Use color to distinguish between different themes, objectives, or categories on your roadmap.There are several best practices for designing visual roadmaps, but here are a few guidelines we think are most useful: People need to see how all the various components of your product strategy fit together, so invest time in making sure your product roadmap is well-designed.

It should go without saying that a product roadmap presentation requires you to actually show people a visual representation of your roadmap.

Notice the goal-driven nature of the theme and the task-based language of the initiatives. Here is a graphic to help convey the difference between a theme and an initiative. Rather than sharing a laundry list of initiatives product is focused on, themes show the broader objectives at play and make it easier for you to sell your product strategy. Theme-based roadmaps are one of the best ways to give your product roadmap a memorable and meaningful narrative because themes highlight the big picture. Grouping initiatives on your roadmap into thematic buckets is not only a great tool for prioritization but also an excellent communication aid. Was there a customer request that inspired a new feature? Are you adding some features and functionalities that help push you closer to the product’s vision? Were there any particularly difficult prioritization decisions you can share? Whatever your story is, use it as a tool to keep your audience engaged and to rally their support around the plan. Simply tell the honest story of how your roadmap came together. In fact, the most powerful narratives are not fiction at all. You don’t need to write an elaborate piece of fiction to be a good product storyteller. An interesting story or anecdote can add valuable context to your presentation that your roadmap simply can’t do on its own.

We’ve written before about the importance of storytelling in product management, so it should be no surprise that this topic is coming up again. 5 Hacks for Better Product Roadmap Presentations 1. We hope these will help ensure your next product roadmap presentation is well received by other internal teams. Today we look at a few simple tips for product roadmap presentations. And the first step to evangelizing your product roadmap across your organization is getting it out there for all to see. When properly shared and evangelized across an organization, a product roadmap can unite, motivate, and align cross-departmental teams to achieve more. The product roadmap is a key point of reference to keep product strategy, business objectives, and execution aligned. It is a living document that sheds light on what’s happening today, tomorrow, and in the future. Are you prepared for your next product roadmap presentation? How are you planning to run better product roadmap presentations? As product managers, the product roadmap is at the core of everything we do.

Roadmap slide