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March 29 - April 12, 2022
Executives and members of the organization’s board of directors are generally concerned with the investments the company is making and the expected return on those investments. Their interest in and tolerance of the more operational details of all of this are inversely proportional to their trust in the team’s ability to execute. In other words, if they are digging into the details, it’s because they think something is wrong. Generally, then, you want to limit the roadmap information you provide to these stakeholders to the high-level initial material on vision, strategy, and problem-solving
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Customers and prospects can be this demanding, and much more at times. Many prospects will refuse to sign—and long-time customers will refuse to renew—if certain features are not committed to. How you handle this depends on your business, but we encourage you to ask what your stakeholders are really wanting you to commit to. Is it really a particular feature or a specific date? Or is that they want to know you have skin in the game, too? Or that you are listening to them? Or that you’ll give them more information when you have it?
Successful companies revise their roadmaps on a regular cycle to reflect market changes and shifts in strategy or priority, while also allowing execution to proceed steadily between updates.
According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, punctuated equilibrium is “a theory that evolution proceeds with long periods of relative stability interspersed with rapid change.” We believe this is a good metaphor for managing roadmap change in the least disruptive way possible.
Figure 10-3. The iron triangle
When it’s time for a pivot, revisit everything from the product vision down, and be explicit about what is changing, what is not changing, and why these changes are necessary.
How to Get Started We suggest a six-step process for getting started in your organization: Assess your situation and choose an approach. Get buy-in for change from from your key stakeholders. Train your stakeholders how to contribute. Start small and work incrementally. Evaluate your results and align on next steps. Keep relaunching.
