It's clear that timeline roadmaps cause all sorts of tension in product teams, and in this talk, Janna Bastow explains exactly why that is, and shows viable alternatives by looking at lean roadmapping methods and how to get your boss on board with them.

1. How to Ditch Your
Timeline Roadmap
For Good
@simplybastow

2. Hello!
I’m Janna Bastow
You can talk to me about product
or say hi at @simplybastow

3. (really big product management community)

4. (really nice product management tool)

5. Let’s chat about
product culture

7. Culture:
Decisions your team make in your
absence.

8. Elements of
good company culture

9. Clear direction

10. Autonomy

12. Psychological safety

13. You know nothing.

14. How might we?

15. I bet…
How might we?

16. Formula for good culture:
Clear direction
Autonomy
Psychological
safety( )
+
+

17. How does the roadmap
help with this?

18. A roadmap can be a diagnostic tool
for the state of the company

19. A bad roadmap is a
symptom of underlying
issues in a company

20. Symptom:
Initiatives written as features or
solutions, not problems to be solved.
Diagnosis:
Lack of autonomy

21. Symptom:
Missing roadmap or vision, nothing tied
back to company-level objectives.
Diagnosis:
Lack of clear direction

22. Symptom:
Roadmap dictated from above, no room
for questions or experiments.
Diagnosis:
Lack of psychological safety

23. Biggest offender?

24. Timeline roadmap

25. JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

26. Time
Thingstodo
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

27. Time
Feature A
Thingstodo
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

28. Feature A
Thingstodo
Time
Feature B
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

29. Feature A
Thingstodo
Feature B
Time
Feature C
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

30. Feature A
Thingstodo
Feature B
Time
Feature C
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

31. Thingstodo
Time Due dates & duration
ALL
THE
THINGS!
Designed to fail (and not in the good way)

32. Thingstodo
Time
ALL
THE
ASSUMPTIONS!
Full of assumptions

33. You assume you know how
much work and how long
each feature is going to
take.
Assumption #1
Time
Feature A
Feature B
Feature C

34. You assume that nothing else is
going to disrupt your timeline.
Assumption #2
Time

35. You assume that each
feature will work
as soon as it is
launched.
Assumption #3
✔
✔
✔

36. You assume that each of
these features actually
deserves to exist!
Assumption #4
✔
✔
✔

37. The grand assumption:
Nothing’s going to change.

38. Made up release dates
Development death marches
Mismanaged expectations
Missed market opportunities
Building the wrong thing
Sad product managers
What could possibly go wrong?

39. Vicious cycle
Big buffers,
slow work
Blame culture Tighter controls,
less freedom

40. It’s a trap!

41. Local maximum
True maximum

42. So is there a better way?

43. Ditch your timeline roadmap

44. 4 steps
to ditching your timeline roadmap
and building a better product culture

45. Step 1: Product vision
FOR (target customer)
WHO (statement of need or opportunity)
THE (product name) IS A (product category)
THAT (key benefit, reason to buy)
UNLIKE (primary competitive alternative)
OUR PRODUCT (statement of primary differentiation)
Find this free template at: www.prodpad.com/vision-template

46. Formula for good culture:
Clear direction
Autonomy
Psychological
safety( )
+
+
Product vision

47. Step 2: Objectives

48. OUTCOME
output

49. Step 3: Time horizons

50. Formula for good culture:
Clear direction
Autonomy
Psychological
safety( )
+
+
Objectives and
time horizons

51. Measure
Learn
Build
Step 4: Experimentation & Validation

52. Measure
Learn
Build
The Build Trap
Build
Build
Build

53. Thingstodo
Time
Build
Build
Build!
Build trap roadmap

54. Build in
space
for
validation

55. Your roadmap
is a prototype
for your strategy

56. Result: Lean Roadmapping
Top priority for next
work opening
Likely 6+ months
away, but aligns with
vision
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Immediate problem to
be solved, currently in
development
Immediate problem to
be solved, currently
being prototyped
Now Next Later

57. Likely 6+ months
away, but checking
that it aligns with
vision
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Current development
work in progress
- experiment 1
- experiment 2
- experiment 3
Current prototyping
work in progress
- experiment 1
- experiment 2
- experiment 3
- experiment 4
Top confidence for
next work opening
Experimenting on a Lean Roadmap
Now Next Later

58. Don’t trash your
roadmap!

59. Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Completed
(validation roadmap)
Result:
Testing results now
Result:
Increase by $200!
Result:
No change in #...
Result:
Decrease by 10%!
Top priority for next
work opening
Likely 6+ months
away, but aligns with
vision
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Objective
Now Next Later
Immediate problem to
be solved, currently in
development
Immediate problem to
be solved, currently
being prototyped
Validating on a Lean Roadmap

60. Formula for good culture:
Clear direction
Autonomy
Psychological
safety( )
+
+
Experimentation
and validation

61. Delivery dates
Solving problems

62. What if I have to give delivery dates?

63. Dates on roadmaps
Why it’s sometimes necessary

64. Good Examples
● GDPR (Legal compliance - regulatory driven due date)
● Christmas (Market opportunity - market-driven due date)
Strategically important. Externally driven.

65. Bad Reasons
● You think your bosses expect it

66. Bad Reasons
● You think your bosses expect it
● Your roadmap format implies it

67. Bad Reasons
● You think your bosses expect it
● Your roadmap format implies it
● You think it’ll focus the team and speed them up

68. Ask yourself
- What’s driving this need for a date?
- What are we willing to sacrifice for this?
- Is this strategically important?

69. What kind of organisation are you?
Nimble
and lean
Slow and risk-averse

70. Product-led, lean companies
change the world

71. Questions?

72. Thank you!
I’m Janna Bastow
Let’s go for or and talk product
to @simplybastow or janna@prodpad.com