A product roadmap is a document that provides high-level guidance on the direction of a product. It typically outlines the future vision for the product and defines a series of goals and objectives that need to be met to achieve that vision.
It can help to ensure that everyone is aligned on the product’s goals and objectives, and it can provide a clear framework for prioritizing and delivering features and capabilities.
However, crafting a good product roadmap is not always easy. There are many factors to consider, and it can be difficult to balance the needs of all stakeholders. In addition, there is always the risk that emotions or personal biases will come into play when making decisions about what should be included in the roadmap.
source: medium.com
What are the Goals of the Product Roadmap?
A product roadmap is a high-level overview of the development plans for a product. There are many benefits to creating and maintaining a product roadmap, including the following:
1) Aids prioritization of tasks and initiatives – A roadmap helps to identify which tasks and initiatives are the most important, and should therefore be given priority. This can be extremely helpful in ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively.
2) Progress can be measured and monitored easily – With a roadmap in place, it is easy to track progress and identify any areas where development has fallen behind schedule. This information can be used to make necessary adjustments and ensure that the product remains on track.
3) Creates transparency both internally and externally – A roadmap enables all stakeholders to see what is being worked on, and how this fits into the overall plans for the product. This can help to avoid misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.
4) Efficient coordination of tasks and activities between teams and employees – A product roadmap helps to coordinate tasks between different teams and employees, ensuring that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities. This can help to avoid duplication of effort and improve overall efficiency.
5) Helps build an understanding of the entire product cycle – By mapping out all planned tasks, a roadmap provides a clear overview of the entire product cycle. This can help identify potential bottlenecks and ensure that all team members are aware of the big picture.
How to Build a Product Roadmap Based on User Research?
User research helps product managers better understand their customers, what they need from a product, and how to prioritise their product roadmaps. With user research, teams can uncover customer problems, identify the features and functions that are most important to customers, and most importantly, continually assess customer satisfaction with a product. This customer-centric approach essentially gives you a position for your product that you and your customers will both be satisfied with. User research is essential for any product manager who wants to build products that users will love. User research should be an integral part of every product team’s toolkit.
To build a product roadmap based on user research, you need to complete the following steps:
Explore Stakeholder Interests
Good research is the foundation of sound decision-making, so it’s no surprise that leaders from all teams value it highly. As you begin your work for the upcoming year, take the time to ask leaders from each team if they have any requests that require research. Spend time understanding each item and why it’s important to them. Once you have a good understanding of their needs, do your best to leave no stone unturned in your search for information. Thorough research will help ensure that the decisions you make are based on the best available information, setting your team up for success.
Study Evaluation
When you start a project, it’s important to get the most out of your research paper. After all, there’s no point in starting from scratch if someone has already asked the same questions. By checking existing research papers, you can quickly get an idea of what is important to others. Most likely a significant part of the main questions has already been asked. You can also try to find research papers from other companies to expand on your results. In no time, you will be able to build on the work of others and make your important discoveries.
Prioritization
At any given company, there is always a long list of requests from stakeholders that range from the immediate to the far-off future. It can be difficult to keep track of everything and to know where to focus your attention. Вам стоит разделить их по этапам разработки.
Вот один из вариантов:
#now lists items for the next 2-4 weeks;
#next is 1-3 months;
#later is anything that needs revisiting after 3 months.
This system helps us to focus on what is most important at the moment and to plan for the future without getting overwhelmed. Plus, it’s simple and easy to understand, which is key when you’re trying to keep track of a lot of information.
Following the Plan
You should already have a plan on which all those on whom the fulfillment of the conditions of this plan depends are dedicated. This single document should detail the questions to be answered, the research to be done, and the recommendations for doing the work. Having a clear and concise overview of the study allows everyone involved in the project to better understand what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. This helps streamline workflows and prevents any misunderstandings or confusion later on.
As any good researcher knows, sharing your findings is an essential part of the process. Not only does it allow you to get feedback and input from others, but it also helps to keep everyone invested in the project. When it comes to sharing your findings, there are a few different options. You can write up a formal report and share it with all stakeholders, or you can share specific quotes and findings with a wider audience. Whichever approach you choose, make sure that you are clear and concise in your communication. This will help ensure that your findings are understood and that they have the desired impact.
Review and Recalibrate
Reviews and recalibrations are essential for any research roadmap. By checking in with everyone every quarter, you can ensure that priorities have not shifted and that new items are added to the pipeline promptly. Periodically assessing your research roadmap also allows you to identify ways to improve it without losing sight of customer pain points. If necessary, refocus and start again to ensure that your research roadmap is as effective as possible.
source: nngroup.com
Conclusion
Companies that want to stay ahead of the curve understand that research is key to both developing new products and improving existing ones. By taking a user-centric approach and collaborating across departments, they can ensure that everyone is focused on solving specific customer problems. A research roadmap can be a valuable asset in this process, as it helps to align all departments around a common goal. By elevating the customer’s voice and making it the driving force behind product development, companies can stay ahead of the competition and deliver value to their customers
