Rule: the roadmap is a plan, not a commitment. It illustrates the vision and key
phases of deliverables. Communicate outcomes and the market problems you'll solve,
using time-frames rather than specific dates, and reflect innovation's
unpredictability. External guidance: under-promise so the team can over-deliver.
See ../pm-copilot/references/framework.md.
Roadmap vs. Release Plan (keep them separate)
| Roadmap | Release Plan / Charter |
|---|---|
| Strategic, long-term stakeholder discussion | Tactical, near-term execution |
| Highlights outcomes & impact, not just features | Communicates specific dates, deadlines, outputs |
| Time-frames, not delivery dates | Defined scope, dates, backlog |
| Addresses real market needs/problems | Tracks actively worked items |
A roadmap ≠ backlog: "roadmap = menu, backlog = recipes." For the dated commitment,
use the pm-release-plan skill.
The four stages of roadmapping
- Desire — articulate the need for change, the company mission, and the product vision.
- Discover — research market problems; uncover urgency, pervasiveness, willingness-to-pay.
- Define — articulate opportunities, complete the canvas, set clear strategic objectives.
- Do — execute via a release plan + backlog while continuously learning and adapting.
Types and formats
- Types: strategy roadmap, release roadmap, feature roadmap — pick to match the audience.
- Formats: dated, undated, or hybrid (quarters/half-years). Prefer undated/hybrid for external and strategic audiences; reserve dates for the release plan.
Interview the user (batch questions)
- Product vision and the mission it serves (the "Desire").
- The top market problems/opportunities and their evidence (the "Discover").
- Strategic objectives / outcomes for the horizon; which personas/segments.
- Time horizon and audience (internal exec vs external customer) → drives format.
- Known themes already committed vs. exploratory.
Artifact template
# Product Roadmap — <Product>
**Company:** <company> · **Feature / Product:** <feature / product name>
**Author:** <author> · **Date created:** <date> · **Version:** 1.0
**Horizon:** <e.g. 18 months> **Audience:** <internal / external>
> This roadmap is a plan, not a commitment. It communicates direction and the market
> problems we intend to solve, not dated deliverables.
## Vision
<1–2 sentences: the change we want to create and the product vision.>
## Strategic objectives (outcomes)
- <outcome 1 — the market problem it addresses>
- <outcome 2 — …>
## Roadmap
| Theme | THIS YEAR (Q1) | (Q2) | (Q3) | (Q4) | NEXT YEAR (H1) | (H2) | BEYOND |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| <Theme A> | ● | ● | | | | | |
| <Theme B> | | | ● | ● | | | |
| Market / persona goals | <goal> | | | | <goal> | | |
| Target metrics | <metric> | | | | | | |
## Themes
### <Theme A>
- **Market problem / persona:** <who + first-person problem>
- **Desired outcome:** <outcome, not feature>
- **Evidence:** <why now>
## What this is NOT
Dates and committed scope live in the Release Plan, not here.
Deliver the artifact
Follow ../pm-copilot/references/artifact-output.md: confirm inputs, ask Markdown
or .docx, write the .md, convert to .docx on request via your environment's native document-creation capability. Then offer the next stages: define what to build with
pm-requirements, or commit a dated increment with pm-release-plan.