Overview

A software roadmap is a roadmap specifically for a software product. A software product manager needs a roadmap to serve as a bridge connecting the company’s product vision to the tasks required to bring that product to market. Using a software roadmap will help developers understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture, aids the team in making more intelligent prioritization decisions, and can help persuade stakeholders.

Key Features

  • Great for keeping the entire organization in sync with your software product development
  • A 2-year timeframe communicates the company’s long-term strategic plan
  • The Legend shows which roadmap items are driven by which strategic goals

This software roadmap example shows the initiatives involved in launching a new software product. The timeline is long term, about 2 years, and the swimlanes divide initiatives by functional area, either engineering or sales/marketing. Milestones mark major events such as the beta release and general availability release. The legend shows strategic goals, and initiatives are color-coded to communicate how each one ties back to the larger company strategy.

A software roadmap can help you organize the many different components that go into the launch. High-level roadmaps like this one are useful for keeping your eye on the big picture amidst many tactical initiatives.