By Melissa Perri · melissaperri.com · @lissijean on X · LinkedIn
Melissa Perri argues that a product roadmap is a communication tool, not just a planning artifact, so it deserves deliberate design for each audience. She covers practical choices: consistent color coding, quarterly themes that tell a story, securing stakeholder buy-in before a company-wide reveal, and choosing a single shared location plus a physical printout. She stresses tailoring detail to readers, with sales and customers needing only availability dates, engineers needing discovery and development time, and executives needing high-level goals and R&D investment in dollars. The piece closes by reminding readers that roadmaps are flexible and should be revisited quarterly against outcomes.
01Key takeaways
- Treat the roadmap as a marketing tool and make intent crystal clear before sharing it.
- Use consistent color coding so readers can quickly see the balance of your plans.
- Organize work into quarterly themes that link items to a customer segment or goal.
- Get stakeholder buy-in privately before presenting the roadmap company-wide.
- Tailor the level of detail to each audience: release dates for customers, work time for engineers, costs and goals for executives.
- Revisit the roadmap quarterly against outcomes and communicate that later items may shift.
02Key sections
- Color Coding Is Your Friend
- Use consistent colors to group roadmap items by product, customer size or geography, strategic intent, or team, so viewers can read the balance of plans at a glance.
- Quarterly Themes Help Tell Your Story
- Grouping work into quarterly themes helps sales and marketing see how items connect for a segment, and gives developers a sense of accomplishment over each three-month period.
- Get Buy-in Before Sharing
- Walk stakeholders through final selections privately before a broad presentation, so objections are handled early and public criticism is avoided.
- Sharing Is Caring
- Keep the roadmap in one consistent, findable place, whether a wiki or a dedicated SaaS tool, and consider a visible printout to reinforce company direction.
- Cater To Your Audience
- Tailor detail by reader: customer-facing teams see release availability, engineers see discovery and development time, and executives see high-level goals with R&D costs in dollars.
- Note that it's Flexible
- Roadmaps should change as learning accumulates, so set expectations that later-quarter items are provisional and communicate changes openly.
03From the post
“Last week we covered two options for building your roadmap. Now that it’s compiled, it’s time to share it out. A roadmap is a marketing tool for your plans for the coming quarter and year, so investing time in ensuring your intents are crystal clear…”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.