Product roadmap template

About the product roadmap template

Our product roadmap template is uniquely designed to streamline the process of aligning your product's strategy with measurable outcomes. It is not simply a tool for mapping out features but more of a strategic document that focuses on high-level initiatives. This approach ensures that every aspect of your product strategy is aimed at achieving strategic goals, maintaining focus, and driving key business outcomes.

What is a product roadmap template? 

A product roadmap template is both a strategic guide and a visual representation that charts the future course of your product. It details critical milestones, product goals, and the essential initiatives needed to achieve them. 

Our template places a unique emphasis on strategic over feature-focused planning, enhancing a holistic approach to product development. It integrates smoothly with other (more delivery-focused) roadmaps you might be using, enriching your strategic toolkit.

Why use this template?

By focusing on strategic initiatives rather than features, this product roadmap template unites teams and stakeholders around a shared strategy, minimizing the typical confusion associated with managing disparate roadmap tools. This template is especially effective for layering complex initiatives and promoting strategic thinking and execution across your organization.

How to use the product roadmap template step-by-step

Step 1: Alignment on vision, product strategy, OKRs, and outcomes

Begin by aligning all key stakeholders on your product's vision, product strategy, and high-level goals, or Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Initiate discussions to clearly define what success looks like and confirm that everyone is on the same page regarding the product’s long-term objectives. 

Step 2: Identify initiatives

What are the necessary initiatives you need to take to achieve your outlined goals and outcomes? To define these incorporate a balanced mix of:

• Bottom-up initiatives, which include projects and ideas from your teams on how to reach the goals.

• Top-down initiatives from CPO, VP of product, or the product leader/s that address specific user or business challenges and achieve set objectives. 

Step 3: Prioritize initiatives

Evaluate and prioritize the initiatives you defined, based on their potential impact and alignment with strategic goals, using impact-effort assessments (or whatever high-level criteria you use to compare them). Organize these into 'now,' 'next,' or 'later' categories to focus efforts appropriately:

• Now: Tackle current, specific problems that require immediate attention. 

• Next: Prepare for upcoming challenges that are clearly on the horizon. 

• Later: Maintain flexibility for future issues that are important yet undefined. 

This method emphasizes strategic alignment without committing to fixed dates, allowing for adaptability to evolving priorities and insights. For more details, see our guide on the "Now, Next, Later" roadmap.

Step 4: Continuous roadmapping

The most efficient and resilient approach to your product roadmap is to treat it as a dynamic document. Engage in detailed planning for 'now' and 'next' items by breaking them down into manageable opportunities, stories, or tasks (depending on your product hierarchy), and even consider adding a timeline or release plan. Regularly update the roadmap to incorporate new initiatives and adjust existing ones, ensuring it remains a relevant and effective tool. 

Step 5: Communicate and execute

Ensure that the roadmap is communicated effectively to all stakeholders involved in the product lifecycle to maintain alignment and coherence (here is a guide on how to present your roadmap to stakeholders). With everyone informed, proceed with the execution of the roadmap. 

Regular updates and reviews are essential to adapt to changes in the business environment or market conditions, keeping the roadmap current and actionable. 

With this roadmap template, it's easy to share different versions of this roadmap with different audiences through share links showing sub-sets of the roadmap and/or different visualizations. For example, the roadmap you share with the engineering team may not be the same one you share with your stakeholders or your customers. And yes, your customers can have the option to see (parts of) your roadmap via a public and branded portal (checkout airfocus Portal app) to communicate what you're doing and invite them to provide feedback.

Here's a helpful article on why you should consider having a public roadmap.

Who uses a product roadmap template? 

Product leaders, product managers, strategy teams, and cross-functional stakeholders utilize our product roadmap template to align everyone with the product’s strategic direction and goals.

Key features of the template

• Initiative-level focus: Focuses on high-level initiatives rather than detailed feature delivery, while being integrateable with your other roadmaps and release plans).

• Customizable framework: Adapts to your specific strategic needs and can evolve over time.

• Integrated tools and apps: Features prioritization tools, including a priority chart and Priority Poker, timeline views, and a table view with adjustable prioritization scores.

Top 3 things to consider when building a product roadmap

1. Maintain continuous alignment with changing business strategies and market conditions.

2. Regularly update the roadmap based on stakeholder feedback and product performance data.

3. Avoid overcrowding the roadmap with too many details, focusing instead on strategic initiatives.