FAQ: How to Create a Product Roadmap

Building the initial product roadmap and then revising it at periodic intervals will follow a series of steps that are outlined below:

1. Understand the competitive landscape: This will involve the following tasks:
   1. Using the competitive products: For consumer products we will use that product (app/website) posing as a consumer. In case of business product, we will create dummy accounts of friendly companies, and pose as clients.
   2. Reading the reviews: We will check the online reviews (App Store) or other Websites to gauge the strengths and deficiencies of the competitive product.
   3. Speak to product managers in that company: We will set up interviews with product managers/technologists of that company to get a more in-depth analysis of that product.
   4. Output: Through the above process, we will create a competitive sheet along with demos/screenshots of all the product. The competitive sheet will include:
      1. Feature Comparison
      2. Pricing Comparison
      3. Load/Scale
      4. Number of Users
      5. Positives and Negatives
2. List our users and the problems the product has to solve. This involves:
   1. Listing user personas.
   2. Speaking to sample users that fit that personas.
   3. Create the specific challenges that each type of user faces.
   4. Output: Shortlist the primary user for our product and the 1 or 2 key challenges for that user that we aim to solve.
3. Creating the feature set: This will follow from the previous step of creating user personas and speaking to them and also the competitive study. Basis that, we will:
   1. List all the possible features that all the users need.
   2. Sort and categorize the features based on the users.
   3. Prioritize the features based on user needs (inputs based on speaking to users).
   4. Output: Document listing the features and their prioritization.
4. Finalize the workflow: For each feature, we will need to create the user journey. This involves:
   1. Building a library of sample user patterns from sources such as UI Patterns or Pattern Tap, and categorized based on workflows such as login, listing, selections, payments and so on. Such a library will exist for Web, Android, and iOS.
   2. Selecting the most appropriate workflow for our need from the user pattern. The same will be sketched in paper and then translated into UX Pin.
   3. Output: Finalized Workflow for each feature and each user.
5. Build the Analytics layer: At the outset itself, we should know what are the metrics we are referencing, what tools do we need, and what will be the success metrics. Based on the type of product (consumer, B2B) and user, these metrics will include:
   1. MAU/DAU
   2. Adoption Rate/Drop-off Rate/Uninstall Rate
   3. Event Clicks
   4. Page Views/Unique Visitors
   5. Session Time
   6. Activity Time
   7. Cohort Survival Rate
   8. Cost of Acquisition
   9. Tools to be used: GA, CleverTap, KissMetrics, Flurry, Uninstall.io
   10. Output: Metrics that we will track, and our assumptions for success
6. Finalize Roadmap: Once we have all the above elements, the same will be translated into a roadmap along with a quarter-wise sprint plan. This will involve
   1. A product roadmap document that lists all the problems, use cases and features.
   2. A milestone document that lists all the features to be developed on a month-by-month basis.
   3. A costing plan at a modular level, which includes the time to build a feature and the cost associated with it (internal team or outsourced, including design costs).
   4. A hiring plan for developing the features (internal hiring or external outsourcing).
   5. A sprint plan for the features once the hiring plan is finalized.