A startup without a roadmap is just a feature factory. You are building things because they seem cool or because a customer asked for them yesterday. There is no coherence. To build a product that actually solves a problem, you need a map.
A Roadmap is a strategic plan that defines a goal or desired outcome and includes the major steps or milestones needed to reach it. It serves as a communication tool that helps articulate the “why” and “what” behind the product you are building.
For a founder, the roadmap is the bridge between the vision and the daily tasks. It tells the team not just what they are working on this week, but how that work contributes to where the company needs to be in six months.
The Date Trap
#The biggest mistake founders make is putting specific dates on a roadmap. “We will launch the mobile app on October 12th.”
In software, estimates are notoriously wrong. If you commit to a date six months out, you are setting yourself up for failure. You will either miss the date and disappoint customers, or you will ship a broken product to hit the date.
Instead of dates, use time horizons.
- Now: What we are building right now. (High certainty)
- Next: What we will build after this. (Medium certainty)
- Later: What we want to build in the future. (Low certainty)
This “Now, Next, Later” framework provides direction without the handcuffs of a calendar.
Features vs. Problems
#A bad roadmap is a list of features. “Add dark mode. Build an API. Create a dashboard.”
A good roadmap is a list of problems to solve. “Reduce user churn by 10 percent. Enable enterprise integrations. Improve onboarding speed.”
When you define the problem, you give your team the autonomy to find the best solution. Maybe “dark mode” isn’t the right way to fix user retention. If you dictate the feature, you shut down creativity. If you dictate the problem, you unlock it.
The Living Document
#Your roadmap is not a contract. It is a living document. It should change.
If you learn that your customers hate the new feature you just launched, you should not blindly continue to the next item on the roadmap. You should stop and fix it.
You should review the roadmap monthly or quarterly. Be honest about what has changed in the market or in your understanding of the customer. A roadmap that never changes is a sign that you are not learning.
Alignment Tool
#The primary audience for your roadmap is your internal team. Sales needs to know what is coming so they don’t sell vaporware. Support needs to know when bugs will be fixed. Marketing needs to plan campaigns.
However, be careful sharing it externally. Once a customer sees a roadmap, they treat it as a promise. If you change it, they feel lied to. Keep the external roadmap vague and the internal roadmap detailed.