What is a Product Roadmap?

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Top Highlights

• Every good roadmap has the same 5 essential components

• When outlining a vision, keep in mind the following principles

• Fall in love with the problem, never the solution

• It matters that the problem is big and solving it improves the persona’s life

• Think big, the vision needs to be inspiring

• As a rule, we are too conservative

• Be rigid in vision, but flexible in executio

• The vision is an exercise in constant evangelization.

• Firm in vision, flexible in approach.

• A first way to maintain freedom is to define broad horizons, like a quarter. As delivery predictability increases, the horizon naturally narrows, without losing flexibility.

• The main problem with roadmaps is committing to dates too early in the process. Good product teams minimize commitments while maximizing predictability.

• It doesn’t matter how much you warn that things can go wrong, or are likely to go wrong. People will always blame the product team for problems. But shit always happens. Therefore, it is worth mentioning in a document that the chance of giving a shit is great.