WTF is a Product Roadmap

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WTF is a Product Roadmap? C. Todd Lombardo Chief Design Strategist Fresh Tilled Soil @iamctodd

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Bake a Cake…

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Voila!

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PASTRY CHEF

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF INGREDIENTS

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF INGREDIENTS RECIPE

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF TOOLS INGREDIENTS RECIPE

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF TOOLS INGREDIENTS RECIPE CAKE EATERS

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF TOOLS INGREDIENTS RECIPE (Product Manager) (Team) (Components) (Roadmap) (JIRA, Heroku, Sketch, Swift, etc) CAKE EATERS (Users)

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..Without a Recipe?

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..Without a Recipe? I BET IT WON’T BE AS GOOD

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF TOOLS INGREDIENTS (Product Manager) (Team) (Components) (JIRA, Heroku, Sketch, Swift, etc) CAKE EATERS (Users)

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PASTRY CHEF STAFF TOOLS INGREDIENTS (Product Manager) (Team) (Components) (JIRA, Heroku, Sketch, Swift, etc) CAKE EATERS (Users)

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Cake or death? Eddie Izzard A FUNNY GUY

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Focus ○ Make a cake, not cookies or brownies.

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Focus ○ Make a cake, not cookies or brownies. Alignment ○ Everyone is on board with the cake style, ﬂavor, and timing.

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Focus ○ Make a cake, not cookies or brownies. Alignment ○ Everyone is on board with the cake style, ﬂavor, and timing. Priority ○ When to mix ﬂour & eggs, bake the cake, slice the strawberries, and when you can place the candles on top Visibility ○ How long until the cake is done? The cake needs to be ready for candles by 1:00pm.

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What a Roadmap is not

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What is not a Product Roadmap

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It is not a release plan - so leave out speciﬁc dates! What is not a Product Roadmap

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It is not a release plan - so leave out speciﬁc dates! It is not a list of features and/or components. What is not a Product Roadmap

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It is not a release plan - so leave out speciﬁc dates! It is not a list of features and/or components. It should not include job or user stories. What is not a Product Roadmap

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It is not a release plan - so leave out speciﬁc dates! It is not a list of features and/or components. It should not include job or user stories. It is not a commitment. What is not a Product Roadmap

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It is not a release plan - so leave out speciﬁc dates! It is not a list of features and/or components. It should not include job or user stories. It is not a commitment. It is not waterfall… i.e.not a Gantt Chart What is not a Product Roadmap

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My First Roadmap…

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Title (H1)

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More often than not, the lack of a roadmap encourages you to do too many things not as well. Anthony Accardi CTO OF RUE LA LA

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My 3-month Diversion…

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Well.. WTF is it?!

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What is a Product Roadmap? Focused on the big picture. Strategic communication artifact that conveys the path you’ll take to fulﬁll your product vision.

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McCarthy-Baron Strategic Pyramid

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Where Does it Apply?

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Who Uses it?

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Stakeholders

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Stakeholders DESIGN DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCT

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Stakeholders EXECUTIVES & BOARD PARTNERS CUSTOMER SUPPORT ! SALES & MARKETING CUSTOMERS DESIGN DEVELOPMENT > PRODUCT

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How to Make a Roadmap VISION BUSINESS GOALS PRIORITIZE ROADMAP USER GOALS PRODUCT GOALS

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Restaurants Disclaimer: this is not real!

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Required Inputs

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1) Clearly deﬁned Problem and Solution Why? You have to know what you’re doing and why, before you start thinking about where you’re going. PROBLEM SOLUTION

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2) Understanding of Your Users Needs Why? You need to be able to empathize with your users so you can understand and anticipate their needs. Think? Feel? Hear? See? Do? Think? Feel? Hear? See? Do? Name: Dick Age: 55 Job: Salesman Tasks: Develop trust Motivations: Happiness Obstacles: Time Name: Jane Age: 27 Job: Advertising Tasks: Create programs Motivations: Viral reach Obstacles: Superiors

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3) User Journeys for the Current Experience Why? You need to fully understand how they’re currently solving the problem in order to make it better for them. Jane wakes up makes coﬀee walks dog catches train reads paper arrives at oﬃce

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Vision

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When: at a time when ___________ What: [our product] is the only ___________ How: that _____________ Who: for ______________ Where: in ______________ Why: who ____________ Source: Janna Bastow

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At a time when travel is frequent, but travelers plan less… Trip Advisor has the only international restaurant recommendation engine… that gives immediate recommendations based on location and review… for the everyday traveler… from countries all over the world… who need to save time and energy on ﬁnding local eateries.

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Goals: Business

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1) Expand the customer base 2) Extend user time in app 3) Grow advertising around restaurants 4) Enhance user experience 1-5 Strategic Objectives

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Goals: User

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Goal #1: Goal #2: Goal #3: Goal #4: Goal #5:

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Find a restaurant at the last minute Find a restaurant near my hotel See feedback from other patrons Find a restaurant by cuisine Make me look knowledgable to my fellow travelers Help me brag about where I’ve been

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Goals: Product AKA Solutions

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List of Cuisines Pictures of food by cuisine Select country of origin on a map Auto-populate search box Select ﬂag for country of origin Ask a local Ask hotel concierge Find a restaurant by cuisine

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List of Cuisines Pictures of food by cuisine Select country of origin on a map Auto-populate search box Select ﬂag for country of origin Ask a local Ask hotel concierge Find a restaurant by cuisine

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Connect BUSINESS GOALS USER GOALS PRODUCT GOALS

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BUSINESS GOALS USER GOALS

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BUSINESS GOALS USER GOALS PRODUCT GOALS

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Grow advertising around restaurants Find a restaurant by cuisine Business Goal: User Goal: Product Goal: Pictures of food by cuisine + restaurant restaurant sponsored food pictures

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Prioritization

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Strong. Light. Cheap. Pick Two. Keith Bontrager FOUNDER, BICYCLE PARTS COMPANY

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Best Prioritization Methods Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Best Prioritization Methods Your CEO’s gut Not close enough Worst Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Best Prioritization Methods Your CEO’s gut Not close enough Analyst opinions Mostly backward-looking Worst Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Best Prioritization Methods Your CEO’s gut Not close enough Analyst opinions Mostly backward-looking Popularity Most customers are small Worst Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Best Prioritization Methods Your CEO’s gut Not close enough Analyst opinions Mostly backward-looking Popularity Most customers are small Sales requests Change every week Worst Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Best Prioritization Methods Your CEO’s gut Not close enough Analyst opinions Mostly backward-looking Popularity Most customers are small Sales requests Change every week Services requests Mostly incremental Worst Credit. Bruce McCarthy

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Prioritization is hell. Boaz Katz CEO, BIZZABO

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Source. Boaz Katz HTTP://BIT.LY/1QWKYSL

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Feasibility  (technical) Desirability (human) Viability (business) Engineering Design Sales Marketing Product Managers Executives Source: IDEO

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Feasibility (technical) Desirability (human) Viability (business) TOTALS Restaurant reviews 5 5 5 15 User expertise rating 3 4 4 11 Find restaurant by cuisine 2 4 3 9 Auto-populate search 5 2 2 9 Order of priority

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Shuttle Diplomacy

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I have a draft of our product prioritization for next year… Can you help me? You PRODUCT PRO

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The Roadmap

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Many Formats

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Key Elements ○ Broad time frames ○ Themes by time ○ Key features (optional) ○ High-level product goals ○ Metrics for each stage ○ Dependencies & risks ○ Status/stage ○ Sales & Marketing Eﬀects ○ Safe harbor statement

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Customer Facing Roadmap Q3-2016 Q4-2016 H1-2017 H2-2017 Theme A Theme C Theme D Theme E, Phase II Theme B Theme E, Phase I Theme F Source. Bruce McCarthy

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Customer Facing Roadmap: Lean Edition CURRENT PLANNED CONSIDERING Theme A Theme C Theme D Theme B Theme E Source. Bruce McCarthy

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Internal Facing Roadmap Q3’13 Q4’13 H1’14 H2’14 Themes Theme A Theme C Theme D Theme F Likely Features Feature 1 Feature 2 Feature 3 Feature 1 Feature 2 Feature 3 Stage Active Development Prototype Testing Discovery Discovery Metrics Ship all MVP features 10 schools 6 renew 4 say “must have” 10 schools 10 schools Dependencies & Risks Claire sick for 3 wks UX resource from Project Beetle New PM hire S&M Improved competitive position Annual industry event New regulations Source. Bruce McCarthy

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Portfolio Roadmap Q3’13 Q4’13 H1’14 H2’14 Product Y Stage: Development Goal: Product/Launch Fit MVP Soft Launch Learn Product/Market Fit Grow Product X Stage: Introduction Goal: Product/Market Fit Product/Market Fit Scale On-Boarding Process Enhance Product Value Grow Product Z Stage: Growth Goal: 50% Sales Growth Channel Enablement Key Integrations Critical B&R UX Standardization Source. Bruce McCarthy

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Timeframe Later Now Next

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Now Next Later User Proﬁle Auto-pop Search Social media API’s Map of Cuisines User Reviews and Recommendations Share with Friend Restaurant Reviews Search by City User Expertise Rating Customer Support OpenTable API

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Extend user time in app Grow advertising around restaurants Enhance user experience Color Coding

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Process VISION BUSINESS GOALS PRIORITIZE ROADMAP USER GOALS PRODUCT GOALS

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Artifact ≠ Deliverable Thanks Kim Goodwin!

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Output ≠ Outcome

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Life is a journey, so is your roadmap

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[email protected]

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Why you do this job I don’t know, but it does explain all the beer. Product Manager’s Spouse Owner Designer Developer Credit. Bruce McCarthy