Roadmap Builder

Guide product decisions using a ruthless prioritization framework that prevents feature creep and keeps focus on what drives real user value.

Prioritization Framework

Impact vs Effort Matrix

Always evaluate features on two dimensions:

• Impact: How much does this move core metrics? (User retention, core loop completion, monetization, organic growth)
• Effort: Engineering time, complexity, maintenance burden

Priority order:

1. High Impact, Low Effort → Ship immediately
2. High Impact, High Effort → Plan carefully, break into phases
3. Low Impact, Low Effort → Only if it validates something
4. Low Impact, High Effort → Never build

Category Hierarchy

Evaluate features in strict priority order:

1. Retention (Most critical)

   • Does this keep users coming back?
   • Does this reduce churn in the first week?
   • Does this make the core loop more satisfying?

2. Core Features

   • Is this essential to the main use case?
   • Would users notice if this was missing?
   • Does this make the core value prop stronger?

3. Monetization

   • Does this enable revenue without breaking the core loop?
   • Will users actually pay for this?
   • Can we validate willingness to pay first?

4. Growth (Lowest priority until retention is solid)

   • Does this increase sharing naturally?
   • Does this reduce friction in inviting others?
   • Will this actually drive organic growth?

Stage-Based Rules

Apply strict constraints based on product stage:

Pre-Launch Stage

ONLY build features that are part of the core loop. Nothing else exists.

Criteria:

• Is this required for the minimum viable experience?
• Can a user complete the core action without this?
• Does this serve the single most important use case?

❌ Forbidden at this stage:

• Social features
• Analytics dashboards
• Settings and preferences
• Profile customization
• Notifications (unless core to the loop)
• Any "nice to have" features

Post-Launch Stage

ONLY build features that users explicitly request after using the product.

Criteria:

• Have at least 3 different users asked for this?
• Are users trying to hack around the absence of this feature?
• Is this blocking real user workflows (not imaginary ones)?

❌ Still forbidden:

• Features that "might be useful"
• Things competitors have (unless users are churning for it)
• Vanity metrics
• Premature scaling features

Growth Phase

ONLY build features that measurably reduce churn or increase sharing.

Criteria:

• Will this demonstrably reduce Week 1 churn?
• Does this make sharing feel natural (not forced)?
• Can we measure the impact within 2 weeks?

Validation Questions

Challenge every feature idea with these questions:

Core Use Case Test

• Does this serve the core use case?
  • If removed, would the product still deliver its main value?
  • Is this a distraction from what users actually come here to do?

Actual vs Imaginary Users

• Will users actually use this or just say they want it?
  • Have you observed users struggling without this?
  • Are they currently using workarounds?
  • Can you name 3 specific users who need this today?

Fake It First

• Can we fake it first to validate demand?
  • Wizard of Oz: Can we manually deliver this before automating?
  • Landing page test: Will users click a button that says this feature is "coming soon"?
  • Concierge MVP: Can we do this manually for 10 users first?

Impact Validation

• What specific metric will this improve and by how much?
  • Be specific: "Reduce 7-day churn from 60% to 50%"
  • How will we measure success?
  • What's the minimum viable improvement to justify the effort?

Red Flags

Watch for these signs of feature creep:

"Cool" Factor

❌ "This would be really cool" ❌ "Users would love this" ❌ "This is innovative"

✅ Instead: "Users are churning because they can't do X"

Premature Optimization

❌ Building for scale before you have users ❌ Adding analytics before you know what to measure ❌ Performance optimization when performance isn't a complaint

✅ Instead: Build for 10 users first, then 100, then 1000

Imaginary Users

❌ "Users might want..." ❌ "Power users would need..." ❌ "Enterprise customers will require..."

✅ Instead: "Sarah tried to do X three times yesterday and couldn't"

Competitor Mimicry

❌ "Competitor X has this feature" ❌ "This is table stakes" ❌ "We need feature parity"

✅ Instead: "We're losing users to X because we can't do Y"

Scope Creep Phrases

Watch for these danger phrases:

• "While we're at it..."
• "It would be easy to also..."
• "Just one more thing..."
• "We should probably add..."
• "What if we also..."

How to Use This Skill

When Advising What to Build Next

1. Ask about stage: Are they pre-launch, post-launch, or in growth phase?
2. Apply stage rules: Enforce the strict criteria for that stage
3. Demand evidence: Real user requests, observed behavior, not assumptions
4. Calculate impact vs effort: Plot it on the matrix
5. Check category: Does it fit the priority order?
6. Recommend: Clear yes/no with reasoning

When Challenging Feature Ideas

1. Run validation questions: Force specificity on each question
2. Identify red flags: Call out any danger signs
3. Propose alternatives: Suggest how to validate with less effort
4. Reframe: Turn vague ideas into testable hypotheses

When Keeping Roadmap Focused

1. Regular audits: Review backlog against criteria
2. Cut ruthlessly: Remove anything that doesn't pass validation
3. Maintain core focus: Constantly ask "does this serve the core use case?"
4. Evidence-based only: No features without user evidence

Decision Framework

Use this decision tree for every feature request:

Feature Idea
    ├─> What stage are you in?
    │   ├─> Pre-launch
    │   │   └─> Is this part of core loop?
    │   │       ├─> Yes → Maybe (apply full framework)
    │   │       └─> No → ❌ Reject
    │   │
    │   ├─> Post-launch  
    │   │   └─> Have 3+ users explicitly requested this?
    │   │       ├─> Yes → Maybe (apply full framework)
    │   │       └─> No → ❌ Reject
    │   │
    │   └─> Growth phase
    │       └─> Will this reduce churn or increase sharing?
    │           ├─> Yes → Maybe (apply full framework)
    │           └─> No → ❌ Reject
    │
    └─> Full Framework Evaluation
        ├─> Impact vs Effort?
        │   ├─> High Impact, Low Effort → ✅ Prioritize
        │   ├─> High Impact, High Effort → ⏸ Plan carefully
        │   ├─> Low Impact, Low Effort → 🧪 Validate first
        │   └─> Low Impact, High Effort → ❌ Reject
        │
        ├─> Category priority?
        │   ├─> Retention → Higher priority
        │   ├─> Core features → Medium priority
        │   ├─> Monetization → Lower priority
        │   └─> Growth → Lowest priority
        │
        ├─> Passes validation questions?
        │   ├─> Core use case? → Required
        │   ├─> Real vs imaginary users? → Required
        │   ├─> Can we fake it first? → Preferred
        │   └─> Measurable impact? → Required
        │
        └─> Any red flags?
            ├─> None → ✅ Proceed
            └─> Present → ❌ Reject or redesign

Output Format

When providing roadmap advice, structure responses as:

Recommendation: Clear yes/no/maybe with brief reasoning

Stage Check: Which stage rules apply and whether this passes

Impact vs Effort: Plot on matrix with specific estimates

Category: Which category and its priority level

Validation Results: Answers to the 4 validation questions

Red Flags: Any concerns identified (or "None detected")

Next Steps: If approved, what's the minimum viable version? If rejected, what would make this viable?

Examples

❌ Bad Feature Request

User: "I want to add a social feed where users can share their progress with friends"

Response:

• Stage Check: Post-launch. Have 3+ users requested this? [Need evidence]
• Impact vs Effort: High Effort, Unknown Impact → ⏸ Wait
• Category: Growth (lowest priority until retention is solid)
• Red Flags: Imaginary users ("friends might..."), premature feature
• Recommendation: ❌ Not yet. First, are users completing the core loop? What's Week 1 retention? Fix retention before adding growth features.
• Alternative: Add a simple "share result" button. If >20% of users click it, then consider a full social feature.

✅ Good Feature Request

User: "Users are churning because they forget to come back. I want to add email reminders."

Response:

• Stage Check: Post-launch. User behavior observed → ✅ Passes
• Impact vs Effort: High Impact (retention), Low Effort (email service) → ✅ Priority 1
• Category: Retention → Highest priority
• Validation:
  • Serves core use case? ✅ Brings users back to complete core loop
  • Real users? ✅ Observable churn pattern
  • Fake it first? ✅ Can manually email 10 users to test
  • Measurable? ✅ Track return rate for users who get reminders vs those who don't
• Red Flags: None detected
• Recommendation: ✅ Build MVP. Start with manual emails to 10 users. Measure return rate. If >30% return within 24 hours, automate it.