Any company that wants to develop a product in the most efficient and optimized way must create an agile roadmap for better visualizing the goals and distributing the tasks between the team members. The most common type of document used for this kind of operation is the product roadmap.

They can be total game changers, not only for the managers planning the product strategy but also for external stakeholders that want to keep a closer look at the production process. For the product roadmap templates to work as expected, they must be correctly crafted and include the proper categories for your product type.

In this article, we will show you how to create the perfect product roadmap. Follow all the steps to ensure the document fits your needs and helps you achieve your objectives.

To master the product roadmap creation and grasp the key categories to include, it is essential to understand some basic concepts. If you don’t know what a product roadmap is, here is a quick explanation:

The product roadmap is a document the company uses to better visualize and understand the overall status of a project. The roadmap can be used not only by the team behind it but also by both internal and external stakeholders.

Once you have a well-structured document, it will be capable of telling you what should be done next and how much of the product was already done. It is a powerful management tool that can generate strategic initiatives and help the entire team stay on the same page and align with the proposed product vision.

Companies of all kinds and sizes use the product roadmap for a high-level overview of the project and its progress. There are multiple reasons for this becoming a standard.

First, the product roadmap template allows you to better control the activities of each group and their performance. Not only that, but these product development roadmaps also make it easier to visualize the best course of action to take and tasks to prioritize.

This way, you won’t have to worry about being unable to deliver the product due date. It makes it easier to build agile teams and ensures that the product manager can better visualize the development process of new product features and communicate with different team members more easily.

It is a complete document for product managers and the entire product development team to keep a closer look at what needs to be done next. You can also customize it to fit specific needs and goals.

Many people get confused when hearing about product roadmaps and the difference between them and portfolio roadmaps. Here are the main differences between them so you don’t get confused:

We can say that the product roadmap is one of the inputs of the portfolio roadmap. The product roadmap template is a visual roadmap showing the entire project and its progress. It can feature information like what task each team is responsible for and gather user feedback on early versions of the product, for example.

On the contrary, the portfolio roadmap serves as a comprehensive document that provides an overview of multiple projects, highlighting the specific teams involved in each project. It follows the same logic but at a much larger scale. Instead of involving only a single product, it shows all the projects being worked on at the organization.

Another topic that might be confusing is the numerous types of product roadmaps you can find, like a scrum roadmap template or agile product roadmap. Both scrum and agile are considered strategies and not a kind of roadmap.

For example, you can have an agile roadmap template for a product but also for software development and almost any other kind of project that demands team organization. This way, we can say that they are strategies that can be adopted instead of project management tools.

Using Scrum or Agile implies specific categories and behaviors that must be adopted by the entire Agile team in order to make it effective. There are multiple templates dedicated to those kinds of strategic themes.

Now that you know what the product roadmap template is and why it can be one of the most helpful tools when developing new features for a product, it is time to see what should be included in your template. Everything will have a distinct impact on product management, from the method used to track progress to the specific features of the chosen software.

Follow each step carefully to ensure you’ll achieve the product goals and deliver a result that pleases relevant stakeholders and other teams. Here is the main information you must include:

Especially when dealing with multiple projects simultaneously, a proper title and identification become indispensable. It will make your files and presentations more organized and prevent mistakes during the process.

It is crucial to choose a title directly related to the product being developed. This way, all team members and stakeholders can quickly know which project the product roadmap refers to.

Next, you must list all the upcoming product features being developed. It is important to ensure that all significant items are listed because any insertion of items you do after building the template can directly affect the workflow, and you might not be able to deliver the final version until the deadline.

Moreover, when creating the list, it is recommended that you list them in priority order. Start with the most important ones and leave the secondary items to the end.

That way, your product team will know which items need to be done first to ensure the integrity of the product launch in the release dates. Using a color code for the new features being developed also helps the product manager and other members to identify the item’s priority.

After listing all the items of your product roadmap template, you can list the teams responsible for each task and feature. When dealing with more significant projects, it is common to have different teams for particular tasks – for example, the engineering teams responsible for programming and development, and another team responsible for product marketing.

Ensure you properly distribute tasks for the manager and other team members to guarantee that you have the necessary resources to follow the release plan and its dates.

Clear due dates can make an absolute difference in your product roadmap template. They will dictate multiple aspects of the product strategy and the team's distribution.

When stipulating these dates, you must clarify all the necessary information with your stakeholders and team members to choose a possible deadline. Based on the deadline, you’ll also determine if certain features will be included in the final version and set expectations for the product teams to accomplish.

The more optimized and clear your product pages get, the more likely you’ll be able to deliver everything on time. Don’t forget to choose the overall product strategy considering all the aspects and the tasks required for its completion.

Metrics are also important for collecting feedback and understanding what improvements must be included in the product. The metrics and techniques to gather this information should also be clarified in the template, especially for the stakeholders to see.

This information will always be valuable, but it doesn’t mean you should create numerous metrics for the same project. Choose a number that provides all the necessary information for improvement but doesn’t waste your time gathering all the data.

You can also list them in your product roadmaps based on importance. This way, it will look organized and easy to understand.

Every project has goals, and it is no different when developing a product roadmap template. Having your goals written down in the template will help you with the product vision and keep everyone on the same page.

Your goals can be items like what problem you want your product to solve or what you want to achieve with its launch. Make sure to choose something that is measurable and possible to achieve. Creating unattainable goals and objectives can generate frustration and demotivate the teams.

This category can be assigned both at the beginning and the end of the product roadmap. Make sure to highlight it to be clear to everyone.

The core of your product roadmap template organization is its timeline. It is the base for the team organization, and everyone should have access to it.

Using a color code for this part is also essential since it helps everyone visualize each party’s responsibilities. The more organized it gets, the easier it will be to deliver everything on time.

You can find various options for creating the perfect product roadmap template for your business.

Among all the options available, we highly recommend using Microsoft Excel for this task. MS Excel not only has the best tool set available, but it is also an industry standard, meaning that you won’t need extra programs for other business tasks.

If you don’t have a Microsoft Office activation key, you can find one at RoyalCDKeys for a considerably lower price. This way, you can access all tools and features, saving money and time.

If you don’t want to create your product roadmap template from scratch, there is no problem. Here are some templates you can download and edit using Excel to better fit your needs:

Template #1

Product roadmap template for features. Document containing special categories for feature development.

Get this template

Template #2

Simple product roadmap template. Spreadsheet featuring a minimalistic layout that can be used for any kind of product.

Get this template

Template #3

Product roadmap from Project Manager. Template featuring a complete layout that is editable for including new fields and necessary information

Get this template

When dealing with product management, you must pay attention to multiple details to avoid delaying launches and ensure all features work correctly. To help with this management, there are several tools, including the product roadmap templates. These documents are capable of visually presenting all information you need for effectively monitoring your product and the progress of the project.

Now that you know everything you need, it is time to start creating your roadmap template. Follow these steps carefully, and you will have the perfect roadmap for the product you’re developing.