| name | product-roadmapping-and-portfolio |
| description | Build and maintain outcome-based product roadmaps and portfolio views that sequence strategic bets by evidence, not dates. Covers Now/Next/Later views, strategic-bet management, capacity allocation, dependency and confidence mapping, scenario planning, continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria, stakeholder narratives, and roadmap review cadences. Use when building or reviewing a product roadmap, managing a portfolio of bets, or communicating strategic sequencing to stakeholders. Do NOT use for tactical prioritization mechanics (RICE, MoSCoW, Kano, OST — route to product-methodology or product-strategy), for project scheduling or Gantt charts, or for delivery-flow management (route to kanban-guru). |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Agent harness with file read/write and skill loading |
| metadata | {"tags":"product-roadmapping, portfolio-management, strategic-bets, outcome-roadmaps, now-next-later, scenario-planning, roadmap-communication"} |
Product Roadmapping and Portfolio Management
Build roadmaps that communicate strategic intent without pretending to predict the future. This skill covers outcome-based sequencing, strategic-bet management, and portfolio-level choices — not feature-level prioritization or project scheduling.
Core Principles
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Roadmaps are not project schedules. A roadmap communicates strategic direction and sequencing intent. It does not commit to dates by default. The default view is Now/Next/Later; dates appear only when explicitly labeled as commitments.
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Distinguish four categories in every artifact. Every roadmap output separates evidence (observed data), assumptions (beliefs not yet validated), commitments (decisions with consequences for reversal), and options (alternatives under consideration).
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Bets, not plans. Each roadmap item is a strategic bet — an investment with an expected outcome, a confidence level, explicit dependencies, and pre-defined continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria. A roadmap is a portfolio of bets, not a to-do list.
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Portfolio thinking scales up and down. The same bet-record and roadmap structure works for a single product and for a portfolio of products.
Loading Guide
Working Method
1. Start with outcomes, not features
Define outcomes as measurable "from → to" statements. Route evidence to product-analytics-and-measurement.
2. Map the Now/Next/Later landscape
Now = committed (WIP-limited), Next = validated/provisional, Later = options only. Dates only when labeled as commitments.
3. Build bet records
Every bet: outcome hypothesis, evidence, confidence (H/M/L with rationale), risk, dependencies, capacity, continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria.
4. Map dependencies and confidence
Blocking, enabling, shared-capacity, external dependencies. Effective confidence bounded by dependency health.
5. Compare scenarios
Base case + alternative scenarios for consequential decisions. Identify robust, conditional, fragile bets.
6. Define review cadence
Monthly for Now, quarterly for Next/Later. Record decisions with rationale.
7. Communicate to stakeholders
Executive narrative, team view, external/customer view — each tailored.
Routing Table
| When the task involves... | Route to... |
|---|
| RICE scoring, MoSCoW prioritization, OST workflow | product-methodology — canonical tactical owner |
| Kano model, OST strategic framing, competitive positioning | product-strategy — strategic frameworks |
| Capital allocation, M&A portfolio choices | strategy-frameworks — corporate strategy |
| Delivery flow, WIP limits, throughput, cycle time | kanban-guru — execution-level flow |
| Evidence, metrics, analytics instrumentation | product-analytics-and-measurement — analytics layer (prose reference) |
| Implementation planning for approved bets | implementation-planning — handoff target (prose reference) |
| Experiment design for low-confidence bets | product-experimentation — downstream consumer (prose reference) |
| Adoption measurement for shipped bets | product-adoption — downstream consumer (prose reference) |
| Lifecycle learning from bet outcomes | product-lifecycle-learning — downstream consumer (prose reference) |
When Not to Use
- For tactical prioritization mechanics (RICE scores, MoSCoW buckets, Kano categorization, OST trees): route to
product-methodology or product-strategy. This skill references these frameworks only to describe where they fit, never to re-explain formulas or mechanics.
- For project scheduling, Gantt charts, or milestone tracking: this skill produces outcome roadmaps, not project plans.
- For delivery-flow management: route to
kanban-guru.
- For corporate capital allocation and M&A portfolio decisions: route to
strategy-frameworks.
- For shaping a single bet (setting its appetite, narrowing it into a bounded
problem, writing its pitch): route to
product-shaping. This skill sequences bets
across cycles at the portfolio level; shaping packages one bet before it enters a
roadmap — "strategic bet" here means a roadmap entry with sequencing criteria, not
the shaped single-project commitment that product-shaping produces.
Evidence, Assumptions, Commitments, and Options
Every roadmap artifact distinguishes these four categories:
| Category | Definition | Example |
|---|
| Evidence | Observed data, validated learning, experiment results | "A/B test showed 12% lift in retention (p < 0.05, n=4,200)" |
| Assumptions | Beliefs not yet validated | "We assume users grant notification permissions at ~40%" |
| Commitments | Decisions with defined consequences for reversal | "Q3: 8 engineer-weeks for payments migration" |
| Options | Alternatives under consideration | "Build in-house vs. integrate third-party" |
An artifact that mixes assumptions into evidence or presents options as commitments is not a valid output of this skill.
