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Glossary
Roadmap & strategy

What is Internal Roadmap?

An internal roadmap is a strategic document that outlines the detailed plan for product development within a company. It coordinates cross-functional efforts by detailing specific features, technical infrastructure, and resource requirements that are too granular or sensitive for external audiences.

When to use it

Teams use internal roadmaps to align departments on the technical execution of the product vision and to manage complex dependencies. It is essential when coordinating releases that require synchronized efforts from engineering, marketing, and sales, or when tracking projects like security patches and technical debt that aren't visible to customers.

Example

A SaaS team might use an internal roadmap to coordinate a major infrastructure upgrade in Q3. While their public roadmap shows a general 'Performance Improvements' card, the internal roadmap details specific tasks like 'Redis Cache Implementation' and 'Database Sharding.' This internal view includes specific engineer assignments and weekly milestones to ensure the marketing team can prepare the announcement for the September release date.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Internal Roadmap

Planet Roadmap has a Timeline view that lets you visualize internal dependencies and milestones while keeping private projects separate from your public roadmap.

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FAQ

How is an internal roadmap different from a public roadmap?
An internal roadmap contains sensitive details such as technical debt, infrastructure projects, and specific personnel assignments that are not shared with customers. It focuses on how the work will be done, whereas a public roadmap focuses on what value the customer will receive.
Should an internal roadmap use specific dates or time horizons?
Internal roadmaps often use specific dates or sprints to help cross-functional teams like Sales and Marketing coordinate their efforts. However, many teams still prefer time horizons like 'Now, Next, Later' for long-term planning to avoid committing to deadlines that may shift due to technical challenges.

Related terms

RoadmapPublic RoadmapProduct StrategyInitiativeMilestoneNow-Next-Later RoadmapGantt ChartRelease Notes

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