Why are product managers still using a timeline?

For those that know me, you know that I love product roadmaps.

I’m a very outcome-oriented person. I like to ask questions and understand why and how decisions are made. I suppose that’s why I fit in product really well, because I’m always asking why things work the way that they do.

Having been part of product for over 10 years and having experienced the massive evolution and transformation it has gone through, there still seems to be a great divide as to what is a product roadmap.

Some people still use the concept of timelines, while others have moved on to using outcome-based roadmaps, or roadmaps that focus more on explaining the decision-making process.

But with such a huge digital transformation happening, why are some product managers so tightly holding on to timelines?

BUT WHY?

A Little History on Roadmaps

Before we get started on this, I think it’s worth taking a step back and looking at the history of roadmaps first.

• Why did people use timelines as roadmaps ?

Because teams were not Agile. They were waterfall, and in order to coordinate a proper release and multiple moving parts, in a waterfall environment you needed due dates.

• Why do people not use timelines as roadmaps now?

Because most teams are Agile or some combination of it (dual track, XP, etc.) Agile is a methodology that focuses on small iterations for progress with focus on the customer, as opposed to waiting for everything to be ‘done’ to delivery something. Since there are smaller iterations, a timeline becomes slightly useless, because you’re not planning for an “end date.”

• Is it wrong to use a timeline?

It depends (sorry guys, you knew this was going to be my answer!) It mostly depends on what you are using it for. It’s acceptable to use a timeline to zoom in to the reviewed and accepted work to be done, so that you can appropriately plan the execution of your strategy. This means you won’t be looking further than…