As a product professional you will agree with me that product roadmaps can easily become a nightmare and they are the source of many of your headaches at work.

Perhaps you think you are using roadmaps wrongly or they are just a waste of time and a continuous source of arguments. But bear with me, Product Roadmaps serve a purpose.

Product roadmaps are central to product management work. But every week I hear how product managers still struggle with planning, creating, and communicating a compelling roadmap.

The Product Roadmap sits in the interface between product strategy and execution. It provides visibility, alignment, focus, and it is a communication tool. However, you cannot achieve the benefits of product roadmapping unless you do certain things properly.

This book is based on my experience working with Product Roadmaps in different organizations and it will provide you with a practical approach to introduce (or improve) product roadmapping into your product organization.

After working with many product teams, I learned that there is no single best way to roadmap. Because there are so many different types of products, companies and product managers, every roadmap is different.

As a product professional you must be clear about the purpose of product roadmaps: To clearly articulate where you’re headed, and to show your strategy to your stakeholders in a compelling way.

In this book we’ll talk about product roadmaps from two perspectives:

• The process of discovering, designing, and building the roadmap
• The continuous process of managing, updating, and evolving the roadmap.

You’ll learn:

• Product roadmap fundamentals
• Roadmap as a strategic tool
• How to design your roadmap
• How to manage your roadmap
• How to introduce and sell product roadmaps in your organization
• How to get started with product roadmapping, or relaunch your product roadmap
• How to improve product roadmapping with roadmap metrics

Why this Book?

The product roadmap is a very effective and necessary strategic tool, but in many cases its implementation is poor and causes friction and frustration.

The roadmap allows us to connect the product strategy and objectives with delivery in an agile and light way.

Its correct implementation goes far beyond a simple timeline with features. For that reason, I have written this practical book based on experience.

Here you can find everything you need to improve the product roadmap in your organization or to start from scratch.

This book is meant for companies developing software-based products or using software as an enabler of their product or service: market-facing B2B or B2C digital products and services, software products for internal use or embedded software.

Structure of the Book

The book is structured in five sections of three chapters each.

The first section is the most theoretical. But even though it is an eminently practical book, I think it is essential to start by exploring the product mindset and understanding the key role the roadmap plays and how it fits into the strategic fabric of the product organization.

In the second section we explore the fundamentals of the product roadmap from its fit into the strategic gear, the basic principles, and the benefits it brings to the modern product organization.

The third block is devoted to the actual artifact design, with a special emphasis on themes (or initiatives) and the most common design mistakes.

The fourth block is dedicated to roadmap management, including metrics to assess the effectiveness and performance of the roadmap. An aspect that in my opinion is given very little attention and is as important as a good design.

To finish, I offer you a method to effectively introduce the practice of product roadmapping in your organization, including an assessment to evaluate the current situation.

Enjoy!