Prioritizing Roadmap
Scope
Covers
- Turning messy roadmap inputs into a ranked opportunity list + coherent roadmap
- Defining a planning “season” (macro context) and success criteria
- Using a common-currency scoring model (ICE + assumptions) to compare across teams
- Producing an alignment-ready Roadmap Prioritization Pack
When to use
- “What should we build next?”
- “We need a Q2/Q3 roadmap.”
- “We have too many requests and no way to compare them.”
- “We need to prioritize across multiple teams/pods.”
When NOT to use
- You don’t have any agreed goal / North Star / strategic intent (do product vision / goals first)
- You need sprint planning or story-level estimation
- You’re only choosing a single experiment within an already-fixed roadmap
- You need a full customer discovery plan from scratch
Inputs
Minimum required
- Product + primary customer segment
- Planning horizon + cadence (e.g., next 6 weeks, next quarter, rolling 12–24 months)
- Success criteria (North Star / business goal) + 2–5 guardrails
- Candidate opportunities (or current roadmap/backlog) with rough size/effort
- Constraints: capacity, commitments, dependencies, deadlines, risk tolerance
Missing-info strategy
- Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md.
- If still missing, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 roadmap options.
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce a Roadmap Prioritization Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested):
- Context snapshot (goal, horizon, constraints, stakeholders)
- Season framing (what changed, key bets, explicit non-goals)
- Opportunity inventory with conviction level (known vs hypothesis) and evidence
- Prioritization model (common currency + ICE scoring + assumptions)
- Ranked opportunity list (top 10–20) + “parking lot”
- Roadmap draft (Now/Next/Later or quarterly themes) + update cadence (rolling plan)
- Decision narrative (why these, why now) + “Think Bigger” ideas
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md
Workflow (8 steps)
1) Intake + decision framing
- Inputs: User context; references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Confirm the decision (backlog vs quarterly roadmap vs annual planning), horizon, stakeholders, constraints, and “must-do” commitments.
- Outputs: Context snapshot.
- Checks: Everyone agrees what decision will be made and by when.
2) Define the “season” + success criteria
- Inputs: Context snapshot.
- Actions: Name the current season (macro context), define 3–5 season bets, and set success criteria (North Star + guardrails).
- Outputs: Season framing section.
- Checks: A stakeholder can restate “why now” and “what we’re optimizing for”.
3) Build the opportunity inventory (separate truth vs hypotheses)
- Inputs: Candidate inputs (requests, ideas, problems).
- Actions: Normalize each item into a problem/outcome statement; tag conviction level (Known / Belief / Hypothesis) and evidence; split discovery vs delivery.
- Outputs: Opportunity inventory table.
- Checks: Every item has an intended outcome metric and a confidence/evidence note.
4) Define the common-currency scoring model (ICE + assumptions)
- Inputs: Inventory + success criteria.
- Actions: Choose a primary “common currency” (e.g., North Star units, revenue, cost, risk reduction) and define ICE scales; estimate impact ranges and confidence based on evidence.
- Outputs: Scoring model + filled scoring table.
- Checks: Two people using the same scales would produce similar relative rankings.
5) Stress-test the ranking (scenarios + constraints)
- Inputs: Scored list + constraints.
- Actions: Apply constraints (capacity, dependencies, deadlines); run 2–3 scenarios (base / aggressive / conservative); ensure a balanced portfolio (core, growth, quality, big bets).
- Outputs: Shortlist (top set) + parking lot + key tradeoffs.
- Checks: Tradeoffs and “no’s” are explicit; nothing critical is missing.
6) Draft the roadmap (sequencing + cadence)
- Inputs: Shortlist + scenario choice.
- Actions: Convert priorities into a roadmap (Now/Next/Later or quarterly themes), sequencing by dependencies and learning; define a rolling plan cadence (e.g., rolling 12–24 months, refreshed every 6 months).
- Outputs: Roadmap draft + update cadence.
- Checks: The roadmap is coherent, feasible, and resilient to new inputs.
7) Write the decision narrative + alignment plan
- Inputs: Roadmap draft + rationale.
- Actions: Write “why these, why now”; include a “Think Bigger” section; define how the roadmap will be communicated and updated.
- Outputs: Decision narrative + comms/rollout plan.
- Checks: A cross-functional partner can explain the roadmap without you in the room.
8) Quality gate + finalize the pack
- Inputs: Full draft pack.
- Actions: Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
- Outputs: Final Roadmap Prioritization Pack.
- Checks: Pack is shareable as-is; assumptions, owners, and cadence are explicit.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (B2B SaaS): “Prioritize our next-quarter roadmap for a collaboration product across Growth + Core.” Expected: season framing, scored opportunity inventory, a Now/Next/Later roadmap, and a clear decision narrative with explicit non-goals.
Example 2 (Marketplace): “Prioritize 6 months of roadmap across supply, demand, and trust & safety.” Expected: a common-currency model that makes cross-team tradeoffs comparable and a rolling plan refreshed on a fixed cadence.
Boundary example: “Give me a 2-year roadmap, we don’t have goals or constraints.” Response: ask for goals/constraints; if unavailable, produce options + assumptions and recommend doing product vision + North Star first.