What is a Product Roadmap? The relationship between Product Vision, Product Roadmap, Release Planning and Iteration Planning
Product Roadmap describes the vision, direction, and priorities of the product over time, helping to communicate the direction and evolution of the product to the team and stakeholders.
What is a Product Roadmap?
Product Roadmap is a detailed plan that can be used to outline the evolution of a new product over time. The product roadmap contains a list of features, ideas, tasks, and even initiatives that need to be completed, ranging from small to large projects.
Product Roadmaps are typically created by Product Owner, in collaboration with business manager, and/or project managers with the aim of communicating strategic objectives, tools, and new product development initiatives to both product developers and external stakeholders. Essentially, the Product Roadmap functions as a living document that tracks the evolution of a new product and ensures all parties share a unified understanding, and monitors the current status of development.
Product Roadmap
The relationship between Product Vision, Product Roadmap, Release Planning and Iteration Planning
The above is the definition of Product Roadmap, here we also explore the relationship between Product Vision, Product Roadmap and Release Planning, and Iteration Planning through Agile Release Planning.
Once the Product Vision has been defined, we will develop the Product Roadmap → Release Planning → Iterations.
1. Product Vision: It is a short summary describing the purpose and motivation of an idea as a general and overall objective of the project. The vision typically answers the question “Why?” — “Why do you want to build this product?” Note that the vision does not refer to any specific product or service, but only the purpose and motivation behind product building.
2. Product Roadmap: It translates the Product Vision into a timeline-based strategic plan, highlighting key milestones and deliverables.
3. Release Planning: It breaks the roadmap into several releases, each representing a set of features incrementally delivered.
4. Iteration Planning: Each release includes multiple iterations (e.g., sprints), which contain specific features or user stories.
Key notes on Agile Release Planning:
1. Milestone is a component of the Product Roadmap. When we mention milestones, we will remember a key point of “zero duration”.
2. A release can include multiple iterations, as to when the product should be released depends entirely on the Product Owner.
3. Iterations will include features and User Story. The project team should break down the User Story/task so they can be completed within a single Sprint. This avoids extending user stories across multiple sprints, which may limit the ability to collect early feedback from Product Owners and stakeholders:
- Sprint Goal will go through the team during the Sprint duration.
- The Sprint Backlog (sometimes referred to as the Sprint Scope): is subject to change.
- The Product Owner is the final decision‑maker for the Product Backlog.
- The Development Team has authority over the Sprint Backlog.
The Product Roadmap is not a static contract, but a dynamic, communicative tool that should adapt to changes and new information. It enhances transparency, fosters alignment with business strategy, and supports effective stakeholder communication throughout product development.