Best Practices for Product Roadmap —Jeff Lash

Strategic Planning and Problem Solving 💡 The product roadmap serves as a guide for how a product can evolve to meet customer needs and align with the overall strategy of the company. 🛣️ A roadmap is not just a collection of random examples, but rather a defined plan for product development and strategy. 🌟 The product roadmap is not a commitment or promise, but rather a plan based on what the market needs and the problems the company aims to solve in the next six to twelve months. 🗺️ Roadmaps should focus on solving problems rather than just delivering features and functionality. 📅 The "two two and two rule" for product roadmaps suggests focusing on detailed planning for the nearest timeframes (months and weeks) and gradually decreasing detail for further timeframes (quarters and half a year). 💡 Focusing on solving problems and meeting needs, rather than just adding features, can help organizations think more holistically about how they are helping people. Importance of Clear Communication and Understanding 📝 Communicating and documenting your product strategy well is crucial for its success. 🗺️ Roadmaps often lead to confusing conflict due to the way they are documented and discussed, highlighting the importance of clear communication and understanding. 🚀 Regardless of the development environment, having a roadmap is essential for the product's success. 📊 Sharing the product roadmap with sales, customers, and partners can provide a certain level of certainty and detail, while the future roadmap can be shared with a smaller audience and include more speculative and uncertain elements.