Roadmapping
[!NOTE] “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
A Roadmap is not a project plan. It is a strategic communication tool that aligns stakeholders on the evolution of your system. As a Staff Engineer, you own the technical roadmap for your domain.
1. The Problem with Gantt Charts
Traditional timeline roadmaps (Gantt charts) often fail in software because they imply high certainty in an uncertain environment.
- The Trap: “Feature X will launch on May 15th.”
- The Reality: Unforeseen technical debt, production fires, and changing business priorities.
- The Result: Broken trust when dates slip.
2. The “Now, Next, Later” Framework
Instead of strict dates, use horizons of uncertainty.
Now (Q1)
Specific, committed work. High certainty.
- Migrate User Auth to OAuth2
- Deprecate Legacy API v1
Next (Q2-Q3)
Broad scope. Validating feasibility.
- Implement Multi-Region Support
- Evaluate GraphQL adoption
Later (Q4+)
Vague ideas. Aligned with vision.
- Self-Service Data Platform
- Machine Learning at Edge
- Now: We are building this. Specs are done. (90% confidence)
- Next: We are researching this. We know the problem, not the solution. (50% confidence)
- Later: We want to solve this eventually. (10% confidence)
3. Prioritization: The RICE Framework
How do you decide what goes into “Now”? Use data, not volume.
- Reach: How many users will this impact? (e.g., 500 users / month)
- Impact: How much will this improve their life? (3 = massive, 2 = high, 1 = medium, 0.5 = low)
- Confidence: How sure are we? (100% = high, 80% = medium, 50% = low)
- Effort: How many person-months? (e.g., 2 months)
Formula:
Score = (Reach * Impact * Confidence) / Effort
Interactive: RICE Score Calculator
Compare two potential projects to see which one wins.
| Factor | Project A | Project B |
|---|---|---|
| Reach (Users) | ||
| Impact (0.25 - 3) | ||
| Confidence (%) | ||
| Effort (Person-Months) | ||
| RICE Score | 400 | 300 |
Adjust the values to see how the score changes.
4. Strategic vs. Tactical Roadmaps
As a Staff Engineer, you maintain two roadmaps:
- The Public Roadmap: Shared with Product and Engineering leadership. Focuses on milestones and business value.
- The Technical Roadmap: Shared with the team. Focuses on Technical Debt, library upgrades, and refactoring.
[!WARNING] If you don’t fight for the Technical Roadmap, no one will. Aim to allocate 20-30% of capacity to engineering excellence.
5. Interactive: Prioritization Matrix
Another way to visualize work is the Impact vs. Effort matrix.
6. Next Steps
Once you have a roadmap, you’ll often face a critical choice: should you build the solution yourself, or buy it?