The clearest path to real product differentiation starts with a roadmap rooted in insight—not urgency.

Many of our clients have become increasingly proprietary when it comes to the design and experience of their products. My observation is that this indicates a lack of a differentiated value proposition in a rapidly commodifying market. If the only differentiator is being first to a crowded market with a product that’s only a few weeks from being commoditized, it’s time to take a close look at the product management process.

First to market is desired, but not sufficient, to win long-term

Companies should be thinking about what will provide their customers with value over the long term. To do this right, the key is to develop a clearly articulated roadmap. This document incorporates knowledge of customers and well-articulated business goals, built on thoughtful and inventive strategy (informed by data, but driven mostly by objective insight). It narrates how the product will grow and evolve with use and increasing scale. It allows for change of direction as the market and use inform priorities; a guiding light on the horizon that progress can be measured against.

Our role as a product strategy partner is to help our clients develop and socialize their product roadmap. It’s the primary reason that we invest ourselves in our clients’ domains. It’s how we help them create a differentiated product that provides real value to customers.

Don't fall victim to "not invented here"

It may seem counterintuitive to bring in a third party for such a critical process. In truth, having an objective and experienced third party can play a key role in the design, administration, and communication of this strategic document, and makes sense on many levels. 

Consider these advantages:

• Gained perspective outside of the company culture and tribal thinking that often drives priorities
• A team whose core capability is teasing out user needs, translating them to experience maps/narratives (and ultimately pre-design dev estimates)
• Experience in developing inter-business collaboration, building alliances, and kick-starting collaboration
• A long history and deep know-how in bringing products to MVP and beyond

Doing this work right is small money well spent and big money saved. Executing on a poorly designed roadmap is costly in terms of time and resources.

Futuredraft has been the strategic partner for many of our clients in workshopping and designing their product roadmaps. It’s a labor of passion and love for us. We bring know-how, energy, and a long history of success to the process. It is core to our purpose to help our clients create products that are easy to price and deliver a high level of value to customers. If we help our clients stymie their competitors, it’s just a coincidence ;^)