How do you create and maintain a technology roadmap?

Question

Accepted Answer

A **technology roadmap** translates strategy into a sequenced, time-phased plan of what the technology organization will build and improve. It is a communication tool as much as a planning one, and it must stay alive, not frozen in a slide deck.

## How to think about it

```text
GOOD ROADMAP PRACTICES
- Tie every item to a strategic goal or business outcome
- Phase by horizon: now (committed) / next (likely) / later (directional)
- Mix product features with platform, reliability, and debt work
- Express outcomes and themes, not just feature lists
- Review and re-prioritize on a regular cadence (e.g. quarterly)
```

Use a **now / next / later** structure so near-term items are concrete and far-term ones stay flexible.

## Concrete example

A CTO presents a roadmap where "now" is a committed payments revamp, "next" is multi-region expansion, and "later" is an ML personalization platform, each linked to a revenue or retention goal, and revisits it every quarter.

## Trade-offs and pitfalls

- **Pitfall:** treating the roadmap as a fixed promise, then breaking trust when reality shifts.
- **Pitfall:** an all-features roadmap that starves platform and reliability work.
- The further out, the less certain; pretending otherwise sets false expectations.

## Why it matters

A roadmap aligns engineering, product, sales, and the board on the same direction.

When it is outcome-driven and regularly refreshed, it builds trust and focus.

When it is a static wish-list, it becomes a liability that no one believes.

Maintaining it well is core to leading at scale.