How do you prioritize stakeholder needs in agile product roadmapping?

1 Understand your stakeholders

Before you can prioritize stakeholder needs, you need to know who your stakeholders are and what they care about. Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest or influence in your product, such as customers, users, executives, investors, partners, and team members. Each stakeholder group may have different needs, preferences, and perspectives on your product. To understand your stakeholders, it's important to conduct research, interviews, surveys, and feedback sessions to gather their insights, pain points, expectations, and goals. Segment your stakeholders into primary, secondary, and tertiary groups based on their level of impact and involvement in your product.

2 Define your product vision and goals

Your product vision and goals are the foundation of your agile product roadmap. They define the direction, purpose, and value proposition of your product. They also help you align your stakeholder needs with your product strategy and scope. To define your product vision and goals, articulate the problem you are solving, the solution you are offering, the target market you are serving, and the outcomes you are measuring. Communicate your product vision and goals clearly and consistently to your stakeholders to get their buy-in and support.

3 Use a prioritization framework

A prioritization framework is a method or tool that helps you evaluate and rank your stakeholder needs based on various criteria, such as value, urgency, feasibility, impact, and risk. There are many prioritization frameworks available, such as the MoSCoW method, the RICE score, the Kano model, and the value vs. effort matrix. The choice of prioritization framework depends on your product context, objectives, and constraints. You can also combine or customize different frameworks to suit your needs. The main benefit of using a prioritization framework is that it helps you make data-driven and objective decisions based on your product vision and goals.

4 Collaborate and communicate

Prioritizing stakeholder needs in agile product roadmapping is a continuous and collaborative process that involves input and feedback from your stakeholders throughout the product life cycle. To collaborate and communicate effectively, use tools and techniques that facilitate transparency, alignment, and engagement. For example, you can use online platforms such as Trello, Asana, or Productboard to create and share your agile product roadmap with your stakeholders. You can also use workshops, demos, reviews, and retrospectives to solicit and incorporate stakeholder feedback into your roadmap. By collaborating and communicating regularly, you can build trust, rapport, and consensus among your stakeholders.

5 Adapt and iterate

One of the core principles of agile development is to embrace change and respond to feedback. This means that your agile product roadmap is not a fixed or final document, but a dynamic and flexible guide that evolves with your product and stakeholder needs. To adapt and iterate your roadmap, make sure to monitor and measure your product performance, user behavior, market trends, and stakeholder feedback. Review and update your roadmap periodically to reflect any changes in your product vision, goals, features, or priorities. By adapting and iterating your roadmap, you can ensure that it stays relevant, realistic, and aligned with your stakeholder needs.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?