{"product":{"product_id":"149197172X","title":"Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty","price":"21.99","image_url":"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MM-ojjthL._SL500_.jpg","url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/149197172X"},"comments":[{"body":"I have really struggled finding a good roadmapping software and I think it has less to do with the softwares itself than with the problem: A good roadmap is always adjusted to the audience and should not just be what you plan to ship in the next X weeks (as you should not commit to shipping specific things in 6 months time but rather focus on the problems you are looking to solve for customers).\r\n\r\nA good book on this topic I wish I had found earlier was [Product Roadmaps Relaunched](https://www.amazon.com/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Direction-Uncertainty/dp/149197172X)","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"nango-robin"},{"body":"What really stands out here is that whomever requested you do this has no idea what a product roadmap is for at all.\r\n\r\nThe litmus test for a good product roadmap is that it’s **visual**, **accessible** and **clear** enough for anyone to scan for answers to the following questions:\r\n\r\n* What are we doing?\r\n* Why are we doing it?\r\n* How does this tie back to our OKRs?\r\n\r\nThings that roadmaps do not include:\r\n\r\n* Sprints\r\n* Releases\r\n* Deadlines or timelines\r\n\r\nWhat you've been asked to provide is not a roadmap, it's a release plan, which is very different. A release plan does include capacity planning, sprints, releases, timelines, etc. \r\n\r\nI recommend the following further reading when it comes to product roadmaps:\r\n\r\n* [How to build a roadmap everyone understands](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-product-roadmap-everyone-understands/) \r\n* [Myth busting: Why date driven roadmaps are not roadmaps](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/date-driven-roadmaps/) \r\n* [How to Sell Your Boss on Roadmaps Without Timelines](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2017/05/sell-boss-roadmaps-without-timelines/) \r\n* [A gantt chart is not a product roadmap](https://www.appcues.com/blog/a-gantt-chart-is-not-a-product-roadmap)\r\n* [Roadmapping without dates: Build yourself a better strategic plan](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/roadmapping-without-dates/)\r\n* [Drop Feature-based Roadmaps](https://www.producttalk.org/2014/04/drop-feature-based-product-roadmaps/)\r\n* [Themes: A Small Change to Product Roadmaps with Large Effects ](https://articles.uie.com/themes/)\r\n\r\nI would also highly recommend getting this book on Amazon if you can: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Todd-Lombardo/dp/149197172X](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Todd-Lombardo/dp/149197172X)\r\n\r\n\u0026amp;#x200B;\r\n\r\nIn addition, take a look at C.Todd Lombardo's talk at Mind The Product on roadmaps: [https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2018/08/roadmaps-are-dead-long-live-roadmaps-by-c-todd-lombardo/](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2018/08/roadmaps-are-dead-long-live-roadmaps-by-c-todd-lombardo/) ","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"whitew0lf"},{"body":"Hey, sure happy to help!  \r\n\r\nThe problem with gantt charts is that they represent a very waterfall way of working. They may have been the right way to work before, but with Agile/Lean methodologies you really need to drop the feature-based and timeline-based approach and focus more on something that's more flexible.  \r\n\r\nA product roadmap is meant to represent what and why, not how. How is the execution phase, and also takes into consideration other items outside the remit of strategy (such as bugs, fixes, etc.)  \r\n\r\nThere are some really good articles for you here:  \r\nhttps://www.prodpad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-product-roadmap-everyone-understands/   \r\nhttps://blog.trello.com/agile-roadmapping-how-to-think-big-ship-fast  \r\nhttps://www.producttalk.org/2014/04/drop-feature-based-product-roadmaps/  \r\nhttps://articles.uie.com/themes/  \r\n\r\nAnd I would highly recommend this book by C.Todd Lombardo on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Todd-Lombardo/dp/149197172X ","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"whitew0lf"},{"body":"ok so.. first of all, a product roadmap includes no dates or timelines. This is a release plan, which comes *after* you have prioritized and planned your strategy. Drop the dates now.  \r\n\r\nA product roadmap is meant to communicate strategy - what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how this relates back to your product vision.\r\n\r\nTo answer your specific questions:\r\n\r\n*What is the typical format of a roadmap - a huge graph with major features embedded?*   \r\n\r\nNo, no, and no. A typical roadmap communicates strategy, not execution. Execution comes AFTER, not before strategy. Your roadmap should focus on themes (what, why) not releases (how) and not be based on features you are releasing.\r\n\r\n*How do I come up with the release schedules (past teams I've worked on do weekly)?*  \r\n\r\nRelease scheduling is primarily a dev function, but on smaller teams something the product manager will be in charge of. You need to plan weekly sprints with your team, figure out their workload, and then work in releases. If you're agile, you can release up to twice a week (we do that.) Remember that releases will include both new and existing issues. (features and bugs.)\r\n\r\n*I've been asked to go up to 8 quarters (!) ahead of time. Is this even reasonable? I know priorities change often, so I'm not really sure how useful it is to go that far. I don't want to fall into the trap of constantly re-working my roadmap by stretching time so far away.*  \r\n\r\nYou are absolutely falling into a trap, because again, you shouldn't be planning your **product roadmap** in terms of releases. You're confusing release planning and product roadmapping, and even trying to attempt to plan your releases 8 quarters in advance is a nightmare.\r\n\r\n\r\n*Any useful resources out there for this (software, templates, articles)?*  \r\n\r\nYes:\r\n[Themes: A Small Change to Product Roadmaps With Large Effects](https://articles.uie.com/themes/) by Jared Spool   \r\n[Drop Feature-Based Roadmaps](https://www.producttalk.org/2014/04/drop-feature-based-product-roadmaps/) by Teresa Torres    \r\n[How to build a product roadmap everyone understands](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-product-roadmap-everyone-understands/) by Andrea Saez  \r\n[Product Roadmaps Relaunched](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Todd-Lombardo/dp/149197172X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books\u0026amp;ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1509965897\u0026amp;sr=1-1\u0026amp;keywords=road+maps+c+todd+lombardo) by C. Todd Lombardo, Bruce McCarthy, Evan Ryan, Michael Connors - available on Amazon","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"whitew0lf"},{"body":"https://www.amazon.com/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Direction-Uncertainty/dp/149197172X","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"mrnetics"},{"body":"You might like [Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty](https://www.amazon.com/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Direction-Uncertainty/dp/149197172X/).","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"ProductCulture"},{"body":"Absolutely! I've actually written about this in several occasions. Here are a few links for you:  \r\n\r\n[How to build a roadmap everyone understands](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-product-roadmap-everyone-understands/)  \r\n[Myth busting: Why date driven roadmaps are not roadmaps](https://www.prodpad.com/blog/date-driven-roadmaps/)  \r\n[How to Sell Your Boss on Roadmaps Without Timelines](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2017/05/sell-boss-roadmaps-without-timelines/)  \r\n[Drop Feature-based Roadmaps](https://www.producttalk.org/2014/04/drop-feature-based-product-roadmaps/)  \r\n[Themes: A Small Change to Product Roadmaps with Large Effects](https://articles.uie.com/themes/)  \r\n\r\nI would also highly recommend getting this book on Amazon if you can: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Todd-Lombardo/dp/149197172X","subreddit_name":"ProductManagement","author":"whitew0lf"}]}