Managing Multiple Products in a Single Roadmap (Step by step guide).

As a product manager, you are responsible for overseeing the development and success of multiple products and for each, balancing resources, managing stakeholders, and meeting deadlines are all critical aspects of your role. It’s no question that handling multiple products can be a challenging task, particularly when it comes to ensuring that all initiatives are aligned and that resources are being used effectively.

Product managers can improve alignment, prioritize initiatives & increase efficiency by managing multiple products in a single roadmap by prioritizing, clear communication, visual aids, flexibility, focusing on interdependencies, and collaborating with stakeholders why avoiding common mistakes like poor communication, overcomplicated roadmaps, and ignoring interdependencies.

In this blog, we will explore the concept of managing multiple products in a single roadmap. We will discuss why a product manager might choose to adopt this approach, the challenges that come with it, and the benefits that it can offer. Additionally, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to create and manage a roadmap with multiple products, as well as best practices and common mistakes to avoid (there are 8 different types of roadmaps to know before deciding what is right for your usecase)

The aim of this blog is to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively manage multiple products in a single roadmap. By following the guidance and tips outlined in this blog, you will be able to balance your product initiatives, align your resources, and ensure that all of your products are moving in the right direction.

Key Benefits of Managing Multiple Products in a Single Roadmap. 

Managing multiple products in a single roadmap allows product managers to improve resource alignment, prioritize initiatives, and increase efficiency. It also helps in making informed decisions and reduces the risk of missed opportunities. A single roadmap can provide a unified view of multiple products and ensure that all products are moving in the right direction. 

So what are the benefits of managing multiple products in a single roadmap?

1. Better resource allocation: A single roadmap provides a clear picture of the resources you have available and where they are being used. This makes it easier to allocate resources to the initiatives that are most important, reducing the risk of overcommitting or running out of resources.
   
2. Improved alignment of product initiatives: By having a single roadmap, you can ensure that all of your products are moving in the same direction and that their initiatives are aligned. This helps you to avoid conflicts between products and ensures that each product is contributing to the overall success of the company.

3. Facilitation of cross-product collaboration: A single roadmap provides a clear view of all of your products and the initiatives they are working on. This can help to foster collaboration between product teams and ensure that each product is benefiting from the expertise and resources of the others (here are some tips on how to build a thriving product-engineering relationship)

However, it’s no surprise that there are big challenges when trying to manage multiple products in a single roadmap as well. In the next section we will discuss them in detail. 

Key Challenges of Managing Multiple Products in a Single Roadmap

While there are many benefits to managing multiple products in a single roadmap, Managing multiple products in a single roadmap can present challenges such as conflicting priorities, added complexity, poor communication, inflexibility, and difficulty managing interdependencies between products. Overcoming these challenges requires careful planning, regular communication, flexibility, a focus on interdependencies, and collaboration with stakeholders.

1. Balancing competing priorities: While adding multiple products can give a wider view, it can be difficult to ensure that each product is getting the resources and attention it needs. This can result in some products being neglected, while others are over-resourced.Unless paired with an attitude of ruthless prioritization, politics may play a role in getting the wrong things prioritized.
   
2. Keeping the roadmap up to date: A single roadmap covering multiple products requires a great deal of organization and attention to detail. It is essential to keep the roadmap up to date and ensure that all product initiatives are accurately reflected. Not only will there be changes on a weekly basis, but how it impacts interdependencies may not be so easy to understand.
   
   Having a single source of truth to the roadmap will be critical for communication and execution.
   
3. Managing stakeholder expectations: With multiple products, it can be challenging to manage the expectations of stakeholders who have an interest in each product. This can result in conflicting priorities and disagreements about the direction of the roadmap. However, without a multi-product roadmap, these important conversations would not be had in the first place (at least, not with the same level of clarity).
   
4. Dealing with complexity: Managing multiple products in a single roadmap can quickly become complex, especially when considering the interdependencies between products. This can result in the roadmap becoming difficult to understand and interpret, which can negatively impact decision-making.
   
5. Ensuring each product has a clear direction: With multiple products, it can be difficult to ensure that each product has a clear direction and that the initiatives being worked on align with the overall goals of the product (having a clear product strategy can be helpful here)

A Step by Step Guide: How to Create a Roadmap With Multiple Products

Now that we have explored the benefits and challenges of managing multiple products in a single roadmap, let’s take a look at a step-by-step guide on how to create and manage such a roadmap.

1. Define your goals: Before you start creating your roadmap, it’s important to define your overall goals and objectives. This will help you to ensure that all of your products are aligned and working towards the same outcomes. Some key points to consider are:
   1. What are the company wide initiatives which should be focused on?
   2. How are priorities going to be defined (this is especially important when working with products that have very different goals such as compliance vs cost savings)?
   3. What are the overall objectives of the planning period (quarterly, annual, etc.)?
      
2. Determine your products: Identify which products you want to include in your roadmap and determine their priorities. This will help you to determine which products should take priority when allocating resources and making decisions. When defining the priorities, the goal definition from step 1 will be a critical tool to make sure that your product priorities are correct.
   
3. Create a high-level roadmap: Once you have defined your goals and determined your products, create a high-level roadmap that outlines the key initiatives for each product. This will provide a clear picture of the overall direction of each product and help you to see the interdependencies between them.
   
   During this step, make sure to have clarity on your key input and output metrics (here’s a guide on how to set the right input vs output metrics), as well as the expected impact. When defining these metrics, be explicit with the numbers presented, as it will be used to prioritize importance and resource allocations.
   
4. Break down the roadmap into smaller components: The next step is to break down your high-level roadmap into smaller, more manageable components. This will help you to see the individual initiatives that each product is working on and to manage the resources required to achieve each initiative.
   
5. Allocate resources: Based on the initiatives and priorities outlined in your roadmap, allocate resources to each product and initiative. This will help you to ensure that each product is getting the support it needs to succeed. One caveat here is that you need to have at least t-shirt size estimates to the projects before proper resource allocation can be done.
   
6. Review and update the roadmap regularly: It is important to review and update the roadmap regularly to ensure that it remains accurate and relevant. This will help you to keep track of your progress, make adjustments as needed, and ensure that your products are moving in the right direction.
   
7. Collaborate with stakeholders: Finally, it is important to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands the direction of each product. This will help you to manage expectations, address any concerns, and ensure that all stakeholders are aligned with the goals and objectives of each product.

In conclusion, creating and managing a roadmap with multiple products requires a well-structured approach and a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of each product. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you will be able to effectively manage multiple products, align your resources, and ensure that all of your products are moving in the right direction.

Best Practices for Managing Multiple Products in a Aingle Roadmap

To ensure that you are effectively managing multiple products in a single roadmap, here are some best practices to follow:

1. Prioritize products: When managing multiple products, it is essential to prioritize them based on their goals and objectives. This will help you to determine which products should take priority when allocating resources and making decisions.
   
2. Keep the roadmap simple: A complex roadmap can quickly become difficult to understand and interpret. It is important to keep the roadmap simple and easy to understand, while still providing enough detail to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned.
   
3. Communicate regularly: Communication is key when managing multiple products in a single roadmap. It is important to communicate regularly with stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands the direction of each product.
   
4. Use visual aids: Visual aids, such as Gantt charts and flow diagrams, can be incredibly useful when managing multiple products in a single roadmap. They help to make the roadmap easier to understand and provide a clear picture of the interdependencies between products.
   
5. Be flexible: With multiple products, it is important to be flexible and be prepared to make changes as needed. The roadmap should be a living document that evolves over time to reflect the changing priorities and objectives of each product.
   
6. Focus on interdependencies: When managing multiple products in a single roadmap, it is important to focus on the interdependencies between products. This will help you to ensure that the initiatives being worked on align with the overall goals of each product.
   
7. Collaborate with stakeholders: Finally, it is important to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands the direction of each product. This will help you to manage expectations, address any concerns, and ensure that all stakeholders are aligned with the goals and objectives of each product.

In conclusion, by following these best practices, you can ensure that you are effectively managing multiple products in a single roadmap. This will help you to align your resources, prioritize your initiatives, and ensure that all of your products are moving in the right direction.

Conclusion

Managing multiple products in a single roadmap can be a challenging but rewarding task. By prioritizing products, keeping the roadmap simple, communicating regularly, using visual aids, being flexible, focusing on interdependencies, and collaborating with stakeholders, you can effectively manage multiple products and ensure that all of your products are moving in the right direction.

However, it is also important to avoid common mistakes such as not prioritizing products, failing to communicate, overcomplicating the roadmap, ignoring interdependencies, being inflexible, and failing to collaborate with stakeholders.

In conclusion, managing multiple products in a single roadmap requires a balance of best practices and a willingness to avoid common mistakes. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that you are effectively managing multiple products and maximizing your chances of success.