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Plan a Product Roadmap That Actually Delivers in 2024 (No More Missed Deadlines!)

Author

Sara Landi Tortoli
April 01, 2024

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

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Ever feel like your product roadmap is more fiction than reality? You meticulously plan out features and deadlines, only to watch that carefully constructed timeline go up in smoke as priorities shift and delays mount. As a product manager myself, I've lived that frustration more times than I can count.

But what if there was a better way to roadmap that actually aligned with how product development really works? That's exactly what my guest Janna Bastow and I explored on the latest episode of Polyweb.

Janna is the co-founder and CEO of ProdPad, a leading product management platform. More importantly, she's something of a roadmapping revolutionary, pioneering an approach that ditches timelines and instead focuses on prioritizing the right problems to solve. Traditional roadmaps set us up for failure by locking us into rigid, make-believe schedules.

"You're supposed to look at [customer feedback] and say, 'Oh well, this one is really well supported direction we could go in and it's going to help us hit this outcome,'" Janna explains. "But sometimes you've got to be able to throw out what customers say."

Rather than putting arbitrary dates on features, the "Now, Next, Later" method concentrates on laying out your team's priorities based on objectives and customer insights. It's a brilliantly simple way to provide transparency while remaining agile and outcome-driven.

After listening to our full conversation, you'll likely have your own revelations about how to drive your product towards bigger impact.

P.S. In the introduction (first 45 seconds), there were some audio issues on my end. If you can get through that, I assure you it's worth it!

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

  1. Fall in love with problems, not solutions.

    Too often we fixate on specific features customers request rather than the underlying needs they represent. Flipping the script to prioritize problem areas keeps you focused on impact.

  2. Make customer feedback informative, not authoritative. 

    While customer insights are invaluable, you can't build what they tell you to build. Instead, use that feedback to guide your decisions towards your desired outcomes.

  3. Embrace "now, next, later" prioritization. 

    By simply lining up your team's workstreams based on importance, you ensure alignment around real priorities rather than made-up deadlines.

📚 Resources:

Convince Your Stakeholders to Ditch the Timeline: https://www.prodpad.com/downloads/convince-stakeholders-slide-deck/

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

00:31 The importance of understanding the problem

02:13 The shift from being excited by solutions to focusing on problems

06:51 Gathering and prioritizing user feedback

09:17 Being outcome-driven vs. customer-driven

16:31 The "now, next, later" roadmap approach

30:45 Building and engaging communities

38:22 Overcoming stage fright and fostering psychological safety

47:23 Closing thoughts and resources

👀 About:

Janna Bastow is co-founder of ProdPad, software that helps product managers plan and deliver better products. Janna also organizes ProductTank events around the world, including Mind The Product, a global community of product managers. She likes to inspire great product conversations by asking: “What problem are you trying to solve?”

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🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

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