What is a Product Roadmap?
A product roadmap is a plan of action for how a product or solution will evolve over time. Product owners use roadmaps to outline future product functionality and when new features will be released.
A product roadmap is a shared source of truth that outlines the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of a product over time. It's a plan of action that aligns the organization around short and long-term goals for the product or project, and how they will be achieved.
Key Things In A Product Roadmap
- Product Vision
This is critical as it sets your company on the path to creating a specific product strategy. It is the vision of what is desired and the potential that it has to be a great product. This initial vision doesn’t have to be the final one but it starts the process of building a product roadmap so that further planning can continue. This spells out what you want your product to be at the end of the project.
- Strategy
This is the case you build for your product. You want internal and external stakeholders to know the overall business goal of the project. Explain how this product is going to benefit the business and blend with the vision already set out. Once these things are aligned, the roadmap is used to keep this strategy moving forward and staying consistent.
- Requirements
You need to get information to outline your needs. Talk to your sales team and customer service group. They know how your end-users feel about current products, what they are looking for, and any feature requests. This helps you determine the features that need to be prioritized with future product releases. Engage with those who already use your products by reaching out to user experts. After these two groups, use your personal experiences. You know your product’s functionality, features, etc., and what is vital for users.
- Product Plan
This is the strategy that outlines how your business is going to make sure the vision for the product is met. It is the way the plan is going to be executed as the project moves forward. Prioritize and set specific goals on this timeline. It needs to be broad so you can still have innovation and flexibility but there does need to be some general timeframe and milestones to hit. Plot initiatives on achievable timelines quarterly or monthly. General dates are helpful but do not write them in stone.
- Markers
These are important when it comes to keeping everyone in the loop about timing. While you might not have exact dates, knowing where the markers are to track the progress of the work is essential to keep moving forward. Markers can be adjusted as needed but showing where they are set allows people to check on timelines when they need to.
- Metrics
Make sure all teams know what the metrics are and that everyone is measuring things in the same way. Everyone needs to be talking in the same language so there is no question around what is being measured.
Best Product Requirements (Requirement Management) Software In 2023
Jama Connect
Show the links between regulations, requirements, and tests with a diagram
https://www.jamasoftware.com/platform/jama-connect/
PractiTest
PractiTest is an end-to-end SaaS test management platform that centralizes all your QA work, processes, teams and tools into one platform to bridge silos, unify communication, and enable one source of truth across your organization.
https://www.practitest.com/
Azure DevOps Server
An enterprise-grade server for teams to share code, track work, and ship software — for any language, all in a single package. It’s the perfect complement to your IDE.
Craft.io
Best product requirements software with best practices built-in
https://craft.io/
ProductPlan
Simplify your searches with color-coded databases and tags
https://www.productplan.com/
Productboard
Build feature roadmaps based on user feedback
https://www.productboard.com/
Aha
Create the perfect work environment with a customizable product requirements solution
https://www.aha.io/
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