Have You Heard Me Talk About Product Roadmaps?
I may have told you in a previous conversation that I would never provide a product roadmap. I reiterated the statement during a meeting today. It’s possible that you’ll conclude that I detest roadmaps, but that’s not accurate. It’s also possible that you believe that I believe a product plan should never be shared or published, albeit that is also partially untrue.
Before we begin, there is a question we need to address.
What Kind of Product Roadmap Are We Talking About?
We must be clear about our intentions before posing a “do you” or “don’t you” question.
Typically, when one discusses a roadmap, two elements come to mind:
- A list of features
- Delivery dates of those features
If you mean something like that when you talk about a product roadmap, then I would advise against sharing that kind of roadmap.
Why do I advise against disclosing that information?
I can personally attest to three of the following reasons:
- If your list doesn’t include their request, customer may become irate
Giving clients the option to express their wishes to you is a terrific concept, but if that feature disappears off your roadmap, you may have a significant problem on your hands. It doesn’t take long for complaints, rage, irritation, and cancellations to surface. - Competitors may anticipate your moves and outmanoeuvre you.
It is never a good idea to tell your rivals where you are headed rather than where you have been. Product roadmaps are among the tools that seasoned rivals can use to guide their own efforts, much like job postings or available positions.
. - Prospects see something is in the future and delay their purchase
A public roadmap’s objective is frequently to engage and entice new users to register. However, if your prospects determine that they’ll just come back later, it might occasionally work against you.
keep in mind that this does not even account for the possibility of missing your date, which might occur and affect any of the above situations.
What Kind of Roadmap Do I Suggest Publishing?
Although I oppose the publication of characteristics and dates, I am amenable to something alternative. When I informed you about roadmap themes, you saw this picture.
It isn’t precisely the same, is it? It appears to be a product roadmap, for sure. However, there are no dates listed. It is mostly a representation of quarters. There aren’t any features either. Rather, it presents topics.
You can more clearly communicate your focus on upgrades, differentiators, and other things by using product roadmap themes. (You’re free to utilise themes I didn’t use.)
However, it does not prepare you for those annoying dynamics mentioned earlier.
So sure, I’m all for sharing it if you’re talking about a theme-based roadmap without any deadlines. nonetheless, it’s not your typical product roadmap. Those have the potential to harm you more than they do good, in my opinion.
That is, of course, the experience of one individual. Your mileage might be different. Roadmaps are a team sport, as I stated previously. Thus, involve your group and choose what is most effective for you.
