How to Best Share Roadmaps with Stakeholders

Ah, roadmaps. It seems like there’s a new article every week about whether they should have dates on, whether they’re delivery plans, whether they’re commitments or not. This is not one of those articles. I’m not going to argue about any of that stuff. Let’s assume that your roadmap is whatever you need it to be

There are some things that I, personally speaking, prefer to do with roadmaps.

• Keep roadmaps as high-level as possible. Stick to themes and initiatives.
• Do not commit to specific dates that are more granular than a quarter.
• Ensure that people realise that they may change and do not contain commitments.
• Use them as storytelling devices rather than a delivery plan.

I’m sure that these will resonate with many product people but also collide horribly with the demands and desires of commercially-minded stakeholders. That’s OK — you don’t win points for perfect roadmaps.

But, back to the question. Presuming that you have a roadmap format agreed upon, what do you do with it?

Roadmaps are, at their heart, a communications tool

Whatever format you choose, however hard its commitments, your roadmap is fundamentally a communications tool. A way to describe, in a way…