Excellent product roadmap examples for your next project

Product roadmaps are shared sources of truth that outline the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of a product over time. They can serve many functions, and knowing which one is the right fit is key to managing an efficient project.

Read on to learn about the different types and uses of product roadmaps, as well as the benefits of using each of them. This article will cover:

• Important parts of a product roadmap
• Agile roadmap example
• Release roadmap example
• Features roadmap example
• Strategy roadmap example
• Kanban roadmap example
• Goals roadmap example
• Portfolio roadmap example
• Epics roadmap example
• Objectives roadmap example
• Creating effective product roadmaps

What are the important parts of a product roadmap?

As mentioned, a product roadmap is a high-level visual summary that maps out the vision and direction of your product offering over time. It should communicate the why and what behind what you are building. A good product roadmap needs to be dynamic and visually appealing.

Some of the benefits of creating a product roadmap include:

• Ensuring short-term product goals are met
• Monitoring and adjusting the company’s long-term goals
• Aligning the company around shared product goals
• Helping product owners manage and prioritize the product backlog
• Giving stakeholders a clear view of the development process

Now that you understand the importance and benefits of product roadmaps, you may be wondering what a roadmap should include to be successful. The most important aspects of a successful product roadmap are the following:

• Timeline. This is one of the most important elements of a product roadmap. A timeline indicates when the goals you set will be accomplished and when the features will be released. Timelines are important when it comes to product roadmaps because they ensure that a team makes consistent progress toward its goals.
• Features. The features of a product roadmap are the new or improved aspects of aproduct or service that increase its value for users. The scope of a feature includesimproved appearance, performance, capabilities, compatibility, and more.
• Goals. The goals are the building blocks of any product roadmap. They must be clearlydefined objectives to complete within a specific timeline and according to defined metrics.

Examples of product roadmaps

Agile roadmap example

An agile roadmap is a lightweight strategic planning tool. It outlines timelines for major themes of work, meaning what you plan to deliver and when. They are shorter term and task oriented, and one of their main characteristics is that they help ensure developers stay aligned and in sync.

Some of the benefits of an agile roadmap are:

• It helps set and monitor release dates.
• It keeps teams focused on the highest priority tasks.

Release roadmap example

Release roadmaps are the execution-level plan of how you’ll deliver the work that you’ve decided to do and the timeframe for when you’ll complete that work. A release roadmap communicates a high-level overview of upcoming product releases to senior executives, stakeholders, and even customers.

Some of the benefits of using a release roadmap are:

• It helps when planning milestones that are not time-bound but have a fixed scope or new versions of the product on a regular schedule.
• It lets other teams know features are coming soon without committing your team to a specific launch date.

Features roadmap example

A features roadmap is an output-driven roadmap that allows you to set the timeline for anindividual feature. This type of roadmap is used to communicate the product vision and strategy to stakeholders, including customers, investors, and the development team. The main goal of afeatures roadmap is to provide a clear understanding of what features will be delivered andwhen they will be released.

Some of the benefits of a features roadmap are:

• It allows you to track feature progress against specific deadlines and milestones to aligninternally with development teams on concrete dates.
• It makes it easy to allocate resources when and where they’re needed.
• It provides clarity by outlining the features that will be delivered in future releases, whichhelps tobuild trust and buy-in from stakeholders.
• It provides flexibility as it can easily be adjusted when priorities change or as newfeatures are identified.

Strategy roadmap example

A strategy roadmap is a general purpose roadmap. It can include any type of information and betailored to both internal and external audiences. It is a high-level outline of general product information tied to a specific aspect depending on the purpose.

Some of the benefits of a strategy roadmap are:

• It focuses on individual initiatives.
• It benefits owners, executives, and managers and encourages collaboration that alignseveryone on priorities and new investments.

Kanban roadmap example

A Kanban roadmap is a delivery-focused roadmap for development teams. It helps productteamsclearly group initiatives into buckets, such as what is in the backlog, what you’replanning, what’s in progress, and what you’ve completed.

Some of the benefits of using a Kanban roadmap are:

• It allows product teams to communicate their near-term planswithout committing toexact dates.
• It showcases when you’re working on specific features.
• It keeps your delivery team motivated by reminding them what they’re building toward.

Goals roadmap example

A goals roadmap shows the big picture by outlining your measurable, time-bound objectives andthe plan for when the team will accomplish them. This type of roadmap is known for shifting thefocus of the team from shipping features to delivering value and achieving product goals.

While the features are still part of the roadmap template, the focus is always on meeting thegoals set for each release. Setting goals for each product release before thinking of productfeatures ensures that product development efforts are mapped to their respective goals.

Some of the benefits of using a goals roadmap are:

• It makes your strategy and vision easy to understand.
• It aligns the stakeholders and development teams.
• It facilitates collaboration.
• It makes it easier to track progress and understand if you have achieved the goal.

Portfolio roadmap example

A portfolio roadmap shows planned releases across multiple groups or products within an organization. This type of roadmap is used to communicate the strategy of a product line between executives and product managers. Rather than it being a combination of all the product road maps, the product portfolio roadmap lays out the complete strategy of the product department.

Because it is such an important strategic document that sets the direction for the entire product team, the product portfolio roadmap is usually created only once or twice a year. At the same time, it can be updated at any time if significant changes are made to the company or product team strategy.

Some of the benefits of a portfolio roadmap are:

• It helps decision-makers reach aconsensus about a set of needs and the solutionsrequired to satisfy those needs.
• It draws attention to the most important work and the most critical issues.
• It provides a mechanism to help forecast new project developments.

Epics roadmap example

An epics roadmap will help you organize upcoming work by grouping related features under one umbrella that may span multiple releases. This type of roadmap provides a calendar view of a single epic and its features.

Some of the benefits of an epics roadmap are:

• It helps make prioritization decisions when you don’t need to display every individual product feature that is in the works.
• It is useful for communicating key focus areas.

Objectives roadmap example

An objective roadmap provides broad organization alignment on product direction. It also provides context for specific items on the roadmap and their prioritization while simultaneously ensuring that the product strategy is both communicated and consistently pursued.

Some of the benefits of an objectives roadmap are:

• It’s easy for everyone to understand when you’ll work toward each of the business goals and where that sits relative to your most significant milestones.
• It’s ideal for communicating your product strategy and goals across teams for the next two to three quarters.

Creating effective product roadmaps

Now that you know the benefits of the various kinds of product roadmaps, you can better understand which one is right for your project.

Remember that it’s crucial to use the most effective roadmap for your product, so take your time to think about any upcoming projects you may have. Review the examples for which one would be the best fit.

Adobe Workfront can give you the tools you need to create efficient product roadmaps. In addition, Workfront has the tools to automate tasks and templates, and it provides you with real-time reporting to help you make sure your project stays on task and on time.

To learn more about Workfront, take a product tour or watch an overview video.