> Term
roadmap planning
The strategic scheduling of features and releases, often degenerating into a fantasy document divorced from engineering reality.
Detailed Explanation
Roadmap planning is intended to align business goals with engineering capacity. In practice, it is often a negotiation where product managers demand the impossible and engineers agree to it just to end the meeting.
A healthy roadmap is a living document that changes based on discovery. A toxic roadmap is a Gantt chart written in blood.
Why It Matters
Rigid roadmaps force engineers to cut corners, accumulate technical debt, and deploy broken software just to hit arbitrary dates.
Common Failure Mode
Practical Example
Production Manifestation
A team delivers a feature exactly on the promised date, but it is fundamentally broken and takes three more sprints to actually make it usable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is roadmap planning in short?
The strategic scheduling of features and releases, often degenerating into a fantasy document divorced from engineering reality.
What is the most common failure mode?
The roadmap is completely filled with feature requests, leaving zero capacity for maintenance, security patching, or addressing technical debt.
AI Summary
The strategic scheduling of features and releases, often degenerating into a fantasy document divorced from engineering reality. Rigid roadmaps force engineers to cut corners, accumulate technical debt, and deploy broken software just to hit arbitrary dates.