What is a product roadmap (and what it isn't)

Alex Tutor

You look like someone who has just been handed a big task. What's up?

You

Ihor wants the roadmap for next year. By Friday. Here's his message:

Ihor

Sofia, the board meets on the 14th. I need next year's roadmap by Friday: every feature with a month next to it, so sales and marketing can plan around it.

You

And I have this spreadsheet: 40 requests from sales, support and the founders. My plan is to sort them by who asked loudest, give each one a month and turn it all into a nice Gantt chart.

Alex Tutor

Let's fast-forward to May. Five of those features have slipped, two turned out to be useless, and a customer is waving your March date at the sales team. What has your roadmap become?

You

A list of broken promises. OK, but Ihor asked for dates. What else can I give him?

Alex Tutor

First, let's work out what he actually needs. The request is “dates”. The reason behind it is in the second half of his message.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Read Ihor's message again. What does he most need from the roadmap?

Choose one answerA delivery date for each of the 40 requestsA clear picture of where the product is heading and in what order, so the board, sales and marketing can planA Gantt chart showing who works on which taskA list of features ranked by how many people asked for them

You

So what is a roadmap, if not a list of features with dates?

Alex Tutor

A product roadmap is a strategic communication tool. It shows how the product will move towards its vision: which customer problems and business goals the team will tackle, roughly in what order, and why.

It answers three questions for everyone around the product: where are we going, why, and what comes first. Notice what's missing: exact dates, task owners, story points.

You

Who is it for, then? Ihor or the team?

Alex Tutor

Both, and more. Engineering sees why the work matters. Sales and marketing see what to prepare for. Ihor and the board see how money turns into results. Customers see that their problems have been heard.

That's why a good roadmap is a statement of intent, not a contract. It says “this is where we're heading and why”, and it's honest that the route will change as we learn.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

A product roadmap is a commitment to deliver every listed feature by the date next to it.

TrueFalse

You

But the team still needs to know what ships when. Where does that live?

Alex Tutor

In other artefacts, one level down. A release plan says which solutions ship in which release, with scope, dates and capacity. It answers “how and when” for work the roadmap has already justified with “what and why”.

The product backlog is the ordered list of stories and bugs for the next sprints. A project plan, often drawn as a Gantt chart, tracks tasks, owners and dependencies. All useful, each with a different job.

You

So my Gantt chart would have been a project plan pretending to be a roadmap.

Alex Tutor

Exactly. And look who's typing in the chat.

Lesia

Sofia, Ihor says you're making a roadmap with dates for 40 features. Does that mean I need estimates for all 40 by Friday? We barely understand half of them.

Alex Tutor

That's the hidden cost of a dated feature list: someone has to estimate everything up front, long before anyone knows what the solution will be. Those numbers are guesses dressed up as a plan.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Match each artefact to the question it answers.

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

Product roadmap
Release plan
Product backlog
Project plan (Gantt chart)

Answers left to place

Bohdan

Hi all! Quick one: I told PurrPoint that bulk ordering for clinics will be ready in April. They're about to sign for all 14 of their clinics. Can you put it on the roadmap for April?

You

Oh no. This is exactly it, isn't it?

Alex Tutor

It's the classic pattern. Once people read a roadmap as a promise, dates leak into contracts, sales starts selling things that don't exist yet, and every slip costs you a customer's trust.

There are quieter symptoms too. The team ships everything on time, yet the numbers don't move. Features pass acceptance but don't solve the problem. People keep asking “why is this on the roadmap?” and nobody knows.

You

Should I just tell Bohdan no?

Alex Tutor

Not yet. A flat no leaves him looking bad in front of PurrPoint. Ask why: what problem do the clinics want solved? Then we can commit to solving that problem and put a date only on what we're confident about.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which of these are signs that a company treats its roadmap as a delivery promise? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applySales writes roadmap features and dates into customer contractsThe team hits every release date, but retention and revenue stay flatEvery item on the roadmap is linked to a business objectiveEngineers must estimate every item for the next 12 months before work startsThe roadmap carries a note that plans may change as the team learnsNobody can explain why a feature is on the roadmap, only when it's due

You

Let me put it together. How will I know on Friday that my roadmap is any good?

Alex Tutor

Run three quick checks. The trace test: point at any row and ask which goal or customer problem it serves. If nobody can answer, the row doesn't belong there.

The change test: imagine we learn something in March that reshuffles the plan. Can we update it without breaking a promise to anyone? If not, it's written as a contract.

You

And the third?

Alex Tutor

The reader test: Lesia, Bohdan, Ihor and a customer each open it. Does each of them find their answer, why, what comes first, what to prepare for, without booking a meeting with you? Three passes, and it's doing its job.

You

Ihor will still want to know when things happen, though.

Alex Tutor

Fair, and he'll get a sense of timing: what's now, what's next, what's later. Broad buckets instead of exact days. We'll build that in the third lesson. Now, back to Bohdan.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

Bohdan asks to put “bulk ordering for clinics, April” on the roadmap because he has already mentioned it to PurrPoint. What is the best reply?

Choose one answer“Sure, April it is. I'll add it so the team knows.”“No. Roadmaps don't have dates, so we can't promise PurrPoint anything.”“Let's find out what PurrPoint is trying to fix. Then we can commit to solving that problem and agree a date once the team is confident about the solution.”“I'll put it under 'Later', and you can tell PurrPoint it's on the roadmap.”

You

OK. I need to answer Ihor today, or he'll assume I'm drawing the Gantt chart.

Alex Tutor

Start from what he needs: the board and sales want to plan. Offer that, and say what they'll see on Friday instead of 40 dates.

You

Should I mention Bohdan's April promise too?

Alex Tutor

Not in this message. One problem at a time; Bohdan's turn comes next.

You

And no lecture on roadmap theory.

Alex Tutor

Right. He's the CEO: two or three sentences, and make it easy for him to say yes.

Alex Tutor

Question 6Short answer · AI-checked task

Write Sofia's reply to Ihor (2–4 sentences): what she will bring on Friday instead of a dated list of 40 features, and how it still helps the board, sales and marketing plan.

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Bohdan

So… April or not? PurrPoint's procurement manager is calling me tomorrow.

You

I'd like to understand what PurrPoint actually needs before we talk about April.

Alex Tutor

Good. “Bulk ordering” is Bohdan's guess at a solution. Behind it there's a problem: maybe clinic admins spend hours on the phone, maybe orders get mixed up, maybe prescription diets run out.

Each of those problems has a different best solution, and some are far cheaper than a full bulk-ordering system. Help Bohdan go into tomorrow's call with good questions.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Write 2–3 questions Bohdan can ask PurrPoint's procurement manager tomorrow to find out what problem “bulk ordering” is meant to solve. Don't promise a date or a feature.

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Alex Tutor

Before Friday, let's practise on someone else's roadmap. Problems are easier to spot when it isn't yours.

You

Whose is it?

Alex Tutor

A friend of mine is a PM at a small Ukrainian SaaS for accounting firms. Her director has just sent this to the whole company and to five key clients.

You

To clients? With exact dates? Brave.

Alex Tutor

Read it twice: once as one of those clients, once as someone on the team. Ask what each of them will take away from it.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Case · AI-checked task

Critique Docketly's “Product roadmap 2027”.

Docketly is a Ukrainian B2B SaaS that small accounting firms use to collect and store their clients' documents. The director sent this “Product roadmap 2027” to all staff and to five key clients:

Feature	Owner	Estimate	Release date
Integration with a bank API	Andrii	34 story points	15 Feb
Dark mode	Olha	8 story points	1 Mar
iOS mobile app	Andrii	89 story points	30 Apr
AI document recognition	Maksym	120 story points	15 Jun
New pricing page	Olha	5 story points	1 Jul
Client portal redesign	Maksym	55 story points	30 Sep

There is nothing else on the page. A week later, a key client asks why their renewed contract says “mobile app by 30 April”, and support asks what AI recognition is actually for.

Write a short critique (150–300 words): what kind of artefact this really is, what a roadmap would need that this one lacks, what risks sending it to clients and sales creates, and what you would change first.

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You

So on Friday Ihor gets direction and priorities, not 40 dates. Lesia doesn't estimate everything. And Bohdan finds out what's really wrong at PurrPoint.

Alex Tutor

That's it. A roadmap earns trust by being honest about what we know, what we don't and why we're doing the work.

Alex Tutor

Next time: your spreadsheet is full of outputs. We'll turn them into outcomes.

Alex Tutor

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

Next lesson: Outcomes over outputs