and be flexible to changes.
Let's understand what it means in the real world.
What is a roadmap?
It is a list of problems you want to solve and the sequence in which you solve them.
This list is well thought out and researched. It focuses on the most critical problems that will help you meet the goals you set out in the product strategy.
So, a roadmap is -- a list of sequenced problems. It is as simple as that. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The process of building should also be super simple. And to do that, I use a simple Google Sheet for the entire process.
Here is a screenshot of a roadmap for a hypothetical product (CalmMe that helps users disconnect digitally, have a better device-to-life balance, and improve their mental health)
Now, let's understand the process I use to build a roadmap.
How to build a roadmap
I follow a simple three-step process. I have written about it (here and here). But here is another simplistic view.
- Ideation: identify a long and high-quality list of problem statements.
- Prioritisation: filter and prioritise them based on impact on the goal.
- Alignment: ensure that relevant people agree with the priority. In case they don't, collect feedback and iterate.
Let's understand what we are doing in each step and, more importantly, why each step is essential to the overall process.
