PRODUCT STRATEGY AND

ROADMAP PRACTISES

July 12 2016

RESOURCESMost of the information being delivered has been

pulled from Roman Pichler (http://www.romanpichler.com/)

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Setting EXPECTATIONS

Aligning stakeholders Team(s)

Clear Goals True understanding of Product and Deliverables

THE STORY OF BOATY MCBOATFACE British Government Agency let people suggest name for

new $287M Polar Research Vessel

Lessons Learned: Be Honest about asking for advice. If you ask for advice, be prepared to take it. If you ask for advice, be prepared to say NO. If you don’t take advice, be clear about why.

Be clear about your expectations and why you are asking for advice!

SO WHAT’S FIRST

Vision Product Strategy

Product Roadma

p

VISION Guide for everyone involved in making the product a

success. The ultimate reason for creating/maintaining product. Helps to attract the right team and the right customers.

CREATING A VISION Should not be a plan, but the motivation for developing

the product. Everyone must have the same vision – Shared Vision Keep it short and sweet!

Example of Vision Board(http://www.romanpichler.com/tools/vision-board/)

YOUR COMPANY2 companies are merging, let’s call them Nelnet and Great Lakes to create a company, let’s call it GreatNet. GreatNet is poised to be the sole servicer for federal student loan servicing.Federal Student Aid (FSA) helps America’s families access higher education as they meet the needs of 35 million borrowers. With this comes the desire to have all functions managed on a single servicing platform, to provide all borrowers with a standardized, high-quality user experience.

SECOND

Vision Product Strategy

Product Roadma

p

PRODUCT STRATEGY

The high-level plan to the vision Describes who the product is for and why people would

want it What the business goals are and why the company would

invest Changes as your product changes Provides input for the Product Roadmap

CREATING A PRODUCT STRATEGY Start with what you KNOW now

Focus on what matters MOST Use the Vision Board previously listed. Moving from Left to

Right Collaborate

Change and update your vision board

CONT’D Put it to the TEST

You can do further interviews with specific target groups

May turn out to be WRONG…Changing the Strategy is called a PIVOT

Other tools to help with Product Strategy: Business Model Lean Canvas

THIRD

VisionProduct Strateg

yProduct

Roadmap

PRODUCT ROADMAP Describes how the product is likely to grow Facilitates learning and change Helps communication around product development Aligns the product and company strategy Helps set expectations for stakeholders, development,

marketing, etc. Strategic vs Tactical (Product Backlog) Owned by the PO Supports the Product Strategy and ultimately the Vision!

GOAL-ORIENTED ROADMAP Based on shared goals rather than features Mitigates conflict for Agile teams who only commit a few

weeks at a time

CREATING A PRODUCT ROADMAP Focus on goals and benefits – Product Strategy Tells the story of your product Keep it simple – Epics, User Stories, Designs belong in the

Backlog not Roadmap Collaborate – creates shared ownership and buy-in Say NO! Dates or NO Dates – Look at your audience Measurable – Goal level KPI’s $$$ - Look at skills possibly needed and how many

people Review and Adjust

ROADMAP EXAMPLE

COMMON MISTAKES Roadmap is a GUARANTEE

High level plan based on what you know TODAY Epics and User Stories Wishful Thinking

WHAT NEXT? Do you have a VISION? Do you have a PRODUCT STRATEGY? Do you have a ROADMAP?

Are you revisiting these things? If so, how often?

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!