Roadmap Patterns

Patterns and templates for creating production roadmaps from research.

When to Use

• Planning horizons for research-to-production transitions
• Structuring milestones with measurable deliverables
• Backcasting from production deadlines
• Creating stakeholder-appropriate roadmap views
• Designing milestone dependencies and critical paths

H1/H2/H3 Horizon Planning

Three-horizon framework for balancing certainty with ambition:

Horizon	Timeframe	Focus	Certainty	Planning Detail
H1	0-3 months	Ship validated features	High (80%+)	Detailed tasks, assigned owners
H2	3-6 months	Extend and optimize	Medium (50-80%)	Milestones defined, rough tasks
H3	6-12 months	Explore and experiment	Low (<50%)	Themes only, flexible scope

H1: Ship Now (0-3 months)

Characteristics:

• High confidence in scope and timeline
• Clear success criteria
• Resources allocated
• Dependencies understood
• Ready to execute

What belongs in H1:

• Validated features from research
• Critical path items
• Quick wins for momentum
• Blockers for later work

H2: Build Next (3-6 months)

Characteristics:

• Medium confidence
• Scope defined, tasks rough
• Dependent on H1 completion
• May shift based on H1 learnings

What belongs in H2:

• Extensions of H1 features
• Optimization work
• Technical debt paydown
• Features needing more validation

H3: Plan Later (6-12 months)

Characteristics:

• Low confidence, high flexibility
• Themes and directions, not specific features
• Revisit quarterly
• Placeholder for strategic bets

What belongs in H3:

• Exploratory features
• Major architectural changes
• Long-term investments
• "Would be nice" items

Backcast Planning

Work backward from target state to identify the path.

Process

1. Define target state: What does "production" look like?
2. Identify final milestone: What's the last thing before launch?
3. Work backward: What must be done before that?
4. Map dependencies: Build the chain
5. Assign to horizons: Place in H1/H2/H3

Template

## Backcast: [Project Name]

### Target State (Production)
[Describe what "done" looks like]

### Final Milestone (Launch Gate)
- What: [Deliverable]
- Requires: [Prerequisites]

### Milestone N-1
- What: [Deliverable]
- Requires: [Prerequisites]
- Enables: [Final Milestone]

### Milestone N-2
[Continue backward...]

### Starting Point
- Current state: [Where we are]
- First step: [Initial milestone]

Stakeholder Views

Different audiences need different views of the same roadmap.

Executive View

Focus: Business value, timeline, top risks Format: One paragraph + key milestones Language: Outcomes, not implementation

## Executive Summary

[Project Name] will deliver [business outcome] by [date]. Key milestones:

| Milestone | Date | Business Value |
|-----------|------|----------------|
| [M1] | [Date] | [Outcome] |
| [M2] | [Date] | [Outcome] |

**Top Risks:** [2-3 key risks with mitigations]

Engineering View

Focus: Technical approach, complexity, risks Format: Table with technical details Language: Technical specifics

## Engineering View

| Milestone | Tech Stack | Complexity | Key Risks | Dependencies |
|-----------|------------|------------|-----------|--------------|
| [M1] | [Stack] | Medium | [Risk] | [Deps] |
| [M2] | [Stack] | High | [Risk] | [Deps] |

**Architecture Notes:** [Key technical decisions]
**Technical Debt:** [Items to address]

Product Manager View

Focus: User value, success metrics, launch type Format: Table with user impact Language: User-centric outcomes

## Product View

| Milestone | User Value | Success Metric | Launch Type |
|-----------|------------|----------------|-------------|
| [M1] | [Value] | [Metric] | Internal |
| [M2] | [Value] | [Metric] | Beta |

**User Journey:** [How this changes user experience]
**Metrics to Track:** [KPIs for success]

Milestone Design Patterns

SMART Milestones

Every milestone must be:

• Specific: "Deploy caching layer" not "Improve performance"
• Measurable: "Reduce p99 latency to <200ms" not "Make it faster"
• Achievable: Realistic given resources and constraints
• Relevant: Directly supports production readiness
• Time-bound: "Complete by 2024-03-15" not "Q1 sometime"

Milestone Template

### Milestone: [Name]

**Horizon:** H1 | H2 | H3
**Target Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Duration:** X weeks
**Owner:** [TBD/Name]

**Description:**
[What this milestone delivers in 1-2 sentences]

**Deliverables:**
- [ ] [Specific deliverable 1]
- [ ] [Specific deliverable 2]

**Success Criteria:**
- [ ] [Measurable criterion 1]
- [ ] [Measurable criterion 2]

**Dependencies:**
- Requires: [What must be done first]
- Enables: [What this unlocks]

**Risks:**
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-------------|--------|------------|
| [Risk] | Med | High | [Action] |

**Resources:**
- [Resource 1]
- [Resource 2]

Timeline Visualization

Mermaid Gantt Template

gantt
    title [Project Name] Roadmap
    dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD

    section H1 - Ship Now
    Milestone 1     :m1, 2024-01-15, 4w
    Milestone 2     :m2, after m1, 3w

    section H2 - Build Next
    Milestone 3     :m3, after m2, 6w
    Milestone 4     :m4, after m3, 4w

    section H3 - Plan Later
    Milestone 5     :m5, after m4, 8w

Dependency Graph Template

graph LR
    M1[Milestone 1] --> M2[Milestone 2]
    M1 --> M3[Milestone 3]
    M2 --> M4[Milestone 4]
    M3 --> M4
    M4 --> M5[Milestone 5]

    style M1 fill:#90EE90
    style M4 fill:#FFB6C1

Common Anti-Patterns

Avoid these roadmap mistakes:

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Solution
No buffer	Timeline slip	Add 20-30% buffer
Vague milestones	Can't track progress	SMART criteria required
Everything is H1	Nothing is prioritized	Force ruthless prioritization
Missing dependencies	Surprises mid-project	Map all dependencies upfront
No quick wins	Momentum stalls	Include easy wins in H1
Single critical path	High risk	Identify parallel opportunities

Release Phases (GitHub-Style)

Map milestones to progressive release phases:

Internal Build → Private Preview → Public Preview → GA
    (Alpha)        (Limited Beta)   (Open Beta)    (Launch)

Phase	Audience	SLA	Breaking Changes
Internal	Team only	None	Frequent
Private Preview	Invited users	None	Expected
Public Preview	Self-service	Limited	Possible with notice
GA	Everyone	Yes	Rarely

See references/release-phases.md for detailed phase criteria and feature flag lifecycle.

References

See references/ for:

• timeline-estimation.md - How to estimate milestone duration
• dependency-patterns.md - Common dependency patterns
• release-phases.md - Internal → Private → Public → GA phases
• validation-ramp.md - Progressive validation gates and kill criteria

See examples/ for:

• h1-h2-h3-roadmap-example.md - Complete roadmap with release phases and graduation criteria
• feature-flag-lifecycle-example.md - Full flag lifecycle from creation to cleanup