As a product manager, having a roadmap is essential for success. A roadmap serves as a guide for product development and helps keep the team aligned and focused on the right goals and objectives. It provides a clear picture of the product’s direction and helps to prioritize features and deliverables. But not all roadmaps are created equal. There are different types of roadmaps, each with its own purpose and target audience. In this blog post, we will explore 8 types of roadmaps that product managers must own (or co-own).

Here are the 8 types of roadmap and their Tl;DR overview:

Type of Roadmap	Purpose	Audience	Timeline	Owner
Strategic Roadmap	Outlines the long-term vision and direction of the product.	Senior leadership, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.	Long-term (1-3 years)	Product Manager, CEO
Product Roadmap	Illustrates the product vision, goals, and planned features.	Stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and customers.	Medium-term (6-12 months)	Product Manager
Release Roadmap	Defines the timeline for delivering new product releases.	Cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and customers.	Short-term (1-6 months)	Product Manager, Development Team
Feature Roadmap	Outlines the planned feature releases and their dependencies.	Cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and customers.	Short-term (1-6 months)	Product Manager, Development Team
Technical Roadmap	Outlines the technical approach and dependencies for delivering the product.	Technical teams, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.	Medium-term (6-12 months)	Product Manager, Technical Lead
User Experience (UX) Roadmap	Defines the user experience vision, design and research plans.	UX designers, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.	Medium-term (6-12 months)	Product Manager, UX Lead
Customer Success Roadmap	Outlines the plans and strategies for ensuring customer success.	Customer success teams, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.	Medium-term (6-12 months)	Product Manager, Customer Success Lead
Marketing Roadmap	Outlines the marketing plans, campaigns, and go-to-market strategies.	Marketing teams, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.	Medium-term (6-12 months)	Product Manager, Marketing Lead

In this blog we will provide a comprehensive guide for product managers on the different types of roadmaps, their key elements, and best practices for using them effectively. Whether you’re new to product management or a seasoned veteran, this post will give you the knowledge and tools you need to create roadmaps that drive success for your product.

We will start by discussing the Strategic Roadmap, what it is and why it’s important, and then move on to the other types of roadmaps, one by one. Along the way, we will provide examples of each type of roadmap, to give you a clear picture of what they look like in practice.

With that, let’s dive into the first type of roadmap: the Strategic Roadmap.

What is a Strategic Product Roadmap? 

A Strategic Roadmap is a high-level view of a company’s future plans, goals, and objectives. It outlines the company’s long-term vision and serves as a guide for decision-making and resource allocation. This roadmap is typically created by senior management and is used to communicate the company’s strategy to stakeholders, including employees, investors, and customers. 

A Strategic Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Company vision and mission statement
• Key business objectives and goals
• Timeline for achieving those goals
• Major initiatives and projects
• Resource allocation
• Risks and challenges
• Key metrics for measuring success

Here’s an example of a Strategic Roadmap for an imaginary ecommerce company called “Eco-Commerce”:

• Vision: To be the leading sustainable ecommerce platform, improving the lives of customers and the environment.
• Mission: To provide customers with the best shopping experience, while reducing our carbon footprint and promoting sustainability.
• Objectives:
  • Increase market share by 30% in the next 2 years
  • Expand into new international markets
  • Launch a new automation platform for seamless, eco-friendly delivery
• Timeline: 2 years
• Initiatives:
  • Investment in automation technology to reduce carbon emissions from shipping
  • Expansion into Europe and South America
  • Launch of a new platform for eco-friendly, automated deliveries
• Resource allocation: $50 million for technology and international expansion
• Risks and challenges: Competition from established players, regulations around automation technology
• Key metrics: Market share, revenue growth, customer satisfaction, carbon footprint reduction

In this example, Eco-Commerce’s Strategic Roadmap outlines the company’s vision and mission, as well as its goals, objectives, and timeline. The roadmap includes information on major initiatives, resource allocation, risks, and key metrics. This type of roadmap helps keep Eco-Commerce focused and aligned on its long-term strategy, and serves as a reference point for decision-making and resource allocation.

What is a Product Roadmap?

A Product Roadmap is a high-level view of a product’s strategy, goals, and plans. This type of roadmap is usually created by product managers and is used to communicate the product’s overall direction and strategy to stakeholders.

The Product Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Product vision and mission statement
• Target market and customer segments
• Product goals and objectives
• Key initiatives and initiatives
• High-level timeline

Here’s an example of a Product Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• Product vision and mission statement: To become the leading ecommerce platform for eco-friendly and sustainable products.
• Target market: Conscious consumers interested in eco-friendly and sustainable products
• Product goals and objectives:
  • Increase market share in the eco-friendly ecommerce space by 25%
  • Expand product offerings to include a wider range of eco-friendly and sustainable products
  • Improve customer experience through improved mobile app and website user interface
• Key initiatives:
  • Development of eco-friendly packaging options
  • Expansion of the eco-friendly logistics network
  • Introduction of a loyalty program
• High-level timeline: Achieve market share increase and expanded product offerings within 24 months, improve customer experience within 12 months.

In this example, the Product Roadmap provides a high-level view of Eco-Commerce’s overall strategy and plans (and it is aligned to the strategic goal). It outlines the product vision, target market, goals, initiatives, and timeline for the product. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s direction and overall strategy and serves as a reference for decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps the product team stay focused and aligned on the product’s goals and initiatives.

What is a Release Roadmap?

A Release Roadmap is a high-level plan that outlines the planned releases of a product. This type of roadmap is usually created by product managers and is used to communicate the product’s release schedule to stakeholders. 

The Release Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Release date
• Release features and improvements
• Key objectives and goals for the release
• Dependencies and cross-functional requirements

Here’s an example of a Release Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• Release 1: Q1 2022
  • Features: New eco-friendly packaging options, improved mobile app experience
  • Objectives and goals: Increase customer satisfaction, improve mobile app usage and retention
  • Dependencies: Completion of the eco-friendly packaging project, mobile app development progress
• Release 2: Q2 2022
  • Features: Expansion of the eco-friendly logistics network, introduction of a loyalty program
  • Objectives and goals: Increase customer loyalty, expand eco-friendly offerings
  • Dependencies: Completion of the eco-friendly logistics network project, development of the loyalty program
• Release 3: Q3 2022
  • Features: Introduction of a subscription service, integration with smart home devices
  • Objectives and goals: Increase customer engagement, improve customer experience
  • Dependencies: Development of the subscription service, integration with smart home device partners

In this example, the Release Roadmap provides a high-level view of the product releases planned for Eco-Commerce. It outlines the planned release dates, features, objectives, and dependencies for each release. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s release schedule and the features and improvements they can expect in each release. It also helps the product team prioritize and plan the development and delivery of each release.

What is a Feature Roadmap? 

A Feature Roadmap is a detailed plan for the development and delivery of specific product features. This type of roadmap is usually created by product managers and product development teams and is used to track the progress of features through the development process. 

The Feature Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Feature description
• Objectives and goals
• Development timeline and milestones
• Resource allocation (e.g. budget, personnel)
• Risks and challenges
• Key metrics for measuring success

Here’s an example of a Feature Roadmap for a new project within Eco-Commerce, the “Eco-Friendly Packaging”:

• Feature description: Development of eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging options for customer orders.
• Objectives and goals:
  • Increase customer satisfaction by 15%
  • Reduce packaging waste by 50%
  • Launch in all markets within 12 months
• Timeline and milestones:
  • Month 1: Research and development of eco-friendly packaging options
  • Month 3: Conduct pilot tests with select customers
  • Month 6: Launch in select markets
  • Month 9: Launch in all markets
• Resource allocation: $5 million budget, 5 dedicated personnel
• Risks and challenges: Market acceptance of eco-friendly packaging, supply chain challenges for eco-friendly materials
• Key metrics: Customer satisfaction, packaging waste reduction, market adoption rate

In this example, the Feature Roadmap provides a detailed view of Eco-Commerce’s project to develop eco-friendly packaging options. It outlines the objectives, timeline, resource allocation, risks, and key metrics for the project. This type of roadmap helps keep the project team focused and aligned on the goals and objectives for the feature, and serves as a reference point for feature development and delivery.

What is a Technical Feature Roadmap? 

A Technical Roadmap is a plan that outlines the technical direction and plans of a product. This type of roadmap is usually created by technical teams and is used to communicate the product’s technical direction and plans to stakeholders.

The Technical Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Technical vision and mission statement
• Technical goals and objectives
• Key technology initiatives and projects
• Technical dependencies and cross-functional requirements
• High-level timeline

Here’s an example of a Technical Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• Technical vision and mission statement: To build and maintain an eco-friendly, scalable, and user-friendly ecommerce platform.
• Technical goals and objectives:
  • Improve website loading speed by 50%
  • Expand the eco-friendly logistics network to cover more regions
  • Improve website security and data privacy measures
• Key technology initiatives and projects:
  • Website optimization project
  • Expansion of the eco-friendly logistics network technology
  • Security and privacy improvement project
• Technical dependencies and cross-functional requirements:
  • Website optimization project depends on website development progress and cross-functional design requirements
  • Expansion of the eco-friendly logistics network technology depends on the logistics network expansion project progress
  • Security and privacy improvement project depends on cross-functional security and privacy requirements and legal requirements
• High-level timeline: Achieve website optimization within 6 months, expand the eco-friendly logistics network within 12 months, improve security and privacy within 18 months.

In this example, the Technical Roadmap provides a high-level view of Eco-Commerce’s technical direction and plans. It outlines the technical vision, goals, initiatives, dependencies, and timeline for the product. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s technical direction and plans and serves as a reference for technical decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps the technical team stay focused and aligned on the product’s technical goals and initiatives.

What is a UX Roadmap?

A UX Roadmap is a high-level plan that outlines the steps and activities necessary for a product to improve its user experience. This type of roadmap is usually created by UX design teams and is used to communicate the product’s UX plans to stakeholders.

The UX Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• UX vision and mission statement
• UX goals and objectives
• Key UX initiatives and projects
• User research and testing activities
• High-level timeline

Here’s an example of a UX Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• UX vision and mission statement: To create a seamless and intuitive user experience for all Eco-Commerce customers.
• UX goals and objectives:
  • Improve navigation and site organization by 25%
  • Increase mobile optimization by 20%
  • Increase customer engagement by 15%
• Key UX initiatives and projects:
  • Navigation and site organization improvement project
  • Mobile optimization improvement project
  • Customer engagement improvement project
• User research and testing activities:
  • User research surveys
  • User testing sessions
  • User feedback analysis
• High-level timeline: Achieve navigation and site organization improvement within 6 months, increase mobile optimization within 12 months, increase customer engagement within 18 months.

In this example, the UX Roadmap provides a high-level view of Eco-Commerce’s UX plans. It outlines the UX vision, goals, initiatives, research and testing activities, and timeline for the product. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s UX plans and serves as a reference for UX decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps the UX design team stay focused and aligned on the product’s UX goals and initiatives.

What is a Customer Success Roadmap?

A Customer Success Roadmap is a plan that outlines the steps and activities necessary for a product to achieve and maintain customer success. This type of roadmap is usually created by customer success teams and is used to communicate the product’s customer success plans to stakeholders. 

The Customer Success Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Customer success vision and mission statement
• Customer success goals and objectives
• Key customer success initiatives and projects
• Customer feedback and satisfaction metrics
• High-level timeline

Here’s an example of a Customer Success Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• Customer success vision and mission statement: To ensure that all Eco-Commerce customers are successful and satisfied with their experience.
• Customer success goals and objectives:
  • Improve customer satisfaction by 20%
  • Increase customer retention by 15%
  • Increase customer referrals by 10%
• Key customer success initiatives and projects:
  • Customer satisfaction improvement project
  • Customer retention improvement project
  • Customer referral improvement project
• Customer feedback and satisfaction metrics:
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
  • Customer Effort Score (CES)
• High-level timeline: Achieve customer satisfaction improvement within 12 months, increase customer retention within 18 months, increase customer referrals within 24 months.

In this example, the Customer Success Roadmap provides a high-level view of Eco-Commerce’s customer success plans. It outlines the customer success vision, goals, initiatives, feedback and satisfaction metrics, and timeline for the product. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s customer success plans and serves as a reference for customer success decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps the customer success team stay focused and aligned on the product’s customer success goals and initiatives.

What is a Marketing Roadmap? 

A Marketing Roadmap is a high-level plan that outlines the steps and activities necessary for a product to reach its marketing goals. This type of roadmap is usually created by marketing teams and is used to communicate the product’s marketing plans to stakeholders.

The Marketing Roadmap typically includes the following key elements:

• Marketing vision and mission statement
• Marketing goals and objectives
• Key marketing initiatives and projects
• Target customer personas and segments
• Marketing channels and tactics
• High-level timeline

Here’s an example of a Marketing Roadmap for Eco-Commerce:

• Marketing vision and mission statement: To raise awareness and drive growth for Eco-Commerce by reaching and engaging with our target customers through relevant marketing channels.
• Marketing goals and objectives:
  • Increase brand awareness by 25%
  • Drive 10% more website traffic
  • Increase customer acquisition by 20%
• Key marketing initiatives and projects:
  • Influencer marketing campaign
  • Social media advertising campaign
  • Content marketing program
• Target customer personas and segments:
  • Conscious consumers who are looking for environmentally-friendly products
  • Online shoppers who prioritize convenience and sustainability
• Marketing channels and tactics:
  • Influencer marketing
  • Social media advertising
  • Content marketing (e.g. blog posts, videos, email newsletters)
• High-level timeline: Launch influencer marketing campaign within 6 months, launch social media advertising campaign within 9 months, and implement content marketing program within 12 months.

In this example, the Marketing Roadmap provides a high-level view of Eco-Commerce’s marketing plans. It outlines the marketing vision, goals, initiatives, target customers, channels and tactics, and timeline for the product. This type of roadmap helps stakeholders understand the product’s marketing plans and serves as a reference for marketing decision-making and resource allocation. It also helps the marketing team stay focused and aligned on the product’s marketing goals and initiatives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, roadmaps are the GPS systems of product management! They help navigate the product journey, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and moving in the right direction. Product managers must have a deep understanding of the seven types of roadmaps – Strategic Roadmap, Tactical Roadmap, Release Roadmap, Product Roadmap, Technical Roadmap, UX Roadmap and Marketing Roadmap – and use them effectively to drive product success.

It’s important to remember that roadmaps are not set in stone, they’re dynamic documents that should be updated regularly to reflect changes in product plans and market conditions. The key is to strike a balance between detail, timeline, and audience when creating roadmaps. 

Communication is key, so make sure to keep your stakeholders in the loop and use roadmaps as a tool for decision-making and alignment across the organization.