Roadmap review cadence and handling change requests

You

Last review of the year. The board went quietly, by the way: two questions, both about churn.

Alex Tutor

A quiet board is a good sign. Now the roadmap itself. How often should each part of it change?

You

We promised a monthly review. Is that enough for everything?

Alex Tutor

Match the rhythm to the horizon and the pace of change. Now gets a monthly check: signals, carryover, anything blocked. Next gets a deeper look every quarter, when the columns roll.

The vision and the objectives, about once a year, or when the strategy really shifts. Change those monthly, and nobody can plan anything.

You

And today is also the end of the quarter, so Now becomes January to March.

Alex Tutor

Right. That's planned change: on a known rhythm, so people know when to bring things. Unplanned change is whatever arrives in between. Today you have both.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Match each part of CatChow's roadmap to how often, and how deeply, it should be reviewed.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

Now
Next
The vision and the objectives
The “not now” list

Answers left to place

Lucy

Bad news, small version: clinic orders move to the new system a week later, in the week of 18 January. February for PurrPoint still holds.

You

Does that change the roadmap?

Alex Tutor

Size it first. A small change, like a date moving within the quarter or a subtheme added, lives in the release plan. You tell the people it touches; the roadmap stays.

A broad change moves a theme between columns, or adds or drops one: a roadmap update, explained to every audience. A fundamental change touches an objective or the vision: back to the inputs, with Ian and the board.

You

So Lucy's week is small. Brandon and her team need to know, and nothing moves on the page.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. The deeper the change, the further back you go: a small one needs a message, a broad one new conversations, a fundamental one the whole process from the inputs.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Which of these is a broad change to CatChow's roadmap?

Choose one answerClinic orders move to the new system a week later, still within JanuaryThe theme “clinics easily recommend CatChow” moves from Later into Next because partner clinics start asking for itCatChow drops the vet clinic channel to focus only on subscribersA subtheme about delivery windows is added under the subscriber theme

Brandon

Big one. A chain of nine clinics wants to join, but only if we deliver within 24 hours instead of two or three days. That's nine of the 26 clinics we still need!

You

Nine clinics in one go. Hard to say no to that.

Alex Tutor

Don't answer yet. Every request, big or small, gets the same four questions in the same order, so the answer doesn't depend on who asked or how loudly.

First: who has the problem, and what happens to them if we do nothing? Second: which key result would solving it move? If either answer is weak, you can stop there.

You

Their clinics run out and lose clients. And it moves two key results: 80 partner clinics and stock-outs.

Alex Tutor

Third: what would it push out, and who needs to hear that? Fourth: what's the smallest step that would show it's worth it?

You

Next-day delivery is warehouse and courier work, and Lucy's team is on the move until March. The smallest step: see whether the form plus earlier warnings make 24 hours unnecessary.

Alex Tutor

Good. If clinics reorder before the shelf is empty, two or three days is enough. The order of the questions matters, so let's check it.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Put the four questions for any special request in the order Sofia should ask them.

Tap an item, then tap where it should go. You can also drag or use the arrows.

Ian

Have you seen this? A supermarket chain has launched its own cat food subscription, 20% cheaper than ours. We need loyalty points now, not in June.

You

The founders' idea, back with a headline behind it.

Alex Tutor

It's news, not yet evidence. Is anyone actually leaving us for it? You added a price question to the cancellation survey. What does December say?

You

27 of about 450 people who cancelled named price: six percent. And cancellations citing running out fell from 30% to 26% in the reminders' first month.

Alex Tutor

So the November decision stands. You don't reopen a decision on a headline. But this is a real fork: answer the supermarket on price, or keep betting on never running out.

You

And we decide which one now?

Alex Tutor

You decide now what would make you switch. Set decision thresholds: a measure, a level, a date to look, and what happens on each side. You make the call while nobody's panicking.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which of these are good decision thresholds for CatChow? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyIf more than 15% of people who cancel in January or February name price or a cheaper subscription, a small loyalty-points test starts in AprilIf the supermarket's subscription seems to be doing wellIf monthly churn is still above 8% at the June review, the loyalty-points test starts in JulyWhen the founders feel strongly enough about loyalty pointsIf partner clinics on the form still have more than two stock-outs a month at the end of March, automatic reorders for clinics move upIf competitors keep launching new things

You

Then there's the note to everyone after today's review. Usually I just list what changed.

Alex Tutor

People can read a list. What they can't guess is the reason. Start with why, then what changed, then when it takes effect and when you'll look again.

You

Why first? It's the longest part.

Alex Tutor

Without it, people fill the gap themselves, usually with the least charitable version: “they dropped my item” instead of “the evidence moved”.

You

Should I also say what didn't change?

Alex Tutor

Yes, especially the vision and the objectives. When those hold, a change reads as learning, not as chaos.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

When the roadmap changes, the update should list what changed; the reasons can be given to anyone who asks.

TrueFalse

Ian

Marketing and support want to plan like this next year. Can we roll it out across the whole company in January?

You

Every team at once, in January. What could possibly go wrong?

Alex Tutor

Start small: one team, one objective, one quarter. Support is a good first candidate; it already brings evidence to every review.

Begin with a quick health check of how they plan today: the trace, change and reader tests from our first week. Plus two more: did everyone hear why the plan last changed? Does anyone outside the team know how to bring a request?

You

And then leave them to it?

Alex Tutor

Then give it a steering rhythm. The monthly review becomes a short meeting with a person from each team and the same agenda every time: key results, changes, new requests, decisions, and who tells whom.

You

So the whole company learns it at the review, not in a training session.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

Support wants to try outcome-based planning next year. What's the best first step?

Choose one answerRoll it out to every team in January, so nobody is left behindRun a company-wide training on roadmap theory before anyone changes anythingBuy a roadmapping tool and let each team set it up its own wayStart with support alone for one quarter, after a quick health check of how it plans today, and bring its plan into the monthly review

You

Ian wants the loyalty-points decision in writing, before the January numbers arrive.

Alex Tutor

Good. Write the thresholds: the measure, the level, the dates you'll look, and what happens on each side of the line.

You

And if the number lands close to the line?

Alex Tutor

Then the plan stays, and you look again next month. A threshold you argue about after the fact isn't a threshold.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Write the decision thresholds for loyalty points that Ian asked for (3–5 sentences): the measure, the level, the dates you'll look, and what happens on each side of the line.

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Brandon

What do I tell the nine clinics? They want an answer before the holidays.

You

Everyone else will want to know what changed today, too. One note, then?

Alex Tutor

One note covers it: why, what, when, and what stays the same. Brandon can pass on the part about the chain in his own words.

You

The chain gets the form in spring, after PurrPoint, and a way back for faster delivery if they still run out.

Alex Tutor

Put the condition in the note. People trust a “not now” when they can see how it would become a yes.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

Write the note Sofia sends to everyone after the December review (4–6 sentences): why, what changed and what didn't, and when. Include the answer to the nine-clinic chain.

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Alex Tutor

The last version for this course. Version 5 is the whole roadmap plus how it lives: who sees what, how often it's reviewed and how changes are made.

You

Everything from the vision down to the disclaimer, and the rules around it.

Alex Tutor

And roll the columns. From today, Now is January to March.

You

Twelve person-months, the move a week later, February for PurrPoint and the quiz test in March.

Alex Tutor

Date it today. From here on it's a document that keeps changing, on purpose.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Write version 5 of CatChow's roadmap: the full roadmap and how it lives.

It's 28 December, the December review and the end of the quarter. Sofia writes version 5 of CatChow's roadmap.

Vision: every cat eats the right food, and neither owners nor vet clinics ever have to worry about running out.

Objectives and key results (targets for the end of next year)

Grow subscription revenue by keeping subscribers longer: monthly churn from 9% to 6%; cancellations citing running out or delivery timing from 30% to 15%; second orders within 60 days from 38% to 45%.
Grow the vet clinic channel: all 14 PurrPoint clinics retained; prescription-diet stock-outs from 6 a month to 1; partner clinics from 54 to 80; clinic orders placed without a call from 0% to 60%.

Progress: reorder reminders live since 19 November; cancellations citing running out 26% in December; churn still about 9%. Pilot in two PurrPoint clinics: 8 of 9 November orders through the online form, no stock-outs. Stock-outs across partner clinics: 5 in November.

Agreed at the 4 December workshop for January–March (12 person-months): the warehouse move, staged (5); the online form for all 14 PurrPoint clinics in February, once clinic orders have moved (1); one-click reorder (1); flexible delivery dates (4); a cheap test of the food-picker quiz in March (about 0.5). After that: the form for other partner clinics; the quiz, if the test works; automatic reorders for clinics, if admins still notice shortages too late. Later themes: long-term subscribers stay beyond price; clinics easily recommend CatChow. Fixed event: the national vet conference on 23 May.

Already declined: loyalty points (weak evidence, 8 person-months); the portal (back if admins need order history or several clinics under one account); a stock tracker for every brand; warehouse contractors; clinic orders skipping the queue; dark mode, birthday greetings, the photo contest, a mobile app. Apple Pay and Google Pay: no theme, fill-in work only.

Today

Lucy: clinic orders move a week later, in the week of 18 January; PurrPoint's February start holds.
Brandon: a chain of nine clinics will join only with 24-hour delivery (today two to three days); the warehouse team is busy with the move until March.
Ian: a supermarket chain launched a cat food subscription 20% cheaper. In December, 27 of about 450 people who cancelled named price.
Views so far: the board saw the vision, key results and budget on 16 December; PurrPoint has its own page; there is no public page.

Write version 5 (250–450 words):

The roadmap with the columns rolled: Now (January–March), Next (April–September), Later, with stages, confidence, the fixed event and features only under their themes.
A “not now” list with reasons and return conditions, including today's requests.
Who sees what: the board, sales and marketing, engineering, PurrPoint, the public.
How it lives: the review rhythm, the rules for changes and requests, and decision thresholds for loyalty points.
A dated disclaimer.

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You

Three months ago I wanted to sort 40 requests by who asked loudest and turn them into a Gantt chart.

Alex Tutor

Now you have a roadmap people trust: it says why, it shows what's changing, and it changes by rules everyone knows.

Alex Tutor

Key ideas

Match the review rhythm to the horizon and pace of change: Now monthly, Next quarterly as the columns roll, the vision and objectives about yearly. Planned change follows that rhythm; unplanned change arrives in between.
Size every change. Small: the release plan, and tell those affected. Broad (a theme moves, appears or goes): update the roadmap and explain it to everyone. Fundamental (an objective or the vision): back to the inputs.
Ask every request the same four questions, in order: who has the problem, which key result it moves, what it pushes out, and the smallest step that shows it's worth it.
News isn't evidence. For a real fork, set decision thresholds in advance, and explain every change: why, what, when, and what stays.
Roll out small: one team, one quarter, a quick health check first, and a monthly review with someone from each team.

That wraps up the course. Next month you'll review the roadmap again, and it will look a little different. That's how you'll know it's alive.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

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