Feature-based vs Outcome-based Roadmaps

As a product manager, you may be tempted to create a roadmap purely based on customer feedback and requests, and what’s wrong with that? After all, isn’t product management 101 to build what the customer wants? But will just focusing on features your customers want right now deliver the strategic objectives of your business tomorrow? 

Leading with feature-based roadmaps can create a superficial sense of security that you are truly building the future of your organisation. While customer insights are important, it is also critical to carefully consider the limitations of customer feedback, including self-selection bias, where customers will just tell you what they think needs to be in your product today to make their lives easier rather than what would entirely transform the way they do their work. 

Enter outcome-driven roadmaps. These focus on the higher level needs of the customer and can be far more focused on your company's strategic goals. Not only that, they’re far more likely to enable market-leading innovation and helps to avoid the pitfall of delivering a "faster horse" instead of truly ground-breaking solutions. 

Outcome-driven roadmaps are a product development approach that focuses on aligning the work being done with specific business objectives and outcomes. This approach can help you to be more flexible and responsive to changing customer needs and market conditions, and to prioritize and focus on the most impactful work in the long term. 

In contrast, feature-based roadmaps, which focus on developing a predefined list of features in a predetermined order, have several shortcomings. Depending on where these feature requests came from, these roadmaps may not align with business objectives, can be inflexible and unresponsive to changing customer needs or market conditions, and may lack clarity. As a result, feature-based roadmaps might not effectively drive progress towards key business objectives, and may make it harder to compete.

Why might you want to switch to an outcome-driven roadmap? 

Outcome-driven roadmaps can ensure the work being done is directly aligned with the business objectives, and the outcomes the product is intended to support. They can help avoid unnecessary or low-impact work and focus efforts on the areas that will have the most impact on the business. They can also improve communication and decision-making, and help ensure resources are used more effectively to deliver the greatest possible value to the organisation as well as the customer.

Outcome-driven roadmaps can make product managers' lives easier in several ways:

• Alignment with business objectives: By linking the work being done to specific outcomes and business objectives, product managers can more easily ensure that the product is aligned with the overall goals and priorities of the organisation. This can help to avoid unnecessary or low-impact work.
• Flexibility: Outcome-driven roadmaps allow for more flexibility in the way that outcomes are achieved, which can be especially useful in fast-moving or rapidly changing environments. Product managers can thus be more responsive to changing customer needs and market conditions, and to pivot as needed to deliver more impactful outcomes.
• Improved communication: By explicitly linking features to specific outcomes, product managers can communicate the purpose and value of their work to stakeholders. This will support better buy-in for the product’s new capabilities, and ensure that everyone is aligned on the goals and objectives of the product.
• Greater focus: By prioritising outcomes and focusing on a smaller number of key areas at a time, product managers can avoid becoming overwhelmed and more effectively drive progress towards their goals. This can help to make their work more manageable and easier to track and measure.
• Better decision-making: Outcome-driven roadmaps can help product managers make more informed and data-driven decisions, by providing a clear link between the work being done and the desired outcomes. 

How do you build an outcome-driven roadmap?

To build an effective outcome-driven roadmap, it is important to start by defining the business objectives and outcomes that the product is intended to support. From there, it can be helpful to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may impact the product and its ability to achieve its desired outcomes. This can help to inform the development of a set of "big rocks" or strategic goals that will guide the work of the product team. 

From there, the team can work to define specific actions and features that will help to achieve those strategic goals, and prioritise and focus on the most impactful work. Remember, outcome-driven roadmaps depend on cross-team collaboration, so ensure all team members are aligned on the vision, mission and objectives of the product, and that everyone is working towards the same outcomes.

Steps to building an outcome-driven roadmap:

1. Define your business objectives: Start by identifying the business objectives that your product or feature is intended to support. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
2. Identify the outcomes you want to achieve: Next, think about the specific outcomes or results you want to achieve to support your business objectives. These outcomes should be measurable and linked directly to your organisation's objectives.
3. Map out your dependencies: Determine the dependencies between your outcomes and the work that needs to be done in order to achieve them. This may include identifying the internal teams or external partners that will be involved in the work, as well as any external factors that could impact your ability to achieve your outcomes.
4. Prioritise your outcomes: Prioritise your outcomes based on their importance to your business objectives, the level of uncertainty involved in achieving them, and the resources required to do so.
5. Define your milestones: Break your outcomes down into smaller, more manageable chunks or milestones. This will help you track progress and make it easier to adjust your roadmap as needed.
6. Communicate your roadmap: Share your roadmap with key stakeholders, including your team, your customers, and any external partners. Make sure to clearly communicate the link between your outcomes and your business objectives, and be prepared to adjust your roadmap as needed in response to changing circumstances.
7. Track and measure progress: Regularly review and track your progress against your milestones, and measure the impact of your work on your business objectives. Use this information to adjust your roadmap as needed and make course corrections as needed.

How do you make an outcome-focused roadmap stick?

Making the switch to an outcome-driven approach can be challenging, but there are several steps you can take to help ensure success. It is important to start by getting buy-in and support from leadership, and to clearly communicate the benefits of the approach to the rest of the organisation. Providing training and resources to help team members understand how to work with an outcome-focused approach can also be helpful, as can using data and analytics to track progress and measure the impact of your work on your desired outcomes. Recognizing and celebrating successes along the way can also help to build momentum and support for the change, and encourage people to continue to embrace the new approach. 

1. Start at the top: It's important to have buy-in and support from the top levels of the organisation in order to effectively shift to an outcome-focused approach. Make sure that leadership is on board with the change and is committed to supporting it.
2. Communicate clearly: Clearly communicate the benefits of an outcome-focused approach to the rest of the organisation, and make sure that everyone understands how it will help the company to achieve its goals.
3. Train and educate: Provide training and resources to help team members understand how to work with an outcome-focused approach. This may include training on tools and techniques for defining and prioritising outcomes, as well as how to measure progress and impact.
4. Use data and analytics: Use data and analytics to track progress and measure the impact of your work on your desired outcomes. This can help to build support for the approach and demonstrate its effectiveness.
5. Celebrate successes: Recognize and celebrate successes along the way, both at the individual and team level. This can help to build momentum and support for the change, and encourage people to continue to embrace the new approach.
6. Be flexible: Be prepared to adjust your approach based on the organisation's needs and priorities. An outcome-focused approach should be flexible and responsive to change, so be open to adapting your roadmap as needed.

By following these steps, companies can effectively make the transition to an outcome-driven roadmap and drive more impactful and measurable results. Now go forth and focus on outcomes - not features!