Planning without committing to dates.
WHAT A ROADMAP SHOULD COMMUNICATE
Direction and priority.
WHAT IT SHOULD NOT COMMUNICATE
Precise dates for distant work.
WHY
Estimates for unstarted work are unreliable, and published dates become promises.
WHAT STRUCTURE WORKS
What is being built now What is next What is being considered
WHAT TO PUT IN THE FIRST GROUP ONLY
Work actually underway.
WHAT TO SHARE PUBLICLY
Themes, rather than specifics.
WHY
It manages expectations without creating obligations.
WHAT TO NEVER PROMISE
A feature to close a sale, without a decision to build it.
WHAT THAT PRODUCES
Customers who bought something that does not exist.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Sell what exists, and note the request.
WHAT TO REVIEW REGULARLY
Whether the roadmap still reflects what matters.
WHAT TO EXPECT
That it changes, frequently.
WHAT TO COMMUNICATE WHEN IT DOES
The change, to anyone who was told otherwise.
WHAT TO BALANCE
New capability against improving what exists.
WHAT MOST PRODUCTS NEED MORE OF
Refinement of what is already there.
WHY
Features that are nearly right frustrate more than features that are absent.
