\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n Download our Business Starter Resource \u2013 Product launch playbook<\/strong><\/p>\n This playbook will guide you through the process of how to successfully launch your product online.<\/p>\n Access the Product launch playbook<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Here, I share five essential traits of product roadmaps for owners of digital products, using examples from my experience that worked well. Take it, tweak it to make it your own, and use it consistently to keep your tactical work in line with your strategic goals.<\/p>\n Vision and strategies are great, but curious leaders of digital companies are often asking (or thinking), \u2018What have you done for me [or the company] lately?\u2019.<\/p>\n So, all of your product roadmaps should start by reiterating the recent progress you\u2019ve made, both on tactical projects (which typically have four-to-eight-week timeframes) and strategic initiatives (which typically have three-to-six-month timeframes).<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a \u2018summary of last month\u2019s initiatives\u2019 excerpt from a product roadmap I prepared for a client of mine.<\/p>\n It\u2019s simply a list of what we accomplished, and for what type of project (strategic or tactical). And it uses active verbs, not general project names or buzzwords. In other words, it reads more like a resume than a boring business presentation.<\/p>\n For each project, you should drill down into details for those who want them. In addition to sharing the purpose and status, be sure to include the expected outcomes of each effort.<\/p>\n Ideally, these should include \u2018hard\u2019 outcomes like revenue gains or ROIs. But when these data aren\u2019t available, you should at least share qualitative results.<\/p>\n \u2018No expected \u2014 and measurable \u2014 outcomes, no project.\u2019 That should be your mantra. If it isn\u2019t now, and you work in a data-driven organization, it probably soon will be.<\/p>\n Nearly every organization I work with loves Agile development. Yes, some do \u2018real Agile\u2019 and some just \u2018talk the talk\u2019. Regardless, your organization probably wants, even demands, that you push out product improvements fast. You need to reflect this expectation in your product roadmap documents.<\/p>\n So, be sure to include your near-term tactical plans in your roadmaps. And make sure you can push out improvements to your product at least every calendar month. This cadence will synch well with the 2-3 week timeframes of Agile development sprints.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a sample table showing the tactical projects planned for that same client.<\/p>\n Note that this shows projects rather than feature updates, which isn\u2019t ideal. So that you can deploy product updates faster, and encounter fewer issues, you should break your projects down further, to the \u2018micro-feature\u2019 level:<\/p>\n Discuss all candidate projects first with your product and executive teams, then come up with the best list of micro features. Then prioritization that list relative to other tactical projects. Maybe microfeature two on Tactical project two will add more value for your customers in the near term. If that\u2019s the case, it should get a higher priority.<\/p>\n If you need some template starting points in your Agile organization, scrum.org provides tips and advice on how to build product-focused agile frameworks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download our Business Starter Resource \u2013 Product launch playbook<\/strong><\/p>\n This playbook will guide you through the process of how to successfully launch your product online.<\/p>\n Access the Product launch playbook<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n The whole point of sharing a product roadmap, of course, is to share and track the progress you\u2019re making on your strategic plans.\u00a0 So every roadmap you create should include your list of upcoming strategic projects.<\/p>\n For each strategic project, estimate it\u2019s revenue potential (again, going back to that \u2018No outcomes, no project\u2019 mantra), timeframe and priority and level of effort. If two items have similar priorities, and one has a much lower level of effort, you can probably guess which one your executive team will choose.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a \u2018strategic projects\u2019 slide excerpt for that same client.<\/p>\n Note a couple of things here. The timeframes show a range of months, versus weeks, as done for tactical projects. It\u2019s okay to be a bit vague here since these projects haven\u2019t been launched yet. Just insert more specific timeframes when you later \u2018project-ize\u2019 these strategic efforts.<\/p>\n Also, note the last item related to brand value propositions. During a strategy call with the client that bumped up in priority (to \u20181A\u2019). That\u2019s because their executive team felt that new messaging, when deployed widely, would best increase their brand value in the minds of customers and prospects.<\/p>\n A couple of semantic notes:<\/p>\n Having a strong vision for your brand is important, but only if it drives the strategies that follow. Did Honda Motor Company just \u2018instantly\u2019 create its premium Acura automobile brand? No, that brand concept was part of their 30-year vision during a strategy meeting in Tokyo in the early 1980s. It's reaping the financial rewards of that decision now, as Acuras (which shares a lot of mechanical parts with Hondas, and thus lower production costs), sell at much higher profit margins, as well as boost the company\u2019s overall image.<\/p>\n My point here: Take some time to consider what your product \u2014 and more broadly, your brand \u2014 could be in the future. Then build some of this vision into your product roadmap. But, since technology changes so quickly these days, be sure to come up with a vision and strategies that can actually be executed within a few years.<\/p>\n Speaking of vision, if you ever want your product to make a \u2018giant leap\u2019 for mankind (or just customer-kind), you\u2019ll need to introduce new technologies into your marketing technology stack from time to time. So constantly stay on the lookout for new tech that could truly transform your product. Websites like G2Crowd<\/a>\u00a0and Capterra are a good place to start your search.<\/p>\n If you get overwhelmed (easy to do!) engage the services of a MarTech advisor or strategist who can guide you through the vast sea of tech that\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n Yes, these apps and systems require a considerably higher investment than you may be making in operational tools. But if you plan ahead for these investments, and can spread them out over a couple of years, they become manageable.<\/p>\n Finally, for the best results, inform your MarTech choices with customer research and insights. That way you\u2019ll know your customers actually value the new tech you\u2019re integrating into your product.<\/p>\n1. Highlight your recent tactical results<\/h3>\n
![\"Summary](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Summary-of-December-initiatives--700x300.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Example](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Expected-outcomes-700x338.png\")
<\/p>\n2. Show your one-to-two-month tactical plan<\/h3>\n
![\"high-priority](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/high-priority-tactical-projects-700x328.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n 3. Share your three-to-six-month strategic plan<\/h3>\n
![\"Proposed](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Proposed-strategic-projects-700x338.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Unprioritized](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Unprioritized-strategic-priorities-700x379.png\")
<\/p>\n4. Expose your digital product roadmap longer-term vision<\/h3>\n
![\"marketing](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/marketing-automation-software-700x455.png\")
<\/p>\n5. Include transformative MarTech in your digital product roadmap<\/h3>\n