Article · ~15 min read

Product Roadmaps: How the Best Product Teams Plan for Uncertainty

Teresa Torres · Product Talk Free Intermediate

A clear tour of roadmap styles that shows exactly why a feature by date roadmap sets you up to over promise. Torres contrasts feature roadmaps with theme and Now-Next-Later roadmaps and explains what each hides or reveals about uncertainty. Read it to choose a format on purpose instead of defaulting to a timeline because it looks organized.

  • Feature and date roadmaps pretend to a certainty you do not have
  • Theme based roadmaps commit to problems, not specific features
  • Pick the roadmap style that matches how much you actually know
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It answers 2 questions

  1. How do I build a roadmap without over-planning?
  2. Should I share a public roadmap with my early users, or does that just create pressure and expectations I cannot meet?

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