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A product roadmap is a key document used to align teams, stakeholders, and narrate the vision of the product. Over time, it will change as your team collects insight through research, validation, and user tests. But, having one is undeniably important to get buy-in to the product.

1. Designing the Roadmap

A roadmap should reflect the results of prioritization in Structure Delivery with Prioritization & Backlogs. Order the roadmap based on what will be sequentially achieved.

Now, who reads roadmaps?

• Development teams, who use it to align on key dates/timelines
• Executives, to ensure high-level business objectives are reflected
• Sales teams, to get buy-in from potential customers
• Stakeholders (investors, directors), to ensure their unique needs are reflected

Treat each unique group as a customer: you wouldn’t serve them the same product, since what they’re looking for are different. That’s why great PMs maintain various versions of roadmaps depending on the reader.

Depending on the reader, change up details like:

• Specificity of dates
• Specificity of items
• Product life cycle plans
• Specificity of item descriptions