roadmap-communicator

Imported from borghei/claude-skills (product-team/roadmap-communicator/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add borghei/claude-skills --skill roadmap-communicator. Copyright stays with the author (MIT + Commons Clause).

Roadmap Communicator

A skill focused on communicating the roadmap — different audiences need different formats and confidence levels. Distinct from product-strategist (which builds the strategy) and agile-product-owner (which manages sprint execution).

When to use this skill

• Preparing a roadmap readout for execs, board, customers, or sales
• Translating a single internal roadmap to multiple audience formats
• Auditing roadmap commitments for over-promise risk
• Building a now-next-later view of priorities
• Communicating roadmap changes to stakeholders
• Preparing a what-changed/what's-next memo

Inputs the advisor expects

• The internal roadmap (themes, initiatives, target dates, confidence)
• Target audience(s) for the communication
• Recent roadmap changes (added, removed, slipped)
• Cross-functional commitments (engineering, sales, marketing)

Clarify First

Before generating the roadmap communication, settle the inputs below. When one is missing or vague and would change the result, ask about it; when it wouldn't, use a sensible default and say which one you used.

• Target audience: board/exec, customer, sales, or engineering (selects the audience-format matrix row and granularity).
• Confidence band per item: commit, plan, aspire, or strategic intent (drives the language and over-promise guardrails).
• Recent changes: what was added, removed, or slipped since the last readout (drives the what-changed diff memo).

Ask about the two or three inputs that matter most for this request, not the whole list. If the user wants a result straight away, produce it and state your assumptions at the top.

Workflows

Workflow 1 — Translate roadmap for a specific audience

1. Capture the master roadmap with confidence bands.
2. Run roadmap_audience_translator.py with target audience.
3. Review the audience-specific output; tune language.

python3 roadmap-communicator/scripts/roadmap_audience_translator.py \
  --input roadmap.json --audience customer --format markdown

Workflow 2 — Apply confidence bands to commitments

1. List proposed roadmap items.
2. Run confidence_band_generator.py with team velocity history + estimation context.
3. Adjust item commitments based on output (commit / aspire / explore).

python3 roadmap-communicator/scripts/confidence_band_generator.py \
  --input items.json --format markdown

Workflow 3 — Generate a roadmap diff report

1. Capture previous roadmap snapshot + current roadmap.
2. Run roadmap_diff_reporter.py to produce what-changed memo.

python3 roadmap-communicator/scripts/roadmap_diff_reporter.py \
  --previous roadmap_q1.json --current roadmap_q2.json --format markdown

Decision frameworks

Audience-format matrix

Same roadmap; different formats. Don't send the engineering commit list to customers.

Confidence bands

Apply per item:

Common errors:

• Treating "plan" as "commit" — sets up disappointment
• Communicating "commit" as "plan" — under-delivers excitement
• No confidence band — every line read as commit

Now-next-later structure

A useful skeleton across audiences:

• Now (in progress, < 1 quarter): commit-level items
• Next (1-2 quarters out): plan-level items
• Later (2-4 quarters): aspire-level items
• Strategic intent (>4 quarters): direction only

This protects confidence: the closer in time, the firmer the commitment.

Themes vs features

Communicate at the right granularity:

• External / strategic: themes ("better collaboration")
• Customer-specific: outcomes ("you'll be able to X")
• Internal: features + tickets

Telling a customer "we're adding X in Q3" makes a commitment that may not be precise enough. Telling the team "we're going to improve collaboration somehow" is too vague.

Common engagements

"Help me write the customer roadmap section"

1. Start with what they care about (outcomes, not features).
2. Use themes + outcomes; avoid specific dates beyond the current quarter.
3. Group: launching soon, in development, exploring.
4. Avoid: features that depend on uncertain technical bets.
5. Always include a "we'd love your input" hook.

"Help me prep the board roadmap section"

1. Start with strategic themes (3-5).
2. For each theme: what's shipped, what's coming, what's the bet.
3. Tie to business outcomes (NRR impact, new revenue, cost saving).
4. Surface 1-2 strategic risks transparently.
5. End with 2-3 specific asks.

"Our customer is asking 'when will X ship?'"

1. First check: is X actually committed? (Probably plan or aspire.)
2. If commit: give a target window with caveats.
3. If plan: "We're planning to ship in [window]; we'll know more by [date]."
4. If aspire: "We're exploring; not in our committed roadmap."
5. Document the customer asks; feed them back into prioritization.

Anti-patterns to avoid

• One-size-fits-all roadmap. Different audiences get over- or under-served.
• Date-only roadmap. Dates without confidence bands set up over-promise.
• Public commitments engineering didn't sign off on. Trust breaks.
• Roadmap that never changes. Reality changes; roadmap must.
• Roadmap silence between updates. Customers / sales speculate.
• Hiding strategic risks. Boards prefer honest risks over surprise misses.
• Big bang annual roadmap with no quarterly delta. Misses change cycles.
• Feature names instead of outcomes. "Notifications v2" tells the customer nothing.

Scope & Limitations

In Scope:

• Translating a master roadmap into a format for one audience (for example board or customer) with roadmap_audience_translator.py
• Recommending a confidence band (commit, plan, aspire, strategic intent) per item with confidence_band_generator.py, from readiness, dependency risk and velocity history
• What-changed memos from two roadmap snapshots with roadmap_diff_reporter.py: added, removed, slipped, re-prioritized and confidence-changed items
• The audience-format matrix, now-next-later structure, and themes versus features guidance

Out of Scope:

• Setting product strategy and deciding what goes on the roadmap (see product-team/product-strategist/ and project-management/execution/prioritization-frameworks/)
• Sprint planning and backlog execution (see product-team/agile-product-owner/)
• Syncing with roadmap tools such as Productboard (see project-management/productboard-expert/)
• The PM-domain variant that writes executive, customer and internal roadmap versions (see project-management/execution/roadmap-communication/)

Important Caveats:

• The tools read roadmap JSON prepared by the user. They do not pull from Jira, Productboard or any other planning tool, so the output is only as current as the snapshot.
• Confidence bands are a heuristic recommendation from the attributes entered. Engineering still has to agree to any item communicated as a commitment.
• Generated audience text is a draft. Wording for customers, sales and the board needs review before it is sent.

References

• references/roadmap-communication-patterns.md — format catalog + when to use
• references/audience-specific-formats.md — per-audience templates
• references/now-next-later-and-themes.md — structural patterns

Related skills

• product-team/product-strategist — strategy upstream of roadmap
• product-team/agile-product-owner — sprint-level execution
• product-team/product-manager-toolkit — broader PM tooling
• c-level-advisor/cpo-advisor — CPO partnership
• c-level-advisor/ceo-advisor — CEO / board alignment
• business-growth/customer-success-manager — customer comms
• marketing/ skills — external messaging alignment