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Glossary
Roadmap & strategy

What is Product Strategy?

Product Strategy is a high-level plan that outlines what a business aims to achieve with its product and the specific approach it will take to reach those goals. It acts as a bridge between the long-term vision and the tactical roadmap by identifying target audiences, market positioning, and key differentiators. A clear strategy provides the criteria for deciding which features to prioritize and which to decline.

When to use it

Teams should use a product strategy when they need to move beyond reacting to daily requests and start making proactive decisions that drive business growth. It is essential during quarterly planning sessions to align stakeholders on the logic behind the roadmap and ensure resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities. Having a strategy solves the problem of building a 'feature factory' where output is measured by quantity rather than strategic impact.

Example

A SaaS startup building an HR platform decides on a strategy to dominate the remote-first hiring market for mid-sized tech companies. Instead of building general payroll features already offered by large incumbents, they prioritize international compliance checks and an integrated video interviewing suite for Q3. By focusing on these five specific high-impact features, they aim to reduce their customers' average time-to-hire from 45 days to 28 days. This targeted approach allows the product manager to defer requests for on-premise hosting or physical keycard integrations that do not serve the remote-first strategy.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Product Strategy

Planet Roadmap includes an OKR tree view that lets you link high-level strategic objectives directly to the initiatives and tasks on your roadmap. This ensures that every piece of work is visually connected to a specific strategic goal, making it easier to track progress toward your long-term vision.

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FAQ

How is a Product Strategy different from a Product Roadmap?
A Product Strategy is the logical 'why' and 'how' behind your business goals, while a Product Roadmap is the tactical timeline showing the 'what' and 'when.' The strategy provides the reasoning and direction, whereas the roadmap communicates the specific sequence of work required to realize that strategy.
How often should a product strategy be updated?
A Product Strategy should be stable but not static; teams typically review it quarterly to ensure it still aligns with market shifts. While the roadmap might change weekly or monthly, the strategy only requires a significant pivot if your core assumptions about the customer, competitor landscape, or business model prove incorrect.

Related terms

RoadmapOKRNorth Star MetricSWOT AnalysisProduct-Market FitInitiativeTheme

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