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Product Roadmaps are Hard

Product Roadmaps are Hard

We've heard it all the time: a product managers responsibility is to own the roadmap! How to manage this when there are so many competing priorities, there never seem to be enough resources, and things always take longer than initially planned. This session will review some of the gotchas commonly found in creating and updating a product roadmap, and offering some practical tips on how to approach your roadmap and engage your stakeholders effectively.

C. Todd Lombardo

July 13, 2020
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  1. Figure 1-1. Product roadmaps can take many forms, and aren’t

    necessarily a single artifact or document. In fact, it’s really not about creating artifacts at all—it’s about creating a shared understanding of where you’re going and why. Kanban board Slide deck Spreadsheet Other THEY TAKE MANY FORMS
  2. NOW NEXT FUTURE 1. GATHER INPUTS 2. ORGANIZE & PRIORITIZE

    3. PLACE INTO TIMEFRAMES ON YOUR ROADMAP THEMES @iamctodd
  3. NOW NEXT FUTURE 1. GATHER INPUTS 2. ORGANIZE & PRIORITIZE

    3. PLACE INTO TIMEFRAMES ON YOUR ROADMAP 4. MAP TO SPRINT OR / RELEASE PLAN THEMES @iamctodd
  4. EITHER I’M GOING TO DISAPPOINT YOU BY GIVING YOU EXACTLY

    WHAT WE THOUGHT SIX MONTHS AHEAD OF TIME WAS THE BEST SOLUTION WHEN IT’S NOT, OR BY CHANGING COURSE AND HAVING LIED TO YOU. — David Cancel, CEO, Drift “
  5. A PRODUCT ROADMAP IS A PROTOTYPE OF YOUR PRODUCT STRATEGY.

    Janna Bastow, CEO ProdPad WHAT SHE SAID
  6. LEVEL OF MATURITY A ROADMAP LOOKS LIKE LOW: JUST STARTING

    FEATURES, MAYBE DATES MEDIUM: AT THIS A WHILE FEATURES, BROAD TIMESCALES HIGH: WE’RE EXPERTS THEMES, BROAD TIMESCALES
  7. THE PROBLEM Majority support tickets are for billing & invoicing

    issues Less customer issues with billing USER OUTCOME
  8. THE PROBLEM Majority support tickets are for billing & invoicing

    issues Less customer issues with billing USER OUTCOME BIZ OBJECTIVE Reduce support tickets related to billing
  9. THE PROBLEM Majority support tickets are for billing & invoicing

    issues POSSIBLE OUTPUTS Shared payments Recurring Invoices Membership payments Less customer issues with billing USER OUTCOME BIZ OBJECTIVE Reduce support tickets related to billing
  10. THE PROBLEM Majority support tickets are for billing & invoicing

    issues POSSIBLE OUTPUTS Shared payments Recurring Invoices Membership payments Less customer issues with billing USER OUTCOME BIZ OBJECTIVE Reduce support tickets related to billing Improve Invoicing Options or Expand Payment Types THEMES
  11. WE ACCEPT THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHICH SPECIFIC FEATURES WE’RE

    GOING TO BUILD, AND WE GIVE THE TEAMS THE FREEDOM. [ TO FIGURE IT OUT ] Elli Rego, Product Manager @ Wodify WHAT SHE SAID
  12. Always 7% Often 13% Sometimes 16% Rarely 19% Never 45%

    STANDISH GROUP ALMOST HALF OF WHAT WE SHIP IS NEVER USED
  13. YOU’LL SHIFT FROM THE STANDARD APPROACH OF ‘LOOK AT US

    AND WHAT WE CAN DO’ TO ‘WE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE DEALING WITH AND WE CAN HELP YOU.’ ROADMAPS WILL BE YOUR COMPANY’S COMPETITIVE STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE. Jared Spool CEO of UIE “
  14. UNIVERSAL BUSINESS OBJECTIVES THREE DRIVERS AND TEN OBJECTIVES GROWTH Improve

    recurring revenue Grow market share Fulfill more demand Develop new markets PROFIT Support higher prices Improve lifetime value Leverage assets Lower costs VALUE Support core value Barriers to competition
  15. THE FLOOR IS WET I NEED A MOP KEEP THE

    FLOOR DRY OBJECTIVE PROBLEM NEED
  16. PROBLEM SOLUTION Water on the floor Mop it up WHY?

    Leaky pipe Fix the pipe THANKS: W. BRÜNING! AKA — FEATURES!
  17. PROBLEM SOLUTION Water on the floor Mop it up WHY?

    Leaky pipe Fix the pipe WHY? Too much pressure Lower pressure THANKS: W. BRÜNING! AKA — FEATURES!
  18. PROBLEM SOLUTION Water on the floor Mop it up WHY?

    Leaky pipe Fix the pipe WHY? Too much pressure Lower pressure WHY? Pressure regulator Replace regulator THANKS: W. BRÜNING! AKA — FEATURES!
  19. PROBLEM SOLUTION Water on the floor Mop it up WHY?

    Leaky pipe Fix the pipe WHY? Too much pressure Lower pressure WHY? Pressure regulator Replace regulator WHY? Maintenance schedule More frequent inspection THANKS: W. BRÜNING! AKA — FEATURES!
  20. COMPANY VISION PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE STRATEGIC HIERARCHY @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres
  21. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME STRATEGIC HIERARCHY @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres
  22. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE FEATURE THEME FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE THEME THEME THEME THEME STRATEGIC HIERARCHY @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres
  23. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE FEATURE THEME FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE THEME THEME THEME THEME STRATEGIC HIERARCHY @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT
  24. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE FEATURE THEME FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE THEME THEME THEME THEME STRATEGIC HIERARCHY @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT ROADMAP
  25. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE THEME EXPERIMENT FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE THEME THEME THEME THEME EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT STRATEGIC HIERARCHY — WITH EXPERIMENTS! FEATURE FEATURE EXPERIMENT FEATURE FEATURE EXPERIMENT ROADMAP @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres COMPANY STRATEGY PRODUCT STRATEGY
  26. COMPANY VISION THEME PRODUCT A VISION PRODUCT B VISION OBJECTIVE

    OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE THEME EXPERIMENT FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE FEATURE THEME THEME THEME THEME EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT STRATEGIC HIERARCHY — WITH EXPERIMENTS! FEATURE FEATURE EXPERIMENT FEATURE FEATURE EXPERIMENT ROADMAP @iamctodd Inspired by: Teresa Torres RELEASE PLAN COMPANY STRATEGY PRODUCT STRATEGY
  27. PathCheck Foundation Started w/ TWO products, crafting a vision they

    realized they had THREE different products. SafePaths SafePlaces
  28. IT’S NOT A RESOURCE PROBLEM. IT’S A PRIORITIZATION PROBLEM “BUT

    IF WE ONLY HAD MORE RESOURCES..” @iamctodd
  29. VALUE / EFFORT = PRIORITY The time and resources required

    to execute the initiative Expected contribution to customer needs and business objectives
  30. VALUE / EFFORT = PRIORITY The time and resources required

    to execute the initiative Expected contribution to customer needs and business objectives (BO1+BO2+BO3..)*(CI1+CI2..)
  31. VALUE / EFFORT = PRIORITY The time and resources required

    to execute the initiative Expected contribution to customer needs and business objectives (E)
  32. LIGHT. CHEAP. FAST. PICK TWO. Keith Bontrager YOU CAN’T HAVE

    YOUR CAKE (OR YOUR BIKE) AND EAT IT TOO
  33. ADD MORE RESOURCES? CHANGE OF TWO MAY NOT MAKE UP

    A DIFFERENCE Quality Schedule Scope Resources (inverse)
  34. HOW ARE WE GOING DO THAT? SAY ‘NO’ WITHOUT SAYING

    ‘NO’ @iamctodd Stolen from: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
  35. “THAT’S RIGHT” IS BETTER THAN “YOU’RE RIGHT” IT AIN’T ABOUT

    YOU @iamctodd Stolen from: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
  36. FORGET ‘YES’ GET TO ‘NO’ YES? NO. @iamctodd Stolen from:

    Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
  37. Core Team Product Owner Design Engineering Operations Customers Executives Research

    Customer Support Production Finance Vendors & Partners Sales Marketing & PR Other Product Teams STAKEHOLDER ATOM