Prioritizing Roadmap

Scope

Covers

• Turning messy roadmap inputs into a ranked opportunity list + coherent roadmap

• Defining a planning “season” (macro context) and success criteria

• Using a common-currency scoring model (ICE + assumptions) to compare across teams

• Producing an alignment-ready Roadmap Prioritization Pack

When to use

• “What should we build next?”

• “We need a Q2/Q3 roadmap.”

• “We have too many requests and no way to compare them.”

• “We need to prioritize across multiple teams/pods.”

When NOT to use

• You don’t have any agreed goal / North Star / strategic intent (do product vision / goals first)

• You need sprint planning or story-level estimation

• You’re only choosing a single experiment within an already-fixed roadmap

• You need a full customer discovery plan from scratch

Inputs

Minimum required

• Product + primary customer segment

• Planning horizon + cadence (e.g., next 6 weeks, next quarter, rolling 12–24 months)

• Success criteria (North Star / business goal) + 2–5 guardrails

• Candidate opportunities (or current roadmap/backlog) with rough size/effort

• Constraints: capacity, commitments, dependencies, deadlines, risk tolerance

Missing-info strategy

• Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md.

• If still missing, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 roadmap options.

Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a Roadmap Prioritization Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested):

• Context snapshot (goal, horizon, constraints, stakeholders)

• Season framing (what changed, key bets, explicit non-goals)

• Opportunity inventory with conviction level (known vs hypothesis) and evidence

• Prioritization model (common currency + ICE scoring + assumptions)

• Ranked opportunity list (top 10–20) + “parking lot”

• Roadmap draft (Now/Next/Later or quarterly themes) + update cadence (rolling plan)

• Decision narrative (why these, why now) + “Think Bigger” ideas

• Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)

Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md

Workflow (8 steps)

1. Intake + decision framing

• Inputs: User context; references/INTAKE.md.

• Actions: Confirm the decision (backlog vs quarterly roadmap vs annual planning), horizon, stakeholders, constraints, and “must-do” commitments.

• Outputs: Context snapshot.

• Checks: Everyone agrees what decision will be made and by when.

2. Define the “season” + success criteria

• Inputs: Context snapshot.

• Actions: Name the current season (macro context), define 3–5 season bets, and set success criteria (North Star + guardrails).

• Outputs: Season framing section.

• Checks: A stakeholder can restate “why now” and “what we’re optimizing for”.

3. Build the opportunity inventory (separate truth vs hypotheses)

• Inputs: Candidate inputs (requests, ideas, problems).

• Actions: Normalize each item into a problem/outcome statement; tag conviction level (Known / Belief / Hypothesis) and evidence; split discovery vs delivery.

• Outputs: Opportunity inventory table.

• Checks: Every item has an intended outcome metric and a confidence/evidence note.

4. Define the common-currency scoring model (ICE + assumptions)

• Inputs: Inventory + success criteria.

• Actions: Choose a primary “common currency” (e.g., North Star units, revenue, cost, risk reduction) and define ICE scales; estimate impact ranges and confidence based on evidence.

• Outputs: Scoring model + filled scoring table.

• Checks: Two people using the same scales would produce similar relative rankings.

5. Stress-test the ranking (scenarios + constraints)

• Inputs: Scored list + constraints.

• Actions: Apply constraints (capacity, dependencies, deadlines); run 2–3 scenarios (base / aggressive / conservative); ensure a balanced portfolio (core, growth, quality, big bets).

• Outputs: Shortlist (top set) + parking lot + key tradeoffs.

• Checks: Tradeoffs and “no’s” are explicit; nothing critical is missing.

6. Draft the roadmap (sequencing + cadence)

• Inputs: Shortlist + scenario choice.

• Actions: Convert priorities into a roadmap (Now/Next/Later or quarterly themes), sequencing by dependencies and learning; define a rolling plan cadence (e.g., rolling 12–24 months, refreshed every 6 months).

• Outputs: Roadmap draft + update cadence.

• Checks: The roadmap is coherent, feasible, and resilient to new inputs.

7. Write the decision narrative + alignment plan

• Inputs: Roadmap draft + rationale.

• Actions: Write “why these, why now”; include a “Think Bigger” section; define how the roadmap will be communicated and updated.

• Outputs: Decision narrative + comms/rollout plan.

• Checks: A cross-functional partner can explain the roadmap without you in the room.

8. Quality gate + finalize the pack

• Inputs: Full draft pack.

• Actions: Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.

• Outputs: Final Roadmap Prioritization Pack.

• Checks: Pack is shareable as-is; assumptions, owners, and cadence are explicit.

Quality gate (required)

• Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.

• Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.

Examples

Example 1 (B2B SaaS): “Prioritize our next-quarter roadmap for a collaboration product across Growth + Core.”

Expected: season framing, scored opportunity inventory, a Now/Next/Later roadmap, and a clear decision narrative with explicit non-goals.

Example 2 (Marketplace): “Prioritize 6 months of roadmap across supply, demand, and trust & safety.”

Expected: a common-currency model that makes cross-team tradeoffs comparable and a rolling plan refreshed on a fixed cadence.

Boundary example: “Give me a 2-year roadmap, we don’t have goals or constraints.”

Response: ask for goals/constraints; if unavailable, produce options + assumptions and recommend doing product vision + North Star first.