In a recent LinkedIn post, Janna Bastow discusses a critical pitfall in product management: the insidious creep of customer-specific features into roadmaps, a phenomenon she terms “roadmap drift.” Bastow warns that when a product roadmap begins to resemble a mere “wishlist of customer-specific features,” it signifies that the strategic direction has already been compromised, and intervention is urgently needed.
“When your roadmap starts looking like a wishlist of customer-specific features, it’s already too late… the drift has begun.”
The Dangers of Roadmap Drift
Janna Bastow argues that this drift is a common, yet dangerous, deviation from a product’s core strategy. By prioritizing individual customer requests, companies risk diluting their product’s focus and failing to serve their broader market effectively. This reactive approach, Bastow points out, can lead to a fragmented product that struggles to gain significant traction or achieve its strategic objectives.
According to Bastow, the moment this wishlist mentality takes hold is the precise time for decisive action. Delaying such interventions, she cautions, only exacerbates the problem, leading to a situation where the roadmap is entirely disconnected from the overarching business strategy.
“This is the moment to intervene. Not in Q3 when everything’s on fire.”
Strategies for Rebuilding a Strategic Roadmap
Bastow emphasizes the importance of proactive management to prevent and correct roadmap drift. She suggests that product leaders must develop robust processes for evaluating feature requests, ensuring that each addition aligns with the company’s strategic goals and target market needs. This involves a disciplined approach to saying ‘no’ to requests that, while potentially valuable to a single customer, do not serve the product’s long-term vision.
The Role of Strategy in Roadmap Development
In Janna Bastow’s view, a product roadmap should be a strategic document, guiding the development team towards a clearly defined future state. It should reflect the company’s vision, market opportunities, and competitive landscape, rather than a compilation of ad-hoc demands. Bastow advocates for a return to strategic clarity, where the roadmap serves as a compass, ensuring that development efforts are focused and purposeful.
Bastow plans to further elaborate on these strategies, offering guidance on how to “stop the slide and rebuild a roadmap that reflects your strategy, not everyone else’s wishlist.” This suggests a focus on practical techniques for re-establishing strategic control over the product development process.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Janna Bastow on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on January 22, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →