Over the years, I’ve seen many startups with a case of Roadmapitis. This can be deadly, if not treated in time. Patients usually present with some of the following symptoms:

  1. A delusional belief that the tasks on their roadmap are a valid plan for the firm.
  2. Fuzzy eyesight, which stops them reading between the lines of customer feedback and metrics
  3. Blocked ears, which prevent any advice about their advancing Roadmapitis reaching their brain.

If you suspect that you, or any of your co-workers, may be suffering from RoadMapitis, don’t delay. It can be cured, but if left untreated will lead to confusion in the product offering, profuse bleeding from the bank account, hemorrhaging of the customer base, and finally death.

Cases of roadmapitis are best treated by an experienced product manager, who can cut out the unhealthy tasks on the roadmap. A delicate grafting operation is then performed, where carefully selected new tasks are inserted in. This process may involve an operation taking several weeks.

If you discover a case of roadmapitis, and no help is at hand, you may have to treat it yourself.

To start with, go to the end of the roadmap, and ask:

  • Does this product make sense?
  • Do I clearly understand who is and is not my customer for this product?
  • Is there a big enough market for this product, bearing in mind the investment taken to get there?

If the answer to any of the above questions is ‘no’ then you must cut out the roadmap completely, and fabricate a new one.

If the roadmap is healthy, turn your attention to the tasks on it. Ask yourself:

  • Does this fix or feature matter to customers?
  • How do I know it matters? (Tip: have you asked them?)
  • Can I measure that desire, or the improvement from fixing it?
  • Does the time and effort involved in fixing it seem worthwhile?

As you try and stem the bleeding from you bank account, you must triage effectively. Sort your tasks into ‘firefighting’, ‘strategic improvements’ and ‘nice to have’. Clear all your firefighting tasks immediately. Then don’t let the nice to have tasks get in the way of strategic improvements.

If you follow the above emergency procedure, you may survive. But if you can, get help from a product manager immediately. You may not have the skills to treat roadmapitis alone, and incorrect or delayed treatment may be fatal.