A frequent challenge to an established roadmap is the request to “slip in” a feature, fix, or one-off version for a “special” customer or a partner. This often will come from sales. “If we can just add this one little thing,” they’ll plead, “we can close this big deal and make the quarter.”

People often tell me that their product exists to make the company money, and that their pay and promotion chances depend on growth. But is that really why we make products? To get rich? Or is business success a side effect of making customers successful?

“An effective roadmap retains that context of ‘Here’s why we made these decisions, and here are the assumptions we’re making.'" That's Anthony Accardi, CTO of Rue Gilt Groupe. And yet, most roadmaps leave all of that out in favor of minute details about features, bug fixes, schedules, and dependencies.

I have a question for you brilliant product people: How many of you use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) at work? Do you like them? Hate them? Do they map to your roadmap (and vice versa)? Tell me a story. 

If a roadmap is the path toward your goals, you obviously need to set those goals before you start. Yet many companies fail to sit down and explicitly describe the destination they are driving toward.

A really good roadmap is a story about the future – and why it’s going to be awesome for everyone involved. Recently I did a podcast on splendid roadmaps called Roadmaps, OKRs, Vision and Prioritisation with Mind The Product's amazing Randy Silver and Lily Smith. Check it out! Where have you seen an awesome roadmap? Tell me a story.

We often think about roadmaps in terms of development plans, but sales and marketing teams should be part of your development efforts, too.

A few weeks ago we ran a contest for the Worst Product Advice you've gotten. Laurent Prost had a hilarious story of how to ignore customers completely! Laurent wins a copy of my book, Product Roadmaps Relaunched. Plus a coffee or beer with me (real or virtual) to chat about Product. Claim your prize!

"All founders need a vision, which is really an untested set of hypotheses about how they see the future unfold. That's in fact my definition of what you're calling a product roadmap for a startup. It's a big idea.

A friend told me a story that may be apocryphal (but I want to believe it). A product manager was so overwhelmed by the stress of his job that he decided to return to his previous profession. He was a police officer.

We ran a contest for the Best Boss Advice you've gotten. Great wisdom all around. The corollary: what is the worst Product advice you've ever gotten?

I've found that starting small with digital transformation (or any change) can bring skeptics to your cause. Successful pilot programs create viral reorientation of thinking within organizations, and bring the awesome to your whole organization faster

A boss once told me I was responsible for more than the code we shipped to customers. He felt that “the whole product” was a solution to the customer’s problem, which might include documentation, templates, packaging, data, consumables, even services — anything necessary to get value from the thing itself.

When starting as the top product person, you first need to understand what your organization needs and expects of you. Is your job to articulate a compelling vision for your product or to run with something you inherited? Will you be judged on strategy or execution? Is it a go-faster play or a reclamation project?

Once you have created a splendid roadmap, who do you share it with? In how much detail? Does it ever leave the building?

Product and UX conferences have a particular vibe, a culture all their own that I enjoy. More than the opportunities to learn new skills, have a beer with interesting people, and pick up schwag, there is the feeling that we’re all in this together. That in some way we are all on the same mission.

World class tennis players have coaches. The job isn’t to hit the ball, but to bring out the best in their clients. As the Product world has grown, coaching has grown with it. In my career, I've worked as a Product coach, an executive coach, an agile coach, an OKRs coach, and more.

Focus on “why” in your roadmap instead of “what.” It communicates more clearly where you are headed, and what success looks like. 

User research as it is practiced by user experience professionals is very aligned to what good product people do (or know they should do). Both need to do qualitative research with users and buyers, to watch in person and ask questions, to understand the larger context for the business.

When you are a product person looking to get a roadmap in place, you need alignment and collaboration. You don’t need consensus. Really.