Creating a Roadmap with Strategic Planning Frameworks

A roadmap is not a strategy! Yet, most strategy docs are roadmaps + frameworks. This isn't because teams are dumb. It's because they lack predictable steps to follow. This is where I refer them to Ed Biden's 7-step process: — 1. Objective → What problem are we solving? Your objective sets the foundation. If you can’t define this clearly, nothing else matters. A real strategy starts with: → What challenge are we responding to? → Why does this problem matter? → What happens if we don’t solve it? — 2. Users → Who are we serving? Not all users are created equal. A strong strategy answers: · What do they need most? · Who exactly are we solving for? · What problems are they already solving on their own? A strategy without sharp user focus leads to feature bloat. — 3. Superpowers → What makes us different? If you’re competing on the same playing field as everyone else, you’ve already lost. Your strategy must define: · What can we do 10x better than anyone else? · Where can we persistently win? · What should we not do? This is where strategy meets competitive advantage. — 4. Vision → Where are we going? A roadmap tells you what’s next. A vision tells you why it matters. Most PMs confuse vision with strategy. But a vision is long-term. It’s a north star. Your strategy answers: How do we get there? — 5. Pillars → What are our focus areas? If everything is a priority, nothing really is. In my 15 years of experience, great strategy always come with a trade-offs: → What are our big bets? → What do we need to execute to move towards our vision? → What are we intentionally not doing? — 6. Impact → How do we measure success? Most teams obsess over vanity metrics. A great strategy tracks what actually drives business success. What outcomes matter? → How will we track progress? → What signals tell us we’re on the right path? — 7. Roadmap → How do we execute? A roadmap should never be a list of everything you could do. It should be a focus list of what truly matters. Problems and outcomes are the currency here. Not dates and timelines. — For personal examples of how I do this, check out my post: https://lnkd.in/e5F2J6pB — Hate to break it to you, but you might be operating without a strategy. You might have a nicely formatted strategy doc in front of you, but it’s just a… A roadmap? a feature list? a wishlist? If it doesn’t connect vision to execution, prioritize trade-offs, and define competitive edge… It’s not strategy. It’s just noise.

“This roadmap is useless.” The words hit like a gut punch. After weeks of alignment, dependencies mapped, and every detail airtight… it fell flat in front of leadership. ❌ Too many details. ❌ No clear business impact. ❌ Buried in feature updates. That’s when I learned the hard way—one roadmap doesn’t work for everyone. One roadmap for all? Like sending the same email to your CEO, engineers, and customers—it won’t land. Each group needs different information, framed for their decisions. Here’s how to tailor your roadmap for success: 1️⃣ The Strategic Roadmap (For Executives) Audience: CEOs, leadership, investors Focus: Business outcomes, long-term vision, and key initiatives ✅ How to get it right: -> Keep it high-level—focus on themes, not feature lists. -> Tie initiatives directly to business goals and revenue impact. -> Use concise visuals (timelines, OKRs, measurable impact). 💡 Pro Tip: Your execs don’t need sprint details—just the “why” and how it moves the business forward. 2️⃣ The Tactical Roadmap (For Engineering) Audience: Product & engineering teams Focus: Priorities, dependencies, technical feasibility ✅ How to get it right: -> Provide clarity on scope, timelines, and trade-offs. -> Show how engineering efforts ladder up to business goals. -> Address dependencies upfront to avoid last-minute surprises. 💡 Pro Tip: Engineers don’t just want deadlines—they need the "why" behind decisions to make smarter trade-offs. 3️⃣ The Narrative Roadmap (For Customers) Audience: Users, customers, prospects Focus: Features, value, what’s coming next ✅ How to get it right: -> Focus on pain points solved, not just new features. -> Use visuals like wireframes, mockups, or sneak peeks. -> Be transparent—set clear expectations on timelines. 💡 Pro Tip: Customers don’t care about your internal priorities—they just want to know how you’re making their lives better. — 👋 I’m Ron Yang, a product leader and advisor. Follow me for insights on product strategy + leadership.

🤔 Why do most product roadmaps fail? Simple: They pretend to predict the future. I've seen countless detailed 12-month roadmaps become obsolete within weeks. There's a better way: The Now-Next-Later framework. Here's why it works (and what to look out for): 🎯 NOW • Currently in progress • Has clear success metrics • Actively staffed • Pro tip: Set explicit exit criteria. "Now" isn't forever. ⏳ NEXT • Defined but flexible • Ready for detailed planning • Clear value proposition • Reality check: Keep this list SHORT. If everything's next, nothing is. 🔮 LATER • Strategic opportunities • Limited detail needed • Regularly reviewed • Warning: Not a dumping ground for "no" decisions. 🚨 The pushback you'll hear: "But when will it be done?" "Sales needs dates!" "We need more certainty!" 👉 How to handle it: • Attach timeframes to "Now" items • Use T-shirt sizing for "Next" • Review and update weekly • Communicate changes proactively The secret? This framework isn't about avoiding commitments. It's about making realistic ones. The best product teams don't predict the future. They build systems to respond to it quickly. 💭 What's your experience with roadmap frameworks? Have you tried Now-Next-Later? #ProductManagement #Strategy #Leadership #ProductRoadmap #Agile Here's the full post: https://lnkd.in/e6XXhaUQ

I've been quiet 🤫 ... and quietly coming to terms with the brutal facts in front of me... I'm never going to build a LinkedIn empire. Sigh. But I do like to write, and it's been a bit. Lemonade Stand finally hit its stride and is humming along, which has meant less capacity for creating out in the open. To get back in the groove I'm doing a few quick hitters on what I've been working on with fractional clients, with some actionable tips. Roadmap "spikes" have been popular lately, especially with early stage startups (I think it's the new year vibes). Here's what it looks like: Pre-work: I provide a set of questions for the founding team to consider independently, with answers sent to me directly. We use these both as inputs for the roadmap, and to do a quick assessment on how aligned the team is on the plan for the business over the next 6-12 months. Workshop: we pick a full day we can dedicate to crafting the roadmap. Note that this is not just a product roadmap - product is the keystone, but it covers other major levers like hiring, partnerships, etc. I moderate the session to make sure we explore all our options, but also stay focused and get what we need out of the day. Tailored Roadmap: after the workshop, I craft the roadmap (based on the team's collective input) using a template that I've applied at a number of companies where I've been CPO. Basic structure is: * # 1 goal (eg "North Star") for the business - could be revenue of $X by Y date; could be profitability; could be ready to raise a Series A (and specifying what that looks like); could be a critical product milestone; etc. * Top three challenges that need to be solved to achieve that goal - we'll call these strategic themes. * Defining "what winning looks like" for each theme - how will we know if we've achieved that goal? * Initiatives - what are the investments (product, people, etc) we can make that are most likely to achieve that? * Sequencing - detailed and committed plan for the current quarter; penciled in plan for the next quarter; loose ideas for the last two quarters It ain't rocket science, but you'd be surprised how many startups resist having a plan, because it feels like it impedes nimbleness and flexibility. Anything but - it creates focus, and a disciplined way to hold one's self to account for changing your mind. Is the new idea really worth disrupting the plan? You never know unless you actually have a plan in the first place. The real magic is the implementation guidance, or how to put the plan into action: I join the team every two weeks for an hour, for the first quarter the plan is in action, to provide coaching on how to make it real, with urgency. Things we might cover there: * Prioritization - new and exciting things will pop up. Should we respond? * How to write good product stories and reqs for engineers * Simple systems for managing product work (I really like Linear) Holler if you need help, or go ahead and run a spike yourself!