![\"Product](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-03-at-1.53.03-PM-1024x517.png\")
\nProduct roadmaps<\/a> have benefits way beyond keeping development work organized. Getting to these benefits requires pulling product roadmaps out of their narrow context.<\/p>\n Check out our post on product roadmap best practices<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The smaller your team is, the easier it is to sync with each other. For example, we currently have 5 people at Canny. Everyone knows what\u2019s going on with our product at any given time, because our \u201cmeetings\u201d are all \u201ccompany wide\u201d.<\/p>\n The more your team grows, the harder it is to keep everyone aware of what\u2019s going on. Edmund Lau describes it well in his article about communication being the first casualty of team growth<\/a>:<\/p>\n Every department or team in your company is there to work on and improve the same thing\u2014your product or service.<\/p>\n If everyone is working for the same thing\u2014the product\u2014and the product roadmap is the single source of truth for it\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026then it doesn\u2019t make sense to have non-product teams be left out of the loop, does it?<\/p>\n By not encouraging your teams to work together, you’re creating the great divide<\/a>.<\/p>\n The image above describes the \u201cgreat divide\u201d between product and success teams. However, this divide tends to spread to other teams, too.<\/p>\n So, what are the benefits of various teams within your company having access to the roadmap?<\/p>\n Marketing and sales:<\/p>\n Customer support:<\/p>\n Customer success:<\/p>\n HR:<\/p>\n However, the main value of opening up the product roadmap to everyone is less wasted time. Since everyone is working for the same goal, they need constant information about what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n If the roadmap is reserved for the product team, other departments have to go to them to find out what\u2019s coming and when. Asking around and waiting for information is one of the biggest time wasters in team communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n Having a public internal roadmap means that everyone has access to the plans. This reduces time spent on asking questions, and increases time for meaningful work.<\/p>\n Transparency is a good start\u2014everyone can see the roadmap and inform themselves.<\/p>\n To really make the most out of this transparency, you also have to make sure everyone has input into it. Why is that important?<\/p>\n Everyone in your company has different insights and they vary a lot based on their specific job. The modern startup organization<\/a> has a lot of moving parts.<\/p>\n This gives product teams several new and different POVs that they might have not even thought of.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a simple diversity principle. The more eyes you have on the roadmap, the more it will be optimized based on different information.<\/p>\n Your product will be much more resilient to changes outside of the product team scope.<\/p>\n It also helps everyone in the team feel involved. Remember\u2014everyone is working for the same thing. Feeling like their opinion and knowledge matters when it comes to product is an awesome motivator.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong> \u2014 What is an innovation roadmap? How does it support your innovation strategy?<\/a><\/p>\n Now you know the benefits of having the roadmap accessible and open for everyone. It\u2019s time to make it happen.<\/p>\n The first thing to do is have a discussion with your product team. There’s a chance they won’t take it well.<\/p>\n Product people can often feel like the roadmap is their \u201cbaby\u201d, and \u201coutsiders\u201d are just going to break it. This is almost always an unreasonable fear, but that doesn\u2019t make it any less real.<\/p>\n Make sure everyone has the chance to express any concerns.<\/p>\n Assure them that the goal of this isn’t to make everyone else in the company equally responsible<\/em> for the product. It’s to reveal aspects they might find interesting and useful when planning.<\/p>\n They’re still in charge of the product. But, everyone else will feel better, and spend less time on hounding the product team. It’s a win\/win situation.<\/p>\n Hopefully, everyone will be on board.<\/p>\n Then, you can start working on accessibility for the rest of the team.<\/p>\n When talking about why this is a good thing, address both:<\/p>\n Making people give input is even harder. Letting people know they have access to the roadmap isn\u2019t enough. This is an unusual permission for many non-product people.<\/p>\n They people can be scared to express their opinion, because they can feel like it\u2019s not \u201crelevant\u201d or \u201caccurate\u201d. If you don\u2019t specifically invite and encourage them to give feedback, they\u2019ll look, but not touch.<\/p>\n Emphasize that their insight isn\u2019t there to guide the product roadmap. That sounds very intimidating. It’s to inform it with their experience and knowledge.<\/p>\n Their role in the company can help the whole team succeed.<\/p>\n In the beginning, it might be easier to have meetings or calls around this. You can go over how the roadmap works and what kind of feedback the product<\/a> team would like.<\/p>\n Having everyone in the same “room” talking about it will hopefully ease any tension. Real time discussions also allow for any questions anyone might have.<\/p>\n From there, you can set up other ways of having a discussion about product.<\/p>\n Toptal<\/a> has an interesting article about the structured Technology Product Canvas<\/a>, which is a great start for aligning teams.<\/p>\n Whether you choose that, meetings, or a Slack channel, make sure there’s an easy place for communication.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong> \u2014 What is a technology roadmap + how do you build one that works?<\/a><\/p>\n Product roadmaps tend to be the single source of truth for the future of the product.<\/p>\n However, in many companies, it is locked away from non-product teams. This siloes departments, makes people feel left out, and causes giant productivity blocks.<\/p>\n Releasing your product team\u2019s \u201cbaby\u201d to the rest of the company can be scary. However, if you manage to encourage people from other areas to speak up and give feedback, it\u2019ll pay off.<\/p>\nHow internal transparency can benefit other teams<\/h2>\n
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\nSharing information may no longer mean just giving someone else a quick heads up during a break; it might actually require a formally scheduled meeting with a large group of people.\u201d<\/div>\n\n
![\"Blocking](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/NicoleWojno_TheGreatDivide-1024x624.png\")
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-03-at-2.21.14-PM-1024x694.png\")
How a public internal roadmap can help the company<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/startup-org-chart-2017.001_mini-1024x576.jpeg\")
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Making access and input happen<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/giphy-1.gif\")
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Diversity is the key to product strength<\/h2>\n
![\"Canny](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/5705808\/e1d55d08-a2cf-44a3-a9a0-f3ca5ff21dfa.png\")
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