One Roadmap
When there are many different product roadmaps, scattered across many decks, and nobody is sure which one to trust, this one trick will help.
Context
A multi-team company with more than 5-10 PMs and 100+ people in product delivery. There are many different roadmaps, scattered across many decks, and nobody is sure which one to trust.
Discussion
The word 'roadmap' means many things to many people. At my current employer, when our partners ask for a roadmap, they are looking for a detailed plan of all deliveries for the next 2 years with firm committed dates, along with detailed specifications for every planned feature, so that they can secure budget to hire external contractors. That's not what I'd call a roadmap, but we're an international company, and language is used in interesting ways.
Given that we don't always have such a detailed document, colleagues often find themselves in a pinch, needing to tell the story of the future. And so a small group will often throw together a 'roadmap' to be presented in an event, and the participants will often then take that presentation as a commitment.
Many companies have the same problem. Over time, many different decks proliferate.
But how do we know which version to trust?
Play
Create a single shared document - ideally in Google Sheets. Name it One Roadmap. Ask all PMs to update it whenever something moves.