Doing a road map can be a tricky thing. There are plenty of constraints and dependencies to consider: how to we balance long and short term improvements? how do we rate future revenue opportunities for our clients? how well do the separate steps tie together to a coherent product? is this fun and challenging? are we keeping our team motivated? can we stop half way?

I find that pair programming is by far the fastest way of traversing the decision tree. Basically, if you are a Product Owner, construct the road map together with another person. Lay out the plan that best meets the constraints and business goals and let the other question the options. (Of course, don’t forget to switch).

Altogether, it helps you check  the different options and prepare arguments. You will be better prepared when meeting the stakeholders. For when you do, there is always something uncertain waiting for you.

As a Scrum team, we need to recognise that we are not alone in building business value for our software and provide visibility in where we are heading. By using a roadmap updated per sprint basis is an easy way of making everyone pull in the same direction.