What are effective ways to demonstrate your experience with product roadmaps in a Product Manager interview?

Preparing a portfolio isn't as crucial for a Product Manager interview. Some might argue that the ability to articulate strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and leadership abilities is more important than presenting past work. The focus should be on demonstrating how you think and make decisions, rather than just showcasing completed projects.

In my humble experience, a portfolio for a PM is not always relevant. I believe that playing with "product sense" type of questions is much more effective and helps demonstrate the thought processes, uniqueness and value of a product manager.

I once created a portfolio highlighting the roadmaps I'd worked on, focusing on how each roadmap aligned with the company's strategic goals and led to tangible results. For each example, I prepared a brief explanation of the decision-making process, how I prioritized features, and how I adapted to changes. It's important to articulate not just what was on the roadmap, but why certain decisions were made. This approach shows strategic thinking and adaptability, key skills for any Product Manager. Remember, your portfolio is a storytelling tool, not just a collection of documents!

Product Management in one company, is not the same as Product Management in another. There is a lot of variety in how companies define Product Management. Also the type of Product plays a role in this variety. For example, whereas the overall steps might be the same, in Product Management that involve electronic hardware, this could vary hughly in tasks from Product Management for Software. Both for hiring managers as well as for candidates it is good to exchange on whether each others understanding of Product Management is the same, or where it differs.

I don't agree with this part. A portfolio of previous roadmaps does not convey a lot of context for the interviewer, it also does not really showcase your contribution to it. A better strategy is to understand what roadmaps are used for, and conveying that in your conversations with the hiring committee. Usually what people care about are situations where prioritization decisions had to be made and how they were made. And the second most common case is around changes in the roadmap and communicating it effectively with different stakeholders.

This is an excellent opportunity to talk about engaging with internal and external stakeholders to build a 360 degree view of the market, customers, competitors and ecosystem, as well as align with the company's vision, mission and business objectives.

I discuss how I align roadmaps with the overall company vision and strategy. This involves understanding and integrating broader business objectives into product planning, a key aspect of my role at Instagram and Salesforce.

Showing you can rapidly absorb business and market context and align that context across stakeholders within an org to reach a cohesive set of desired outcomes across time - is far more valuable than demonstrating that you have previously applied a framework or built a roadmap in previous product positions. In fact, in some interviews you may be able to leverage the above into a small roadmap by the end of the interview.

In my experience, it’s important to be data-driven in your storytelling in order to show that your product roadmapping skills translate into measurable, positive results for the company. However, be sincere when providing data that shows your impact i.e. don't make up numbers in order to impress the interviewer. Experienced interviewers will usually see through this. Present data that illuminate how you made positive impact in revenue, customer satisfaction, or other key performance indicators that is important to your company. For instance, you might share how your strategic roadmap decisions led to a notable percentage increase in revenue, or how customer satisfaction scores rose significantly after implementing your roadmap initiatives.

In my experience, the interviewer needs to know that you build roadmap based on a vision to move your product from Y to X in the coming period of time. So focus on making your vision reflected on what you are building. The other part is to define success upfront and showing how you will measure the success of this roadmap (ROI).

In any interview, there's no universal right answer. Recruiters seek the ideal fit per the job description while hiring managers look for the potential to shape an excellent team. They often look beyond exact role matches, eyeing unique skills or qualities missing in their team. It's not all about ticking every box. To stand out, enhance your storytelling with real-life examples, data, agile problem-solving, and the STAR method. Highlight the impact you've made. What's special isn't just the tools you use, but your unique approach and solutions. It's your magic that counts!

2 ways to do it. 1. Quantifying Impact with Metrics: Utilize concrete metrics and data to demonstrate how your product roadmaps have positively influenced key performance indicators. For instance, highlight increases in revenue, customer retention, or user engagement directly attributed to your roadmap. 2. Business and Product Synergy: Emphasize the alignment of your product roadmaps with broader business objectives. Illustrate how your strategic direction contributed to overall business growth, reflecting your understanding of both product and business needs.

I cannot stress enough how important asking questions is in interviews. For PM interviews particularly (whether about roadmaps or other critical areas), everyone appreciates a detail-oriented and inquisitive candidate. It also helps solidify your chain of thought by affirming it with the data the interviewer provides, or leads you towards other perspectives that would be difficult to brainstorm otherwise.

In my recent interviews I learnt this and cannot appreciate enough the impact and the tone of the interview changing as you move more towards a "discussion" than an interrogation. Asking questions to understand how the organization plans its roadmap, what their usual north star metrics look like etc. , whilst guiding the interviewer with some key points/frameworks that help you define your roadmap always goes a long way helping them evaluate your experience with roadmaps. This shows your dexterity with adapting roadmaps while also demonstrating curiosity and your knowledge about the organisation and their domain.

One thing you must do is try to be flexible enough in a challenging situation and be careful with your assumptions. Think of key prioritisation tools like MoSCoW , 5 pillars frameworks when trying to justify trade offs.

If the interviewer asks a question along the lines of "how would you plan your roadmap in context X". Ensure you hit the following marks: * You explain why certain processes are useful rather than just process regurgitation * You ask questions to the interviewer about team context so you demonstrate your ability to tailor a process * You mention instances when you implemented it in the past, and why it worked or didn't strengthening your thesis with real life examples

Show, Don't Tell: Demystifying Your Roadmap Prowess 1. Storytime: Narrate a past success, decisions made and impact on metrics. 2. Numbers talk: Quantify results from roadmap choices. 3. Stakeholder harmony: Show how you balanced diverse needs. 4. From wins to learns: Discuss roadmap adjustments based on data and setbacks. 5. Eyes on the horizon: Demonstrate strategic planning for the future. Remember you're not just a mapmaker, you're a master navigator!

This article is pretty generic (and sounds AI generated) but I would just understand decisions made around the roadmap and be able to communicate the why behind them effectively. If you have worked in multiple teams/organizations you will see differences in how they do the roadmap artifact, and that will help you answer questions about developing and communicating your previous experience with creating and managing roadmaps.

Roadmap is all about vision, never carved in stone and it shall not be. Yes, based on the provided scenarios here are the items i’ll plan with THESE items as non-negotiable and here are the items I may consider for trade-offs based on competition, org priorities, Geo political scenario & economy.

When all else fails, get a pen and draw on the whiteboard ! I am a visual person and a story teller so using visuals helps me as well. Once I have a grasp on the situation of course!

My background in machine learning and data visualization plays a significant role here. I emphasize how data influenced roadmap decisions, like the use of AI in understanding user behavior for Reels, ensuring my decisions were backed by solid evidence.