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magnus919_agent-skills/product-roadmapping-and-portfolio/SKILL.md
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Magnus Hedemarkandfactory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> c0412b51bd docs(skills): add product-shaping routing seams (roadmapping bets boundary, neckbeard feature path)
- product-roadmapping-and-portfolio: name the bets boundary in "When Not
  to Use" — this skill sequences strategic bets across cycles; shaping a
  single bounded bet routes to product-shaping.
- product-shaping: sharpen the existing roadmapping boundary sentence to
  spell out bet vs. sequences (appetite + circuit breaker vs.
  continue/pause/kill across cycles).
- neckbeard README: route feature-sized work through product-shaping
  between discovery (product-discovery) and specification
  (spec-driven-development).

Docs-only routing seams per #394; no behavioral content changes.

Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-08-23 13:08:25 -04:00

7.1 KiB

name, description, license, compatibility, metadata
name description license compatibility metadata
product-roadmapping-and-portfolio Build and maintain outcome-based product roadmaps and portfolio views that sequence strategic bets by evidence, not dates. Covers Now/Next/Later views, strategic-bet management, capacity allocation, dependency and confidence mapping, scenario planning, continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria, stakeholder narratives, and roadmap review cadences. Use when building or reviewing a product roadmap, managing a portfolio of bets, or communicating strategic sequencing to stakeholders. Do NOT use for tactical prioritization mechanics (RICE, MoSCoW, Kano, OST — route to product-methodology or product-strategy), for project scheduling or Gantt charts, or for delivery-flow management (route to kanban-guru). MIT Agent harness with file read/write and skill loading
tags
product-roadmapping, portfolio-management, strategic-bets, outcome-roadmaps, now-next-later, scenario-planning, roadmap-communication

Product Roadmapping and Portfolio Management

Build roadmaps that communicate strategic intent without pretending to predict the future. This skill covers outcome-based sequencing, strategic-bet management, and portfolio-level choices — not feature-level prioritization or project scheduling.

Core Principles

  1. Roadmaps are not project schedules. A roadmap communicates strategic direction and sequencing intent. It does not commit to dates by default. The default view is Now/Next/Later; dates appear only when explicitly labeled as commitments.

  2. Distinguish four categories in every artifact. Every roadmap output separates evidence (observed data), assumptions (beliefs not yet validated), commitments (decisions with consequences for reversal), and options (alternatives under consideration).

  3. Bets, not plans. Each roadmap item is a strategic bet — an investment with an expected outcome, a confidence level, explicit dependencies, and pre-defined continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria. A roadmap is a portfolio of bets, not a to-do list.

  4. Portfolio thinking scales up and down. The same bet-record and roadmap structure works for a single product and for a portfolio of products.

Loading Guide

File Load when
references/outcome-roadmapping.md Building or reviewing a Now/Next/Later outcome roadmap
references/strategic-bets.md Defining, evaluating, or comparing strategic bets
references/dependency-confidence-view.md Mapping cross-bet dependencies or calibrating confidence
references/scenario-comparison.md Comparing alternative futures or building scenario plans
references/roadmap-review-cadence.md Designing or running a roadmap review process
references/discovery-brief.md Understanding ownership boundaries and routing rules
templates/outcome-roadmap.md Fillable Now/Next/Later roadmap template
templates/bet-record.md Fillable strategic-bet record
templates/roadmap-review-record.md Recording a roadmap review session

Working Method

1. Start with outcomes, not features

Define outcomes as measurable "from → to" statements. Route evidence to product-analytics-and-measurement.

2. Map the Now/Next/Later landscape

Now = committed (WIP-limited), Next = validated/provisional, Later = options only. Dates only when labeled as commitments.

3. Build bet records

Every bet: outcome hypothesis, evidence, confidence (H/M/L with rationale), risk, dependencies, capacity, continue/pause/kill/revisit criteria.

4. Map dependencies and confidence

Blocking, enabling, shared-capacity, external dependencies. Effective confidence bounded by dependency health.

5. Compare scenarios

Base case + alternative scenarios for consequential decisions. Identify robust, conditional, fragile bets.

6. Define review cadence

Monthly for Now, quarterly for Next/Later. Record decisions with rationale.

7. Communicate to stakeholders

Executive narrative, team view, external/customer view — each tailored.

Routing Table

When the task involves... Route to...
RICE scoring, MoSCoW prioritization, OST workflow product-methodology — canonical tactical owner
Kano model, OST strategic framing, competitive positioning product-strategy — strategic frameworks
Capital allocation, M&A portfolio choices strategy-frameworks — corporate strategy
Delivery flow, WIP limits, throughput, cycle time kanban-guru — execution-level flow
Evidence, metrics, analytics instrumentation product-analytics-and-measurement — analytics layer (prose reference)
Implementation planning for approved bets implementation-planning — handoff target (prose reference)
Experiment design for low-confidence bets product-experimentation — downstream consumer (prose reference)
Adoption measurement for shipped bets product-adoption — downstream consumer (prose reference)
Lifecycle learning from bet outcomes product-lifecycle-learning — downstream consumer (prose reference)

When Not to Use

  • For tactical prioritization mechanics (RICE scores, MoSCoW buckets, Kano categorization, OST trees): route to product-methodology or product-strategy. This skill references these frameworks only to describe where they fit, never to re-explain formulas or mechanics.
  • For project scheduling, Gantt charts, or milestone tracking: this skill produces outcome roadmaps, not project plans.
  • For delivery-flow management: route to kanban-guru.
  • For corporate capital allocation and M&A portfolio decisions: route to strategy-frameworks.
  • For shaping a single bet (setting its appetite, narrowing it into a bounded problem, writing its pitch): route to product-shaping. This skill sequences bets across cycles at the portfolio level; shaping packages one bet before it enters a roadmap — "strategic bet" here means a roadmap entry with sequencing criteria, not the shaped single-project commitment that product-shaping produces.

Evidence, Assumptions, Commitments, and Options

Every roadmap artifact distinguishes these four categories:

Category Definition Example
Evidence Observed data, validated learning, experiment results "A/B test showed 12% lift in retention (p < 0.05, n=4,200)"
Assumptions Beliefs not yet validated "We assume users grant notification permissions at ~40%"
Commitments Decisions with defined consequences for reversal "Q3: 8 engineer-weeks for payments migration"
Options Alternatives under consideration "Build in-house vs. integrate third-party"

An artifact that mixes assumptions into evidence or presents options as commitments is not a valid output of this skill.