Strategic Roadmap
What is a strategic roadmap?
Strategic roadmap definition
A strategic roadmap is a visualization of the company’s overall strategic plan. As with other roadmaps, the strategic roadmap also plots out timelines, tasks, resources required, and other details — the difference being that what you’re working towards in a strategic roadmap is likely to be a bigger vision or goal versus that of other roadmap types.
For product managers, the strategic roadmap is a source of big-picture insight and alignment that other tools simply can’t deliver. The strategic roadmap delivers benefits such as greater focus (goodbye, scope creep!), user-centric development, increased efficiency, and better team-wide communication.
Sharing your strategic roadmap is essential if you want to keep all stakeholders working toward the same high-level goal. The airfocus tool for strategic roadmaps makes it easy to share and update strategic roadmaps as needed.
The strategic roadmap is just one type of roadmap that product teams use (or should use) on a regular basis. Other roadmap formats include:
Tactical roadmap
Let’s take a look at the difference between strategic vs tactical roadmaps and strategic vs product roadmap in a bit more detail…
Difference between strategic vs tactical roadmap
Tactics and strategies. Strategies and tactics. Is there a difference?
When it comes to roadmaps, there definitely is.
A strategic roadmap:
Maps out the long-term and high-level goals of a business
Contains more general objectives versus specific ones
Is reviewed every half or quarter year.
The tactical roadmap on the other hand:
Is created after the strategic roadmap is in place
Outlines the specific steps required to work toward the strategic business goals
Typically takes a shorter-term view and is reviewed more frequently.
Essentially, tactics are the actions you take to achieve your overall strategy.
Difference between strategic vs product roadmap
Now let’s look at the difference between a strategic vs product roadmap — as well as what the strategic product roadmap is.
As product managers, you’ll no doubt be with the product roadmap. A product roadmap directs a product's course throughout time. It conveys what teams are building and why, and who is needed when. It serves as both a high-level summary and an actionable plan, but rather than supporting a company’s overall goals, it’s designed on a product level instead.
A strategic product roadmap is something of an in between — it’s a more in-depth document that outlines the philosophy or vision driving your product and directs the course you take for the duration of the project. It describes what you are building, why you are creating it, who is needed when, and how the end-user will benefit from it.
In order to remain focused on creating a user-centric product, creating a strategic product roadmap is essential. Try out the airfocus for strategic roadmaps to make your product development more robust today.
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