Product Roadmaps Relaunched

A good product roadmap is one of the most important and influential documents an organization can develop, publish, and continuously update. In fact, this one document can steer en entire organization when it comes to delivering on company strategy.

This practical guide teaches you how to create an effective product roadmap, and demonstrates how to use the roadmap to align stakeholders and prioritize ideas and requests. With it, you'll learn to communicate how your products will make your customers and organization successful.

Whether you're a product manager, product owner, business analyst, program manager, project manager, scrum master, lead developer, designer, development manager, entrepreneur, or business owner, this book will show you how to:

• Articulate an inspiring vision and goals for your product
• Prioritize ruthlessly and scientifically
• Protect against pursuing seemingly good ideas without evaluation and prioritization
• Ensure alignment with stakeholders
• Inspire loyalty and over-delivery from your team
• Get your sales team working with you instead of against you
• Bring a user and buyer-centric approach to planning and decision-making
• Anticipate opportunities and stay ahead of the game
• Publish a comprehensive roadmap without overcommitting

1. Relaunching Roadmaps
• A Roadmap Should Embrace Learning
2. Components of a Roadmap
• Complementary Information
• Components in Context
• Summary
3. Gathering Inputs
• Summary
4. Establishing the Why with Product Vision and Strategy
• Mission Defines Your Intent
• Vision Is the Outcome You Seek
• CASE STUDY
• Summary
5. Uncovering Customer Needs Through Themes
• Expressing Customer Needs
• Real-World Themes
• "But I Need to Include Features!!"
6. Deepening Your Roadmap
• Secondary Components Summary
• Summary
7. Prioritizing — with Science!
• Why Prioritization Is Crucial
• A Formula for Prioritization
• Prioritization Framworks
8. Achieving Alignment and Buy-in
• Software Applications
9. Presenting and Sharing Your Roadmap
• CASE STUDY
• Summary
10. Keeping It Fresh
• Planned Change
• Unplanned Change
• Summary
11. Relaunching Roadmaps in Your Organization
• How to Get Started
• Postscript

I had high hopes for this book, that was only partially fulfilled.

It explains what roadmaps are and gives recommendations on important topics, but fails to give you enough depth to really utlise the potential.

It is an OK book, in a bad format, that could be better organised. But it is in no way a complete waste of time to read it as an introduction to the concept.