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Use these Three Roadmap Planning Principles to foster better delivery expectations
Three Roadmap Planning Principles
Evolving over Established Plans
Roadmaps should evolve over time. Plans are not static and change happens. Product roadmaps must be amenable to change.
Conversation over Ceremony
Roadmaps are meant to be living documents that are used to communicate intent to teams and to leadership. Take time every month (or quarter, at absolute worst) to critically assess what the company has stated as its goals, its objectives, and its plans for the future. These sessions need to be interactive, and they need to be data- and customer-oriented. This should be not an activity of making things perfect. This is an activity in making things better through feedback and visibility over time.
Confidence over Commitment
Communicate your roadmaps in terms of confidence and not commitment. Use data-driven projections to provide a high level of certainty on delivery times or set thematic goals that are likely to be important in delivering on the company strategy when you are less certain.
