Something exciting is happening is Software products. They're calling it "building in public."
What does that mean? Well, instead of keeping all their work hush-hush, SaaS companies are spilling the beans on how they create products right from the get-go.
And guess what? Public product roadmaps play a big part in this.
These roadmaps give you a sneak peek into their future plans and ideas, all about being open and working together.
This way of doing things builds trust and creates transparency, especially with customers.
So, in this article, we will understand what is a public product roadmap and what should a public roadmap contain.
We'll also check out why it's awesome and look into 7 real public roadmap examples.
A public product roadmap is like telling you before hand what a company is planning for its software.
Imagine your favorite game telling you about all the new levels and features they're planning – that's a roadmap!
A public product roadmap in the context of Software as a Service (SaaS) is usually used as a strategic and transparent approach by the product management team to communicate their future plans, development goals, and upcoming features directly to their customers and stakeholders.
This roadmap is typically shared openly on the company's website or a dedicated platform, allowing anyone interested to access and understand the company's product development trajectory.
It's a way for companies, especially in the tech world, to openly share their secret plans for making their software even better and create more upsell opportunities. You can get an understanding into the company's product strategy, product vision and what they are currently working on and when you can expect it. In many instances where companies have deployed a collaborative tool for feature request management and product roadmaps, you can also have a say in what they should do next.
It's a bit like having a backstage pass to see how things are coming together. For example, if you're curious about what the product team is working next on ProductLogz, check out our public product roadmap[ProductLogz Roadmap].
A well-structured public product roadmap should contain essential information that provides clarity, context, and insight into the company's product development journey.
Here's what a comprehensive public product roadmap should typically include:
It is important to keep in mind that a public product roadmap is not set in stone and should evolve as your product and customer needs evolve.
Also read: Guide to user centric-roadmaps
By regularly updating the roadmap to reflect changes, new priorities, and completed developments you will be able to create a transparent and informative resource that builds trust and keeps your user community engaged.
Trello, a popular project management tool, maintains a public roadmap that outlines upcoming features, improvements, and bug fixes. You can customize status as per your requirement and each item can be set with certain priorities. It also allows you to collaborate with team members to edit & publish items in the Roadmap as the product evolves.The public roadmap by Trello can be made visible and available for users as well. This transparency allows users to anticipate and provide input on the direction of the platform.
With over 50 million users, Trello's transparency is a hit.
They actively engage with user feedback, with 74% of their feature requests coming directly from customer suggestions.
Buffer, a social media management tool, shares a detailed public product roadmap.
Buffer team found their quarterly goal documents scattered around. And with so many product teams, it can be a chore to get a high level answer to simple questions like, ‘What’s the latest?’ or ‘What’s up next?’
Hence they switched to creating transparent Public Roadmaps. They update it regularly to keep users informed about their plans for new social network integrations, content enhancements, and data analytics features.
Buffer's transparent approach has led to a 46% increase in customer trust. The company has received accolades for its open communication, reflecting in their Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 58, which is notably higher than the SaaS industry average.
Intercom, a customer messaging platform, maintains a public roadmap showcasing their plans to enhance customer engagement, integrations with other tools, and improvements to its user interface.
Intercom's public roadmap has seen 60% engagement from users who actively vote and comment on features. This involvement not only improves customer satisfaction but also drives innovation, with 40% of the features requested by customers making it onto their roadmap.
HubSpot, an inbound marketing and sales platform, has an open roadmap that gives insights into their upcoming features, integrations, and performance enhancements for their CRM, marketing, and sales tools.
HubSpot's open roadmap has contributed to a 34% decrease in customer churn rate. Their transparent approach fosters a sense of partnership with customers, as evidenced by their customer retention rate of 91%.
Notion, a collaborative workspace tool, publishes a public product roadmap that highlights their efforts to improve collaboration features, enhance mobile experiences, and integrate with third-party applications.
Notion's public roadmap has resulted in a 22% increase in user referrals. The company's commitment to incorporating user feedback and suggestions has led to an NPS of 76, significantly higher than the industry average.
Airtable, a versatile collaboration tool, offers a public roadmap that lays out their plans to develop new block types, automate workflows, and improve data visualization capabilities.
Airtable's transparent development process has led to a 28% increase in feature adoption. The company's engagement with users through their roadmap has resulted in a 17% reduction in customer support requests related to new features.
Figma, a design and prototyping tool, has a transparent roadmap showcasing upcoming features like design version history, improved collaboration tools, and integrations with popular design systems.
Figma's public roadmap has attracted attention, with 65% of their user base actively participating in discussions about upcoming features. This level of engagement has contributed to a 40% increase in user satisfaction scores.
These SaaS companies exemplify how public product roadmaps not only build trust but also foster active user engagement and participation in the product development journey.
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