Shifting from Feature Demands to Outcome Understanding: Janna Bastow’s Approach to Roadmapping

In a recent LinkedIn post, Janna Bastow discusses a common pitfall in product roadmapping: asking stakeholders what they want on the roadmap. Bastow argues that this seemingly collaborative approach can inadvertently lead to conflict and an inefficient process of simply collecting feature requests rather than solving underlying problems.

Bastow highlights the ineffectiveness of the traditional question, stating:

“What do you want on the roadmap?” is the wrong question. It sounds collaborative, but it sets up a fight. You’re handing stakeholders a blank page and asking them to fill it in, then defending why you won’t build their list.

According to Janna Bastow, this method fails because it prompts stakeholders to present demands without revealing the core issues they are trying to address. This often results in a collection of disparate requests that may not align with strategic goals or solve real business pressures.

The Problem with Feature-Focused Roadmapping

Bastow illustrates this point with an anecdote about a product manager working with five stakeholders. Each stakeholder presented different “demands.” However, upon mapping these demands, it became apparent that they were all attempting to solve the same fundamental problem. The crucial “upstream question” had not been asked.

As Janna Bastow explains:

A PM I was working with had five stakeholders making five different “demands.” Mapped them out, and they were all describing the same underlying problem. Nobody had asked the upstream question.

This scenario underscores a key insight from Bastow: without understanding the root cause, product teams risk building features that don’t deliver the desired impact or solve the actual pain points for users or internal teams.

A Better Approach: Focusing on Outcomes

To overcome this challenge, Janna Bastow proposes a more effective question: “What outcome are you trying to hit?” This reframing shifts the conversation from specific features to the desired results and impacts.

Bastow elaborates on this shift:

Better question: “What outcome are you trying to hit?”

By focusing on outcomes, product managers can gain a deeper understanding of the business pressures and challenges their colleagues are facing. This allows for more strategic prioritization and the development of solutions that genuinely move the needle.

Understanding Stakeholder Pressures

In her SimplyProduct newsletter, Bastow delves further into this topic, encouraging readers to move beyond collecting feature requests and toward understanding the actual pressures their colleagues are experiencing. She frames this as an essential step for effective product management and stakeholder collaboration.

Janna Bastow prompts readers to consider:

What’s the stakeholder conversation you’ve been avoiding?

This suggests that the conversations required to uncover true outcomes might be difficult but are ultimately necessary for building impactful products. Bastow’s insights provide a valuable framework for product leaders aiming to foster more meaningful and productive discussions around product strategy and development.