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Mike Flouton

AMA: GitLab VP, Product, Mike Flouton on Product Roadmap Planning

October 25 @ 9:00AM PST
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GitLab VP, Product, Mike Flouton on Product Roadmap Planning
Top Questions
How do you determine how much of your roadmap should be focused on existing customers vs prospects?
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
This question is impossible to answer in the abstract. It depends entirely on where you are in the technology adoption lifecycle. If you haven't read "Crossing the Chasm" and "Inside the Tornado," go get them immediately and work your way through them. They are relatively short reads and timeless......Read More
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Which stakeholders have input into your roadmap, and how to balance giving them influence vs control?
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
As a general rule, everyone should have input into the product roadmap. In fact, at GitLab our mission is to make it so that everyone can contribute and we apply the same principle here. A good product manager knows that listening to an idea, asking questions, and truly trying to understand it......Read More
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How does your product team usually work with your product marketing team with building the roadmap?
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
I've always said a good PM and PMM should be joined at the hip. The PMM should be bringing market insights to the table and act as an excellent sounding board for their PM. That should be throughout the lifecycle. Far too often what happens is the PM builds something, throws it over the fence ......Read More
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When does it make sense to make your roadmap publically available, and what do you include (vs your internal roadmap)
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
I might have given you a very different answer to this question a year ago! I used to be paranoid about hiding my roadmap from my competitors, and would share broadly internally and with customers to maximize feedback, yet lock it down for everyone else. GitLab is the most transparent company ......Read More
2125 Views
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What are some of the lenses your look through or principles you apply when prioritizing a roadmap? How are they weighted relative to each other?
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
This is a great question. I've been using some variant of cost-adjusted impact scoring to prioritize roadmaps for over 20 years now. Every market, buyer, product and strategic context is different, so there's no one size fits all methodology. RICE is an example of one popular approach, but I pref......Read More
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How do you manage a roadmap when company leadership cannot or will not provide guidance? (e.g. the C-team is all newly hired and don't know enough about the product or customers)
Mike Flouton
Mike Flouton
GitLab VP, Product • October 25
I know it's a cliche, but as PM you are CEO of the product. You shouldn't need guidance from the e-group. Their perspective can be useful, and they will bring knowledge and insights that can help you get to the right market driven insights. But you shouldn't outsource your job to them by relying ......Read More
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