When it comes to planning and executing product strategies, building a roadmap is our first choice. These traditional roadmaps often focus on features and tasks, and it’s more like checklists of deliverables, rather than guiding teams toward meaningful outcomes.
What if there is a better way to align your team and stakeholders? What if you could create a roadmap that’s not just a list of tasks, but a strategic tool that focuses on results and impact? This is where the Outcome-Based Roadmap comes in, and it could be the key to driving more value and aligning your team with your organization’s broader goals.
What Is an Outcome-Based Roadmap?
An outcome-based roadmap is a shift away from tracking outputs—like features or tasks—and focuses on outcomes.
In simple terms, it’s not just about what gets done, but why you’re doing it and the impact it’s going to have.
Instead of a roadmap that simply says, “We’re releasing feature X by this date,” an outcome-based roadmap focuses on answering deeper questions:
- What problem are we solving?
- Who are we solving it for?
- What will success look like?
- Any risks or impediments we may have?
By focusing on outcomes, teams can make better decisions, ensure their work aligns with strategic goals, and deliver tangible value to users.
The Problem with Traditional Roadmaps
Traditional roadmaps have served us well for years, but they often come with some significant limitations. They’re typically feature-driven, which means it more focus on outputs (like “launch feature A” or “ship version 2.0”).
This approach can provide clear direction for the work, but it often leaves teams and stakeholders wondering whether those features actually address the right problems, add true value or contribute to the broader vision.
Some common issues with feature-based roadmaps include:
- Risk of building the wrong things: By focusing solely on features, teams may end up investing time and resources into things that don’t solve real problems.
- Lost in the details: Teams often get bogged down in technical specifications, which can distract them from the higher-level strategy.
- Inefficient communication: Stakeholders are often focused on what’s being delivered (features) rather than why it matters (outcomes).
- Slow progress: If teams are always chasing the next feature, they may overlook valuable insights that could accelerate progress or pivot toward more impactful solutions.
What is the Outcome?
Outcome is the way a thing turns out, a consequence.
Here are some examples of outputs versus outcomes:
| Output | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Supplied 2.000 bed nets to families in rural area from an underdeveloped country | Lowered Malaria outbreaks, increasing life expectancy and quality of life for affected children |
| Education | Trained 50 primary school teachers | These 50 teachers educated 1.250 children, enabling them to find better jobs and move on to higher-level education |
| Environment | Released a research paper on the effects of climate change on food prices | Galvanized increased support for stricter environmental laws |
| Human rights | Organized an international conference for indigenous people around the world | Provided a safe space for human rights leaders to meet, share information, and partner to improve efficacy of their actions. |
Shifting to an Outcome-Based Roadmap
So, how do we make this shift? It all starts by redefining what a roadmap is meant to achieve. Instead of focusing purely on feature delivery, an outcome-based roadmap focuses on aligning the team around strategic outcomes.
Most importantly, the outcomes should be aligned with the organization’s broader vision and goals.
Become a member to read the full content
This framework is available to members only. Upgrade to instantly unlock the content.
