I’ll be giving a Keynote talk on Product Roadmaps Relaunched at the online ProductCamp Brasil.

Roadmaps were once required for any technology-related effort, but in the past decade they’ve become controversial. They shouldn’t be.

Product people are frustrated with traditional product roadmapping because it’s no longer delivering that comforting sense of certainty. Many have abandoned roadmaps altogether, but retain this nagging sense that they are missing the strategic big picture.

Product people want a document that:

• Puts everything they plan to do in a strategic, goal-oriented context

• Is based on market and user research rather than guesswork and opinion

• Gets customers excited about their product direction

• Rallies their organization around a single set of priorities

A roadmap should protect against distraction and churn, while at the same time:

• Acknowledge & embrace learning as a part of a successful product development process

• Doesn’t require a tortuous (and unrealistic) process of up-front design and estimation

Fortunately, there is a new generation of product people developing a new breed of product roadmap – one focused on results, not features and dates.

Bruce McCarthy helps growing organizations achieve their product visions through consulting, workshops, coaching, and speaking at events around the world. Bruce co-wrote Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty and opines regularly at his website ProductCulture.org.