company development roadmap

The complete guide to building effective roadmaps (with examples and templates)

Remember the time you tried to assemble that IKEA shelf without the manual? Neither do we. That’s because we know the value of a good guide. And in the world of product management, that guide is our beloved product roadmap . 

A product roadmap is like your North Star in the vast universe of product development. It’s a visual representation of your product’s direction, priorities, and progress over time.

We’re going to focus on product roadmaps in this article. But, we’ll discuss and show examples of other roadmap types, too.

We’ll also explain how to build and use a roadmap. These principles apply to many types of roadmaps, not just the product ones.

Let’s dive deep into the world of roadmaps and break it all down.

Why do you need a roadmap?

Here are a few reasons to start building a product roadmap.

• Strategic alignment

It ensures everyone’s paddling in the same direction.

• Sales teams won’t promise some features that PMs aren’t even aware of
• Marketing won’t build campaigns for features that aren’t in the works
• Design won’t create wireframes for low-priority features

You get the idea.

• Stakeholder communication

A roadmap is like a translator between you and your key stakeholders. There will always be people who want certain features shipped yesterday. How can you effectively communicate your current priorities? With a product roadmap, of course!

•  Resource planning

Knowing what you’re building will help determine which resources you need. You’ll also know when you need them, in what quantities, and how crucial they are. Planning simplifies everything! If you plan properly, you won’t end up with too many or too few resources.

Now that we know why roadmaps are so crucial, let’s talk about who’s involved.

Who should create the roadmap?

Navigating the vast seas of product development requires a clear map and a skilled crew. For example:

Product managers (PMs)

That’s us! The captains of the ship. As a product manager or a product owner, you’re at the heart of the product’s journey. You understand the product vision, the users, and the market. Your role is to ensure that the product’s direction aligns with the business goals and user needs. You’re setting the course, deciding which ports (features) to visit, and ensuring the crew (development team) knows the route.

Project managers

The vigilant navigators. While a PM sets the course, a project manager ensures smooth sailing. They have a keen eye on the timeline, resources, and potential obstacles. Project management helps us avoid hitting icebergs or getting caught in storms. We call them “unexpected challenges”. 

Project managers work closely with the product team to ensure the roadmap is feasible. They also help coordinate the division of work and see projects to completion.

You might not have a large team yet. In this case, you likely have someone else in charge of the roadmap. If you’re operating a startup, founders likely own the roadmap. If you’re a startup founder trying to navigate the world of roadmaps, you’re in the right place!

Similar to the point above, sometimes other team members manage the roadmap before a dedicated product owner comes on board. Engineers and product developers have deep insights into the inner workings of the product. So they’re well suited to manage the product roadmap.

C-level executives

They are the admirals looking at the bigger picture. They might not be involved in the day-to-day plotting of the course, but their vision is still crucial. They have a bird’s-eye view of the entire fleet (company). They also ensure that our ship (product) aligns with the broader fleet’s direction. They get insights from market trends, company and product strategy, and financial factors. These insights can significantly impact the roadmap’s primary goals.

While the product manager might be the primary cartographer of the roadmap, it’s a collaborative effort. Each role brings a unique perspective, ensuring that the roadmap is not only visionary, but also grounded in reality. After all, a map is only as good as the team that uses it!

Speaking of roadmap users – let’s discuss them next.

Who uses the roadmap?

Don’t let your product roadmap become another file lost in your Google Drive! It’s a living, breathing guide that serves multiple audiences. So encourage people to use it! Let’s explore who can benefit from this invaluable tool.

• Internal team

Why? So the devs don’t go rogue on you.

Internal teams are the engine room of our product ship. This includes developers, designers, and QA testers. They turn the roadmap’s vision into reality. And they all need a holistic view of where the product is headed. It helps them understand the context of their tasks.

They also learn the priority of new features. Plus, they discover the interdependencies between different components. This clarity reduces the chances of misalignment or “wildcard” features that haven’t been accounted for. It’s like giving them a compass to make sure they’re always sailing in the right direction.

• External stakeholders

Why? To keep them in the loop.

External stakeholders include investors, partners, and board members. They might not be involved in the daily grind but are still vested in the product’s success.

The roadmap is a snapshot of the product’s strategy, progress, and future direction. By sharing it with them, we’re fostering trust, setting expectations, and ensuring they’re always informed. It’s like sending them a postcard from our journey, letting them know we’re on the right track.

These stakeholders care where their money is going. If they have a way to always check in on your progress, they’ll have much more trust in you. Raising more funds will get easier!

Why? Transparency is the best policy.

In some industries, especially in the SaaS world, companies choose to share their roadmaps with their customers . When done right, this strategy can foster trust and set realistic expectations. This also creates an open communication stream. Customers can send you valuable feedback for future improvements.

They also appreciate being in the know. A public roadmap can make them feel valued and heard. It’s like inviting them on the journey with us, ensuring they know where we’re headed and why.

Curious to see how PMs build in public? Here are some of the best public roadmap examples .

Let’s talk about other types of roadmaps now.

Other types of roadmaps

Up until now, we’ve been focused on product roadmaps. There are also other types of roadmaps that you might find useful.

While product roadmaps are our bread and butter, the concept of roadmapping extends to various domains. Each type serves a unique purpose, catering to different audiences and objectives. Let’s delve deeper into these diverse roadmaps.

Technology roadmap

Purpose : navigate your tech projects

A technology roadmap shows the company’s plan to use new technology. This document helps the company connect its technology needs to its business goals. Your tech roadmap should align with your product roadmap. It lays the foundation your product is built on. 

For the tech team, it’s like having a crystal ball that predicts the future of technology within the organization. Here’s what it might look like:

Software development roadmap

Purpose : “When’s the next update?”

This roadmap is tailored for software products. It details the upcoming features, improvements, and releases. It’s a timeline of developers’ work and when users can expect updates. It’s like a product release calendar, ensuring everyone knows when the next software “season” premieres.

Some companies use their product roadmaps as a software development roadmap. If your roadmap is focused just on engineering, it’s likely a software development roadmap. If it includes other team members (designers, product marketers, etc), it’s a product roadmap. However, the lines may blur.

Here’s what a software roadmap might look like.

Business roadmaps

Purpose : zoom out to the bigger picture

This roadmap shows the company’s strategic plans, goals, and priorities at a high level.  It brings different departments together to work towards the same goals.  Think of it as the company’s strategic blueprint.

Here’s an example of a business roadmap:

“Business” is a broad term. You can also separate a few other roadmaps.

Marketing roadmap

Purpose : to spread the word about your products

This roadmap shows the plans for marketing and promoting products or services. It’s the game plan for brand visibility, ensuring the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.

A product can be exceptional, but you need users to make it profitable. That’s why outlining your marketing initiatives is so crucial.

When your product is complex, it’s easy to get confused while trying to promote it.

A marketing roadmap can help. Here’s an example of a marketing roadmap.

Let’s explore more roadmaps to help you stay organized.

Innovation roadmap

Purpose: “What’s the next big thing?”

An innovation roadmap is all about staying ahead of the curve. It charts future innovations and R&D initiatives.

 It’s hard to plan for innovation. But you can keep track of industry trends, watch the competition, and allow yourself to dream. 

Blue Ocean strategy is a popular framework for innovation. It focuses on finding untapped markets and hidden opportunities within them.

“In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.” W. Chan Kim , professor of strategy and management at INSEAD

To create an innovation roadmap, take your business roadmap as an example. Narrow it down only to innovative ideas that could help you break through the noise.

Innovative ideas can be groundbreaking for your business.

Project roadmap

Purpose : break down complex projects

This roadmap breaks down tasks, milestones, and deadlines. It’s the project manager’s bible, ensuring every task is on track and stakeholders are informed.

Some projects are straightforward. But, managing your product becomes tougher as it matures and gets more complex. That’s where a project roadmap can really help.

Here’s an example of a sample project roadmap.

Customer journey roadmap

Purpose : try on your customer’s shoes.

This visual representation maps out the customer’s experience with your product. You’ll know where to take your product next when you lay out the whole journey from awareness to advocacy.

It’s almost a brand empathy tool. It helps you experience the product the way your users do. Only then can you understand and cater to your customers’ needs at every touchpoint.

There are a few different ways to lay out your customer journey roadmap. Here’s one of them.

Policy/regulatory roadmap

Purpose : navigating the legal jungle.

This roadmap is great for industries with significant regulatory oversight. It outlines the necessary steps to achieve compliance. It’s the company’s legal guide, ensuring they stay on the right side of the law.

Educational/learning roadmap

Purpose : help you study effectively

This roadmap is tailored for learners. It outlines learning objectives, modules, and progression. This student’s guide ensures they know what to learn, when, and why.

Let’s say you’re studying product management. There’s so much to learn! Also, because this field is relatively new, there’s no single tried and tested learning path. There are so many options to choose from:

• Traditional classes in colleges and universities
• Online courses
• Bootcamps and crash courses
• And much more

A learning roadmap can really help you get organized. You’ll know exactly:

• What you want to learn
• Where you need to start
• In what order you should approach the subject
• Where you can find the necessary information
• How to set and stick to deadlines
• How to set and measure learning outcomes
• And more

This will set you up for a successful career in product management. And speaking of careers…

Career roadmap

Purpose : climbing the corporate ladder one step at a time

This personal development tool outlines the steps, skills, and milestones you need to achieve career goals. It’s the professional’s compass that can guide you through your career journey.

Every day new jobs pop up. Do you want to become a chief automations officer? Or maybe a gamification marketing expert?

You need a plan. And a career roadmap can help you get there.

With proper research, you can get your dream job or even create a new role for yourself.

While the format might differ, the core principle of roadmaps remains the same. They aim to provide clarity, direction, and alignment. Whether you’re a tech guru, marketer, or student, there’s a roadmap tailored to your journey.

Let’s talk about actually creating roadmaps.

How to create a roadmap

Before you start, remember: it’s not about cramming everything in. It’s about prioritizing what truly matters.

We’re going to focus on product roadmaps in this article. Many of the principles apply to other types of roadmaps too.

There are several things you want to include in your roadmap to make it functional and useful.

What to include

User feedback.

Your users are the lifeblood of your product. Their feedback provides invaluable insights into what’s working, what’s not, and what’s missing. When you incorporate customer feedback, your product will evolve in a way that appeals to its audience. 

When your users can see your roadmap, they feel included in your product journey. They’ll know that their voice matters, and their ideas actually come to fruition.

A product feature is a tangible enhancement or addition to your product. Features are promises of value, solving specific user problems or needs. Clearly listing them ensures everyone knows what’s on the horizon .

Some features will come from ideas and requests from your users. Others will be a result of your research and brainstorming. And all these features should take the most prominent place on your roadmap.

We know: you don’t want to include bug reports in your roadmap. But…you should still have a place where you indicate the bugs you’re fixing.

This may seem daunting – announcing to the world that you have issues in your product. But who doesn’t?

If you’re transparent about having and fixing bugs, your users will trust you more. Admitting that you aren’t perfect but committed to improving is a very effective strategy.

Prioritization criteria

Not all features or ideas are created equal. To make sure the most important things get attention, we need clear criteria for prioritizing. This helps balance urgency and impact when allocating resources. 

There are numerous ways to prioritize your features . At Canny, we use the weighted score model. And everyone who uses Canny can customize the weighted scoring formula to suit their needs. Here’s how we use it.

We took the factors that mattered the most to us and assigned a score to each of them (up to 100%). For example, we weigh more urgent items (priority) higher than design readiness.

We add these factors to our prioritization formula in Canny. It then scores ideas for us and tells us what the biggest priority should be. From there, it’s easy to add the winning ideas to the product roadmap and get to work.

Explicitly stating the priority level helps everyone know what to do first and what can wait. This goes beyond just the prioritization criteria we discussed above.

Vote counts can indicate the demand or popularity of a feature, ensuring user needs are front and center. This is especially true for user-driven roadmaps.

You can use votes as one of your prioritization factors.

Assigning ownership ensures accountability. It shows who is in charge of a task or feature, clarifying roles and responsibilities. 

Displaying ownership publicly helps align all your teams. 

Deadlines provide a timeframe for delivery. They set expectations and ensure timely progress, keeping the momentum going.

Clearly visible deadlines help with accountability.

Keeping track of the status of each task or feature provides a real-time snapshot of progress. It helps in managing resources and setting stakeholder expectations.

Estimating how much work a task needs helps assign resources and set realistic deadlines.

Part of building your roadmap is understanding how many resources you have. You also need to clarify what tasks the team can accomplish in a given time with that set of resources.

Milestones are significant achievements or phases in the product’s journey. They provide checkpoints to gauge progress and celebrate successes, keeping the team motivated.

You can showcase your milestones through statuses or changelog entries (when a new feature is shipped).

Here’s how statuses work in Canny.

Here’s how AgencyAnalytics uses Canny’s changelog to share their important milestones.

As mentioned above, this is a very long list. So avoid including everything just for the sake of it. Rather, review this as a list of potential ideas and pick the ones that make the most sense to your organization. Focus on items that help you achieve your OKRs and boost your KPIs.

What not to include

If an item doesn’t add value, clarity, or align with the product’s direction, it’s best left out. Overloading a roadmap can dilute its purpose and make it overwhelming.

For example, if your company isn’t public, you don’t want to share any financials on your public roadmap.

If you have a low-impact feature request that you likely won’t get to, also don’t include it on your roadmap. This will set the wrong expectations.

Building a roadmap from scratch feels like a lot of work. That’s why we created our free roadmap templates !

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated roadmap tool that can help you automate this process, keep reading.

Roadmap tools 

Canny offers a streamlined approach to roadmapping. Our product roadmap tool pulls in user feedback and helps you prioritize each idea in one platform. It’s like having a GPS for your product journey, ensuring you’re always on the right path.

There are other roadmap tools out there. Many aren’t designed for roadmaps, but can be adapted. For example, companies like SocialBee use Trello for their roadmap. 

We’ve gathered the best public roadmap examples here – take a look! Drawing inspiration from successful examples can give you new ideas.

Now that you’ve built a roadmap, let’s discuss how to use it.

How to use the product roadmap

An effective product roadmap relies on its implementation. It’s not just about creating it, but also about driving alignment, decision-making, and progress. Let’s delve deeper into how to make the most of your roadmap.

• Communicate its value

It’s more than just a pretty visual. A roadmap is a strategic document that outlines a product’s vision, direction, and priorities. It is crucial to communicate its importance to all stakeholders, from developers to executives. So make sure everyone knows its purpose: to set expectations, clarify, and guide decisions. Refer to it frequently in meetings, presentations, and discussions to reinforce its importance.

Invite your users to review your roadmap if it is public . You should also provide them with the opportunity to submit ideas.

• Stick to it

It can be tempting to pursue every new idea or piece of feedback. Still, try to follow the plans you initially outlined in the roadmap. After all, you prioritized those ideas for a reason. This sets a direction and provides a sense of stability. And that’s the whole point of a roadmap!

You still need to strike a balance between consistency and adaptability, though. Your product plan can change due to market shifts, user feedback, or technological advancements. Being too rigid can lead to missed opportunities or misalignment with current needs.

Our advice: use your best judgment. Try not to get too distracted, but also be ready to pivot.

• Adjust as needed

The roadmap shouldn’t be set in stone. You may need to make changes as you collect more information, get feedback, or face unexpected obstacles.

Review your roadmap regularly. This way it’ll remain relevant and aligned with the product goal and market realities. Your roadmap will also evolve with the product, always pointing toward maximum value and impact.

A product roadmap is both a guide and a communication tool. Use it, reiterate its value, and stay consistent but flexible. And remember to make necessary adjustments. That’s how it can remain a dynamic tool that drives your product towards success.

Build better products with a roadmap

In the end, a roadmap is more than just a table. It’s your vision, strategy, and commitment to your product. So, grab that coffee, roll up your sleeves, and let’s build something amazing together!

Cheers to roadmaps and the clarity they bring! 🚀

Maria Vasserman

Maria loves all things creative – writing, photography, movies and beyond 🎥 When she's not creating content to tell the world about Canny, she's either photographing a wedding, jumping at a rock concert, camping, travelling, snowboarding, or walking her dog 🐕‍🦺

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Last Updated on October 27, 2023

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Roadmap: Definition, Tools, Examples

A thorough guide to effectively building and using a roadmap through definitions, examples, tools and tutorials.

• Getting Started with Roadmaps

Strategic planning is an essential part of managing projects or activities of any kind, and it's especially important in implementing your business vision. A simple visual like a roadmap provides a clear overview of your strategic tasks and milestones and helps you define a long-term plan for reaching your goals .

We've put together some resources to make it easier for you to create and manage your project or product roadmap. Here, you'll find all you need to know, from what a roadmap is to useful examples, friendly tools and free roadmap templates  so you don't have to build them yourself. Let's get started!

What Is a Roadmap in Project Management?

Simply put, a roadmap is a strategic planning technique that places a project's goals and major deliverables (tasks, milestones) on a timeline , all grouped in a single visual representation or graphic. You should always remember that a roadmap planner differs from a regular project plan in that it doesn't contain all the details of a project; instead, it's a high-level, easy-to-understand, strategic tool.

• Characteristics of a Roadmap

Defining an overall goal along with the major steps needed to reach it, a roadmap helps articulate the why behind the desired outcome and the plan for getting there within all kinds of strategic initiatives.

To better understand the role of a roadmap, let us review what this strategic tool is and is not.

What a roadmap is

A high-level plan that states an overarching objective and captures the major steps to achieve it – a valid roadmap makes a persuasive case for undertaking any specific action towards the main objective and paints a clear picture of how these underlying activities interconnect to bring the desired outcome.

A communication tool that conveys a product’s/project’s strategy – when using a concise and convincing rationale for taking a certain step/including a specific feature, a roadmap proves essential to the effective coordination of cross-functional teams around a common goal, and for gaining the approval from company leadership, partners, and customers.

What a roadmap is not

Difference between a roadmap and a backlog – a backlog is a to-do list consisting of all the tasks required to carry out a strategic initiative, usually arranged based on their priority; meanwhile, a roadmap translates a collection of backlog tasks and ideas into a high-level strategic vision.

Difference between a roadmap and a project management tracker – a project management tracker is a compilation of all the tasks and associated details (the individual assignments, the staff responsible for each task, planned meetings to discuss major milestones, deadlines for each critical phase, etc.) that are related to the completion of an initiative; in contrast, a roadmap summarizes the main efforts that need to be undertaken in order to achieve the planned results.

Difference between a roadmap and a list of features – when it comes to product development and management, many managers mistakenly confuse a list of features with a roadmap, but a list of features doesn’t articulate the strategic thinking that supports building a product in a specific way, whereas a roadmap shows how all those features come together and yield a product that meets specific company goals.

• Why Do You Need a Roadmap?

Creating a well-thought-out roadmap helps businesses and project/product managers judiciously decide to what they choose to commit. Aligning each work item to the overall objective, roadmaps ensure that time and efforts are invested wisely and provide a strong foundation in terms of:

Clarity – by answering the question “what are you working towards and why?”, a roadmap clarifies strategic goals and how the involved work is linked to the overall strategy.

Communication – sharing the strategy of an initiative, a roadmap shows direction, visualizes timing, and helps drive conversations with key parties around challenges in a transparent manner.

Coordination – in large or complex projects, a roadmap enhances collaboration between multiple participants within an organization as it can help track dependencies and identify bottlenecks.

Accountability – sharing what needs to be delivered and when, a roadmap makes it easier for everyone to follow through on the plan.

Alignment – clearly stating the vision and the objectives of a project, a roadmap aligns teams, portfolios, or areas of the same business.

Impact – highlighting how each area of investment ties to a high-level goal, roadmaps easily illustrate the impact of a team’s progress.

Prioritization – focusing on what is most important, roadmaps help project/product managers make tradeoff decisions and prioritize the work that brings the greatest benefits more easily.

Showing the why behind a planned initiative, a roadmap benefits any type of business because:

It clarifies business strategy .

It communicates company-wide initiatives to internal teams.

It links department goals to those of the business.

It shares general plans with external audiences such as partners and advisory boards.

It tracks organizational performance .

Serving as the reference point for everything a team will focus on, a visual roadmap is extremely useful for product/project managers in high-level meetings with clients and executives because it helps you:

Illustrate how business strategy ties to company goals.

Translate product goals and initiatives into features and requirements.

Communicate with leadership, cross-functional teammates, and customers.

Prioritize new functionalities and enhancements.

Report progress and status as the project is moving along.

• Roadmap Examples

The structure of a roadmap may vary from one project to another, but there are some key elements you should include in all your roadmaps. These are:

Goals and initiatives – defining the value that your product or project brings and how it delivers on business objectives.

Releases and milestones – stating when work will start and be delivered.

Features – showing the efforts that are prioritized based on their overall value.

Dependencies – highlighting interrelated work that might impact delivery.

To briefly recap, no matter the type of initiative it illustrates, a roadmap needs to tie together your strategy (the “why”), the actions that you need to take to achieve your goals (the “what”), and a timeline for completion (the “when”).

Take a look at the sample roadmap visual below to explore these key elements.

Roadmaps have a flexible format for presenting strategic information, so there's no industry standard we should follow. Each strategic initiative - from Marketing to HR, Operations, or IT - can adopt a different approach, but over time we've seen that most professionals use a roadmap creator to build one of the popular types of roadmaps below.

To help you save time, you can download these examples for free (we've built them using PowerPoint and the Office Timeline  add-in) so you can get started right away.

E-commerce program roadmap

High-level roadmap with an overview of project, teams, and activities for an e-commerce program.

Clinical trial roadmap

Simple roadmap showing the trial phases and key milestones in a drug approval process.

Product development roadmap

A colorful roadmap with key milestones and sprint schedule for better planning a SaaS product.

Platform roadmap

Roadmap slide with swimlanes and project details for effective management of a platform development process.

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There are many ways you can use these roadmap examples to make better decisions around your strategic initiatives. Explore the roadmap templates  page to discover which one fits you best, then download and customize them as you like.

• How to Create a Roadmap

Here are the main five steps to building an effective roadmap:

Define your strategy – this step requires you to outline the overall vision, goals, and initiatives. In-depth research into buying personas, product positioning and competitive analysis helps create critical context and the foundation for your strategy.

Review and assess potential features – use a scoring mechanism to weigh potential features and decide which of them bring the most value to your initiative.

Prioritize and determine requirements – break down the activities that best support your strategy into smaller units of work.

Organize work into phases – group your ranked list of features or major efforts into major releases or stages and define their duration.

Choose your roadmap view – decide the level of detail and manner in which you want to illustrate all of the above over a specific time frame. For example, you might want to highlight specific features or cross-functional dependencies that influence the course of your plan.

Once you have covered all the steps above, you can then proceed to actually building your visual either by using a roadmap template or a dedicated roadmap tool .

For comprehensive demonstrations on how to make a roadmap using various office tools, check out our collection of step-by-step tutorials.

Roadmap Templates

• What Is a Roadmap Template?

A roadmap template is a pre-built roadmap sample that can be easily updated with custom data to fit your needs. It provides an already-done framework to specific cases, helping you save time and effort in creating such a visual.

• Why Use a Roadmap Template?

Using a roadmap template makes it easier for you to capture and communicate your product/project plans as it offers a pre-made structure to your own data . Available in a professionally designed format, roadmap templates help you to quickly build a timeline on which you concisely illustrate your goals and initiatives, the efforts that support your strategy and the due dates for work completion. Moreover, you can easily update them as often as necessary and even re-use them for future initiatives without having to start from scratch all over again.

Start building your first roadmap with our free downloadable roadmap templates  that you can easily tailor to your requirements. While some of them allow you to share high-level business goals, others are more suitable for conveying a more detailed view of your initiatives. You can also find examples designed for certain types of industries or organizations.

Simply download your preferred model, input your project/product data, and enjoy a presentation-ready roadmap.

Ready-Made Roadmap Templates

A variety of professional, stand-alone templates that you can instantly customize into your own beautiful roadmap.

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Roadmap Tools

Whether you are starting a business, launching a new product, or coordinating a cross-functional project, a roadmap will enable you to visualize your strategic plan and turn it into reality . It represents the output of your planning process and will serve as the main tool to communicate your initiative to stakeholders in a compelling manner.

This is why it is crucial to use purpose-built roadmap software that will allow you to easily develop and customize high-level visuals that you can effortlessly share with important audiences (executives, team members, other groups in your organization, and clients).

One such dedicated roadmap maker is the PowerPoint add-in called Office Timeline . This intuitive tool helps you automatically generate clear, stylish roadmaps as PowerPoint slides that you can quickly update as often as necessary and share or present in meetings.

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• How to Choose a Roadmap Tool

With so much at stake when it comes to creating your roadmap, it's no wonder that deciding which roadmap tool to use proves to be such a challenging task. To make it easier for you to choose a roadmap software, here are the top 5 things to consider when you review the many roadmap tools available on the market today:

Time-saving . Does the roadmap app make it easy for you to create and update your project visual? You may have very little time to prepare your presentation for an important meeting with a client or a manager. That's why you need an agile roadmap maker that helps you automate your work with just a few clicks.

Customization . Each project is different, so is it a good idea to use the same colors and shapes for all of them? Certainly not. Go with an agile roadmap software that allows you to customize every detail: colors, shapes, fonts, date formats, etc. and lets you style your roadmap to make it unique and distinctive.

User-friendly . Most work is collaborative nowadays and you're always in close contact with a client or team. Therefore, you'll need a roadmap tool that works the way your clients and colleagues do, and the resulting roadmaps are easy to view, edit, download, or share by anyone, with their usual office tools.

Integrations . If you use popular project tools like MS Project or Wrike, you'll want to choose a roadmap creator that integrates smoothly with your usual project management software so you can build roadmaps straight from your data. A Refresh function that helps you update your roadmap every time there are changes in your documentation may be very useful, too.

Visuals . We can't stress this enough: you need simple, clear visuals that your audience can understand. So, choose a software that makes roadmaps that have the right blend of professionalism and beauty to help you stand out and impress your clients or managers.

Need more guidance in choosing a roadmap tool? Check out our dedicated section on roadmap tools .

Best Practices for Roadmaps

To serve the purpose for which it was created, a roadmap needs to be:

actionable,

up-to-date,

relevant and easy-to-understand for the intended audience,

and visually compelling.

So here are a series of guidelines on how to effectively update, share and present impactful roadmaps that convey relevant information in a quick and clear manner.

• Tips on How to Share or Present a Roadmap

For product/project managers to efficiently present and share their roadmap, they need to consider their audience – who they are, what they need to know and why. This way, they can adjust the structure and level of detail of their visual so that the right information be conveyed to the right people in a visually appealing way.

Here are the elements that make for an impactful roadmap presentation :

Audience-awareness – customize your roadmap according to your intended public and outcome. Depending on the audience, you will establish what to highlight during your presentation. For example, when you present to executive or advisory boards, your roadmap should focus on timelines of major bodies of work, whereas an engineering or IT team audience will be interested on details about features, requirements, and release dates. A customer-facing roadmap presentation, on the other hand, might show only a general description of features and approximate release dates.

Agenda – once you determine to whom you will present your roadmap, set an appropriate agenda of what core aspects you will capture and discuss. This gives your audience the right expectation for what they will see along the way.

Purpose – a good roadmap presentation needs a goal. To build an informative and well-received presentation from a goal-first approach, answer the questions “why is this information shared with this particular audience?”, “what should be the intended takeway?”, “what feedback would be useful?”

Vision – include information about the product’s business model, goals, personas, and competitors to place your strategic plans in the context of the broader product strategy and direction.

Feedback – presenting a roadmap creates the perfect opportunity for a product/project manager to get valuable insight from both internal and external audiences. Make sure to allot time for questions, answers, and comments.

Shareability – the value of your roadmap goes beyond its presentation as it may act as a reference point for any decisions going forward. As such, it is important to allow the appropriate access permissions and expectations for how frequently it would be updated.

• Tips on How to Use or Update a Roadmap

As a high-level plan that describes the work required to achieve a goal along with a corresponding schedule, your roadmap should include a series of visual elements to be successfully used:

Timeframe – include a timeline to highlight the upcoming work within a relevant time period. If your initiative is planned to happen over a three-month interval, it doesn’t make sense to use a year-long timeframe. For easier comprehension, this timeline is usually presented at the top of the roadmap.

Hierarchy – when working with complex initiatives, take the time to logically organize and break down the work into smaller units that you can then display according to start and end dates, status, priority or that you can group by categories.

Progress – indicate the status of different work items and the overall progress towards goals by using shaded bars, colors, checkmarks or % percent complete indicators.

Colors – assign different colors to different work components (by team or owner, for instance) to better differentiate stages of your initiative and communicate them visually.

Symbols – subtly convey extra details with shapes, arrows, and other custom elements. For example, you can use a diamond to indicate important milestones or an arrow/line/connector to highlight task dependencies. Whatever symbols you choose, make sure they are consistent so that your audience can decode them.

Since plans change and new opportunities or challenges may arise along the way, you will want to create a flexible and dynamic roadmap that you can effortlessly update when such instances occur, not only quarterly or according to release status. To this end, choose an interactive dedicated tool that will allow you to:

quickly reflect ongoing transformations and evolution on your roadmap visuals;

swiftly integrate with other systems used in your organization;

easily share it at a company-wide level;

customize and style relevant details into unique visuals.

Frequently Asked Questions about Roadmaps

Here are the answers to the most frequently asked question about roadmaps.

What is a roadmap?

A roadmap is the high-level, visual representation of the lifecycle of a business initiative , complete with the end goal, steps to take and milestones to reach along the way. The roadmap is primarily used for the strategic planning of projects and the development of new products.

What is a project roadmap?

A project roadmap is a strategic overview of a company-wide operation . It can define the scope, deliverables, high-level scheduling, milestones, challenges, and risk factors. Project roadmaps are slightly less detail-oriented than project timelines. The primary concern is respecting the original deadlines and adjusting deliverables to meet them, when required.

What does a roadmap include?

A typical project roadmap should cover the following elements:

Long- and short-term objectives;

Tasks, milestones, and dependencies;

Resources required and their allocation strategy;

Timeline of the project’s lifecycle;

Risk factors and challenges.

Why is a roadmap important?

Roadmaps allow all involved parties to evaluate the competitiveness of a strategy, raise issues and reveal gaps, correctly prioritize resource allocation, and set realistic targets based on market data. They provide the framework for interdepartmental collaboration . Without roadmaps, every venture is a journey into the unknown and the risk of project failure grows higher.

How do you create a roadmap?

Starting off with a specialized roadmap maker application like Office Timeline can save you hours of work, allowing you to focus on the project specifics rather than graphic design. Here are the basic steps for creating a roadmap:

Define the timeline and project phases.

List the tasks, milestones, and dependencies.

Break down the workstream using logical containers like swimlanes.

Keep updating the roadmap with new developments.

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Product roadmaps: A complete guide [+ templates]

When I'm managing even a small project, I have a system of notes, file folders, color codes, and lists ( so many lists) that I use to have any chance of keeping the project on schedule. My system works because I'm the only one who has to use it.

As a product manager, you don't have the luxury of maintaining total control over your project planning systems. You have to allow entire teams to share your organizing systems and still find a way to keep everything running smoothly. 

That's where the product roadmap comes in. A product roadmap keeps everyone on the same page as to where a product is and where it's headed next. It's also a status updater, a communication tool, and a governing authority that defines how product work needs to be documented, who's responsible for different tasks, and what milestones and deadlines need to be met. 

This guide will take you through every step of the product roadmapping process and even provide you with templates to get you started.

Table of contents:

What goes into a product roadmap?

Why are product roadmaps important?

Who uses a product roadmap, how to create a product roadmap, 7 types of product roadmaps (with templates), how to present a product roadmap to stakeholders, tips for creating a product roadmap, what is a product roadmap.

A product roadmap (or product development roadmap) is a document that acts as the singular authority for information on a product's progress, including roles and timelines for all related teams and stakeholders. Roadmaps can be as simple or complex as necessary, but they're always easy to understand and accessible to everyone who is or will be involved in the product's development. 

A roadmap is what's called a "single source of truth": it aggregates all product information from every team involved in the development project. Individual teams can also have their own department-wide systems, but all of that information should also be stored in the product roadmap. That way, everyone on the project is referencing the same source for updated information.

What are the key components of a product roadmap?

Roadmaps are unique snowflakes (and honestly as complex): each one is different depending on the type of product in development, the industry the product belongs to, the size and shape of the product team, and the particular needs of the company producing the product. 

All differences aside, nearly all product roadmaps contain these key components:

Product features: Features are the functions the product needs to perform and the problems it should solve. Typically, the development team is in charge of sifting through feedback from users and deciding what features to implement next.

User stories: User stories make up the most basic units on a roadmap within an agile framework. Written from the end user's perspective, they describe the ultimate goal of a product feature. ("Story" and "feature" are sometimes used interchangeably.) Collections of related stories make up epics.

Epics: In agile product roadmaps, epics are collections of stories. They can span across multiple teams (or even across multiple software version launches), and there can be many of them involved in a given roadmap.

Product releases: Features are rolled out to users in planned product releases. Often a completed feature will be held until other features are finished being implemented, so multiple features can be included in one release for optimal CX . 

Product initiatives: Initiatives show how sets of stories, features, tasks, and projects come together to actualize product goals. Initiatives keep teams focused on goal-centric efforts.

Product goals: Goals correspond to product features and outline how and when that feature will be implemented. Goals should be time-bound and measurable, and a roadmap might include multiple goals on the path toward completing a single feature.

Product timelines: Usually, a product roadmap timeline will include not only the dates associated with each milestone, but also a list of the teams and individuals responsible for each process as well as the stakeholders affected by different updates and goal completions.

Product roadmaps keep every member of every team focused on the same goal. It can be all too easy to get caught up in the cycle of completing isolated tasks within individual teams, but with a unified roadmap, stakeholders at every level and in every department know where they stand in the development process and how their individual contributions factor in.

Let's say a software company is releasing an update to one of their products. The engineering team plays many of the key roles in executing the technical aspect of the release and accounts for the biggest chunk of the roadmap. Meanwhile, the UX team has its own tasks to ensure the updates are aligning with user experience standards. As all this is going on, the marketing team is updating social media, scheduling email campaigns, and building awareness for the key features of the upcoming update. At any given time, each of these teams can consult the roadmap to see where their roles fit into the project timeline as they continue performing separate tasks on projects related to other products.

A well-conceived product roadmap has these key benefits:

Improved goal alignment across teams and stakeholders

Improved alignment between developmental teams and broader business objectives

Transparency about timelines and progress toward milestones

More effective product planning

Clear translation of product strategy

Creation of a single source of truth for all teams and stakeholders

Streamlined development strategy

Development of a single, shareable visualization of product timelines, relevant teams, and required milestones

Clear outlining of priorities to fend off non-outcome-driven tasks and keep teams focused

This isn't exactly a shocker: the product manager and their team are responsible for building, maintaining, and facilitating the product roadmap. And if you're the product manager, you want to do everything possible to make sure that only your team manages the roadmap—especially when operating at scale, roadmap planning can very quickly become a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation.

Some concrete tasks that the product management team is responsible for include:

Selecting a roadmap type that fits the product development process

Building the product roadmap

Updating the product roadmap with changes and new information from all teams and stakeholders

Ensuring all stakeholders document their work correctly

Troubleshooting obstacles and bottlenecks in the product development process

Product managers will probably have to interact with other departments throughout the company to build a roadmap that aligns with greater company goals. Once a roadmap is created, it applies to everyone with a role to play in its execution. For example, marketing teams might reference it to align their publicity deliverable timelines, and customer service teams may need to plan for an influx of support tickets around the release date.

Explore the best product management software options to create and execute actionable strategies.

Product roadmaps can vary widely in complexity, from shorter-term timelines (like a now/next/later roadmap) to complex ones that span years (like a detailed capacity roadmap). And when a product manager is plotting out a full development cycle, they'll often use a combination of roadmap styles for different aspects of the process.

A comprehensive, full-scale product roadmap is a beast of a document, so the best way to build one is the same way you would eat an elephant: one bite at a time.

1. Identify the product strategy: The product manager needs to have a strong grasp on the product strategy, market fit , and company goals in order to ensure the product roadmap aligns with and supports these broader initiatives.

2. Gather stakeholder perspectives: Working closely with your teams and stakeholders, collect firsthand information about the work, what it requires, and common problems.

3. Determine product goals and features: From the information you've gathered from stakeholders, identify what the product's features will be and break them down into actionable goals using the specs for your minimum viable product (MVP).

4. Define feature priorities: Once you've accumulated a general list of potential features, it's a good idea to prioritize them, so you can schedule gradual releases or delegate resources to high-priority features first. Consider common frameworks like Cost/Benefit, Value/Complexity, Story Mapping, MoSCoW Analysis, or Kano Analysis.

5. Match goals with releases: Once you've determined the parameters of your MVP, you can map the steps and milestones necessary to produce the earliest version of the product and schedule your first (beta) release.

6. Set a timeline: Tie your features, goals, and releases to scheduled milestones, consulting directly with stakeholders before setting deadlines to make sure they're feasible.

If your team uses a project management framework like Agile , you can apply it to your roadmap to keep your teams organized and so tasks or sprints can be assigned according to their usual workflows.

Starting a product roadmap from scratch? These templates each provide a structure for different facets or views depending on the scope of your particular roadmap. 

You can use just one to focus on a particular aspect of your process, or you can combine multiple templates to create a more comprehensive plan for your product's development. Don't let our preset labels limit you, either—we've also included blanks for you to modify and use however works best for you.

1. Theme roadmaps

It's essential for a project manager to start the roadmapping process with an understanding of the company's larger product strategy and business goals. 

A Themes x Features roadmap can help keep your thoughts organized as you start to determine where your planned features fit into these broader initiatives or "themes."

When you begin to break your features down into smaller goals and the projects dedicated to achieving those goals, a Themes x Projects roadmap can help keep all of the decisions you make about smaller processes and milestones in alignment with broader business goals.

2. Product portfolio roadmap

When first starting to map out the basics of your product roadmap, the four main items you need to determine are the product's goals, features, projected releases, and the teams that will be involved in the product development project. This high-level view gives you a framework to start with before filling in more details, and it also allows you to keep track of multiple products you may be managing at once.

3. Releases x Features roadmap

This roadmap zooms in to organize one very specific aspect of your project planning: which features will be grouped into each release. With a Release x Features roadmap in hand, you can run your plans by developers to ensure each group of features isn't too large to be feasible, and you can get more accurate estimates as to how much time will need to go into each release.

4. Capacity roadmap

Once you know what your product features and goals will be—but before you tie product milestones to a timeline—you need to determine who will be responsible for the different tasks involved in the product's development. A capacity roadmap aligns different tasks with the departments responsible for them and the period of time in which that team will be working on those tasks. Our version also allows you to assign tasks to different teams within a department. 

5. Task management roadmap

Different types of roadmaps allow you to view the same issue from different frames. With a task management roadmap, you're focusing on tasks and teams—just like in the capacity map—but the focus here is on determining when, generally speaking, those teams will tackle those tasks. You can also fill in what other things each team has on its plate, so you can see when they have the most availability to work on your product.

6. Now/next/later roadmap

Most product roadmaps are laid out across several months, fiscal quarters, or even years. A now/next/later roadmap takes the opposite approach and zooms in for a "snapshot" of the product development process in its current state. Now/next/later roadmaps can be especially useful for getting a project or process back on track after an obstacle or delay.

7. Product vision roadmap

It's a product manager's job to always know what's coming next, and that includes which development projects and new goals are lined up after the completion of the current product. A product vision roadmap is a strategic way to simultaneously brainstorm future opportunities and begin to plan what projects are on the horizon for your product team.

Bonus: Blank horizontal, vertical, and matrix roadmap templates

The templates above offer just a small selection of the different tasks, processes, and goals that can be organized using a roadmap. If you want to start a more custom roadmap from a truly blank template, you can download the basic structure of these by layout to fill in your own labels and titles:

Even a perfectly executed roadmap doesn't mean much if it doesn't get buy-in. And to get buy-in, you need to be able to present it effectively to both executive stakeholders and the development teams responsible for executing (cue the nail-biting). Here's how to position your roadmap to give it the best possible chance for adoption (while keeping your vision and nail beds intact).

Tailor it to your audience: Since you may be presenting to multiple audiences with different roles in the organization, it's important to tailor your roadmap presentation to them. Implementation teams may be concerned with scoping and having long enough timelines, while executives may be more interested in implementation costs and time to value.

Map back to company goals: Ultimately, your roadmap should advance the broader company goals. Show your audience how successful execution will connect to what the company as a whole values and strives for.

Tell a story: The best way to get people invested in your roadmap is to take them along its journey. Frame it with a beginning, middle, and end, just like any story, so you can walk stakeholders through the process and make it less abstract.

Show proof: It's not enough to say what you want to do—you need to also be able to prove the accuracy of your estimates for timelines, resources, and outcomes as much as possible. Back your claims up with real data to make the presentation believable.

Make it airtight: If there's an element of your roadmap that still feels a little rocky, the last thing you want is for someone to ask questions about it. If you feel any hesitation about any part of your roadmap, iron it out first, so you don't end up scrambling during the presentation. If you can't, acknowledge the gap straight on.

Be realistic, not optimistic: This is basically the old "under-promise, over-deliver" adage. Stakeholders want to know your roadmap is viable, not that it's going to be finished in record time. Resist the temptation to strive for impressive promises and instead lean on real data and unbiased projections.

In the end, everyone wants to prioritize the most impactful projects. A well-designed product roadmap will communicate value, give all teams a single source of truth for timelines and expectations, and help keep everyone focused on goal-centric work. 

Here are a few key takeaways to help you get the most out of yours:

Cater your roadmap presentations to your audience.

Be as realistic as possible about timelines, deliverables, and values.

Keep your roadmap concise.

Always relate features, stories, epics, and other tasks to agreed-upon product goals.

Align the roadmap to the greater company goals.

Make the roadmap accessible to every stakeholder, but limit editing permission.

A product roadmap won't eliminate all the work required to keep your product's development on track. As you scale, you'll want to automate internal processes as much as possible, like syncing information across platforms and sending update notifications to different teams.

Related reading:

How to get your team aligned

4 ways project management automation makes your job easier

How to streamline sales with AI and automation

12 of the best ways to work smarter, not harder

This post was originally published in May 2022 and was most recently updated win contributions from Bryce Emley in June 2023.

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Amanda Pell

Amanda is a writer and content strategist who built her career writing on campaigns for brands like Nature Valley, Disney, and the NFL. When she's not knee-deep in research, you'll likely find her hiking with her dog or with her nose in a good book.

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Write a business development plan

Now that you’re in the growth stage of your business, set things in motion with a business development plan.

A business development plan sets goals for growth and explains how you will achieve them. It can have a short-term or long-term focus. Review and revise your plan as often as you can. And keep building on it as your business evolves.

How to write a business development plan

Your business development plan is your roadmap to growth, so make it clear, specific and realistic.

What to include in a business development plan

• Opportunities for growth: Identify where growth will come from – whether it’s in creating new products, adding more services, breaking into new markets, or a combination of these.
• Funding plan: Determine how you’ll fund your business growth. How much capital do you already have? How much more do you need and how will you get it? Check out our guide on financing your business.
• Financial goals: Work out what revenue, costs and profits you’ll have if things stay the same. Use those numbers as a basis for setting new, more ambitious financial goals.
• Operational needs: Identify what things about your business will need to change in order to achieve growth. Will you need extra people, more equipment, or new suppliers?
• Sales and marketing activities: Figure out what sales and marketing efforts will effectively promote growth and how these efforts will change as the business gets bigger and better. Make sure your sales and marketing plan is sturdy enough to support your growing business.
• Team needs: You may need people to take on some of the tasks you’ve been doing. Think about what parts of running the business you enjoy most – and you’re good at – and what parts you might want to delegate to others. And give some thought to the culture you want to develop in your business as it grows. Check out our guide on hiring employees.

A sample business development plan

Avoid these common business development mistakes.

• Thinking short-term instead of long-term
• Underestimating how much money it will take to grow
• Not budgeting enough money to cover the costs of growth
• Focusing on too many growth opportunities: think quality, not quantity

Micro-planning can keep you focused

You may want to create some micro-plans for specific growth projects so their details don’t get overlooked. And you can build in some KPIs to measure your progress and successes. As your business grows, take note of your progress and make periodic adjustments to your business development plan to make sure it’s still relevant.

Support is out there

Remember you’re not the first to go through this. Seek out mentors, advisors or other business owners who can help you with your planning. Your accountant or bookkeeper may also be able to help or point you in the direction of the right people.

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This guide has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business or before taking action in relation to any of the content provided.

Growing your business

Are you ready to drop the hammer and take your business to the next level? Let’s look at how to grow.

Before you leap into growth, reflect on where you’ve come from. Find out the stage of business growth you’re at.

Understanding your business performance will help you grow. Check out common examples of small business KPIs.

Increasing sales revenue is one obvious way to help grow your business. But how do you sell more?

You can grow your business by selling more things to more people, or fewer things to fewer people. Let’s look at how.

You’re all set to grow your business. But there’s so much to keep track of. Xero’s got resources and solutions to help.

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Project roadmaps: Tips and templates that can improve your skills

Today, both project and product owners are turning to sophisticated visualization tools to build comprehensive roadmaps for large strategic initiatives or business activities that require multiple projects running in parallel. Most tools offer technical flexibility and the ability to connect to other management products, making them useful for charting out overlapping short-, medium-, and long-term business objectives.

Building a roadmap can be complicated, especially for those who are used to dealing in more granular day-to-day management documents. Here are some tips and templates that can help you build a roadmap that fits your specific need case.

What is a roadmap?

A roadmap is a high-level view at of strategic initiatives or projects, visualized by a series of sequential or parallel milestones tasked to different teams and stakeholders. By marrying team-specific roles with the overall business objectives, roadmaps allow decision-makers to easily keep track of their company’s macro level progress.

When providing a roadmap definition, it’s just as important to understand what a roadmap isn’t. For starters, roadmaps are usually not granular process documents — they don’t list out day-to-day or even week-to-week objectives. They’re designed to sit at a higher level, tracking a project or company’s progress across months, quarters, or even years.

Part of the challenge in building useful roadmaps is striking the balance between the right information and inhibitive minutiae. Finding that balance takes an honest and ongoing dialogue with the business stakeholders who will be using the document. Their stated needs can help guide a project manager in what metrics to show and what timeframe to track them across.

That stakeholder feedback can help guide a roadmap into one of several broad categories.

Types of roadmaps

Executive vision roadmaps: This is as macro level as it gets. These roadmaps match product or revenue stream against company growth and market realities, helping senior decision-makers ensure their organization is staying current and competitive.

Product roadmaps: Oftentimes built for external audiences, product roadmaps sit at a very high level and should reconcile a product’s development and direction with the needs of the consumer it’s meant to service. These are usually built for clients or internal decision-makers that are far removed from the day-to-day.

Market strategy roadmaps: Another high-level roadmap variation, marketing strategy roadmaps map the objectives for selling a product to the consumer. These roadmaps can be visualized by industry, audience segment, product version, or even campaign.

Technology roadmaps: A more granular roadmap variation designed for internal audiences, technology roadmaps usually support product roadmaps by showing key milestones for engineering and development teams. In other words, product roadmaps anchor the features that a product will need, and technology roadmaps anchor the steps required to develop those features.

Project roadmap: Built for “product portfolio managers”, i.e. managers who deal with multiple projects that usually go through a standardized process. Examples of such roadmaps include investment project pipeline or construction projects. The roadmap allows managers to plan and prioritize their resources accordingly.

Regardless of what roadmap variation is needed, each depends on the ability to be easily understood, updated, and distributed. Whether you’re dealing with a more granular technology roadmap or a 50,000-foot view executive vision, objectives change frequently. Keeping roadmaps current and relevant is a key task for document owners, as siloed teams aligned on common objectives depend on it.

Roadmap templates

Looking for a little help to get started on your next roadmap? Here are a few tips and templates for building in a data processor, business presentation tool, and project management tool.

Data processor

Roadmaps are usually highly visual — in many cases, they’re even created by a design resource to simplify the data being presented. By their very nature, however, data processors can work perfectly for data-driven roadmaps. Per-cell functions can help aggregate key data — like total weeks or months, or resource allocation — in a way that is easily understood.

At its most aesthetic use case, a data processor can be leveraged for simple visualizations that show a clear timeline. If you need to break away from the industry-standard timeline approach, work board templates can also be used as a roadmap starting point. Updating data processor roadmaps can be a manual process, however, so choose them thoughtfully.

Business presentation tool

A long-tenured gold standard for conferences and slideware, a business presentation tool’s inherently visual nature and widespread use make it an excellent platform for roadmapping. Their animation features and wide design palette allow for both creativity and distinctiveness.

Such applications can be a powerful tool for executive vision roadmaps , especially for companies focused on a small number of critical objectives. They can also help with external-facing product roadmaps, which require a balance between aesthetics and high-level information .

Project management tools

On the whole, a modern project management tool’s adaptable nature and connectedness to various office applications can often provide the best of both worlds: auto-updated data and streamlined visualization options that can flex to meet the needs of any roadmap variation.

You can use such tools to both build your initial document, as well as continually update key tasks and milestones. Filter tools give you greater data manipulation abilities, as well. With the right permissions setup, you can even distribute up-to-date documentation with the click of a button.

Roadmaps, when deployed correctly, have a powerful effect on products and projects: they establish both a clear vision of success and the high-level sequence of events needed to bring that vision to life. Most importantly, they build a team-wide strategic consensus that can keep a project on track through its inevitable challenges and changes.

The artwork of their construction lies in compiling the right information for the job. From executive visions to market strategies, projects and product initiatives can have a variety of complex needs. These tips and templates give you the tools to build the right roadmap for each of them.

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• Product Roadmaps

Product Roadmap Guide: What is it & How to Create One

A product roadmap is a shared source of truth that outlines the vision, direction, and progress of a product over time. 

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Summary: A product roadmap is a plan of action for how a product or solution will evolve over time. Product owners use roadmaps to outline future product functionality and when new features will be released. When used in agile development, a roadmap provides crucial context for the team's everyday work and should be responsive to shifts in the competitive landscape.

A product roadmap is essential to communicating how short-term efforts match long-term business goals. Understanding the role of a roadmap—and how to create a great one—is key for keeping everyone on your team headed in the same direction.

What is a product roadmap?

A product roadmap is a shared source of truth that outlines the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of a product over time. It’s a plan of action that aligns the organization around short and long-term goals for the product or project, and how they will be achieved.

While it's common for the roadmap to show what you’re building, it’s just as important to show why. Items on the roadmap should be clearly linked to your product strategy and goals, and your roadmap should be responsive to changes in customer feedback and the competitive landscape.

Product owners use roadmaps to collaborate with their teams and build consensus on how a product will grow and shift over time. Agile teams refer back to the product roadmap to keep everyone on the same page about which product ideas have been prioritized and when, and to gain context for their everyday work and future direction.

Which teams use product roadmaps?

Roadmaps come in several different forms and serve a variety of audiences:

Internal roadmap for the development team:  These roadmaps can be created in several ways, depending on how your team likes to work. Some common versions include the detail about the prioritized customer value to be delivered, target release dates and milestones. As a general rule, development teams should use a product roadmap to understand the product strategy, how it connects to goals, and why initiatives have been prioritized. For the actual development work, dev teams should create a separate delivery plan that maps back to the product roadmap. Since many development teams use agile methodologies, these plans are often organized by sprints and show specific pieces of work and problem areas plotted on a timeline. 

Internal roadmap for executives:  These roadmaps emphasize how teams' work supports high-level company goals and metrics. They are often organized by month or by quarter to show progress over time towards these goals, and generally include less detail about detailed development stories and tasks.

Internal roadmap for sales:  These roadmaps focus on new features and customer benefits, and may even include key customers who are interested in these features in order to support sales conversations. An important note: avoid including hard dates in sales roadmaps to avoid tying internal teams to potentially unrealistic dates.

External roadmap:  These roadmaps should excite customers about what’s coming next. Make sure they are visually appealing and easy to read. They should provide a high-level, generalized view of new features and prioritized problem areas to get customers interested in the future direction of the product.

Why are product roadmaps important?

The biggest benefit of the product roadmap is the strategic vision it illustrates to all stakeholders. The roadmap ladders up to broader product and company goals with development efforts, which connects work across teams and aligns those teams around common goals to create great products.

• For organizational leadership, the roadmap provides updates on the status of planned features and improvements in a format that connects back to company goals and is easily understood.
• For product owners and managers, roadmaps unify teams working on high impact product enhancements and allow them to communicate priorities and why they were prioritized effectively with adjacent teams.
• For the developers themselves, roadmaps provide a better understanding of the “big picture,” which allows team members to focus on the most important tasks, avoid scope creep, and make fast, autonomous decisions.

How to create a product roadmap

To build a roadmap, product owners should evaluate ideas based on key criteria, such as market trajectories, customer insights and feedback, company goals, and effort constraints. Once these factors are understood, product teams can work together to start prioritizing initiatives on the roadmap.

The content of a roadmap will depend on its audience - a roadmap for the development team may cover only one product, while a roadmap for executives can cover multiple products. Depending on the size and structure of an organization, a single roadmap may span multiple teams working on the same product. An external roadmap will often cover multiple products aligned with one point of emphasis or customer need.

The most important takeaway: create a roadmap that your audience can easily understand. Providing too much or too little detail on the roadmap can make it easy to gloss over, or worse, to too intimidating to read. A roadmap with just the right amount of detail and some visual appeal can earn the buy-in you need from key stakeholders.

Presenting the product roadmap

The product roadmap needs buy-in from two key groups: leadership and the agile development team. Presenting the roadmap is a great opportunity to demonstrate to key stakeholders that you understand the company’s strategic objectives, the needs of your customer, and have a plan to meet them both.

As you move through the project, make sure to link your delivery team’s work back to the product roadmap for context and visibility into progress for your team and stakeholders. A tried-and-true method: map out the ideas you're committing to on your product roadmap, then break down those ideas into epics, requirements, and user stories on your delivery roadmap. Often times, each initiative will have a corresponding epic that needs to be broken down into smaller tasks to complete. Establishing this hierarchy makes it easier for product and development teams to make decisions together, and understand how their work fits into the bigger picture.

Using and updating the roadmap

Roadmapping doesn’t end once you’ve reached your final state. As the competitive landscape shifts, customers' preferences adjust, or planned features are modified, it’s important to take any learnings or insights, feed them back into your team’s discovery process and ensure the product roadmap continues to reflect the status of current work as well as long-term goals.

The roadmap should be updated as often as necessary - this could be every week or fortnightly - so that it can remain an accurate source of truth. As we’ve all experienced at one time or another, a roadmap is counter-productive if it isn’t up to date. You’ll know if your roadmap needs to be updated more frequently because your stakeholders will start calling you for updates instead of consulting your roadmap. These one-off requests reflect a distrust in your roadmap, and a huge potential time suck.

However, on the flip side, you don’t want to spend more time updating the roadmap than is necessary to achieve alignment between stakeholders and within your team. Remember, the roadmap is a planning tool to think through how to build great products that will make an impact on your customers and on your business. If you’re spending time updating your roadmap that you could (and should) be spending on execution, re-think the cadence and how you take in inputs, feedback, and data from across the business to prioritize your initiatives.

Best practices for the best roadmaps

Building and maintaining product roadmaps is as much an ongoing process as it is a cultural practice to embark upon with your product team. There are a few simple ways to set yourself up for success:

• Only include as much detail as necessary for your audience
• Keep the roadmap evenly focused on short-term tactics and how these relate to long-term goals
• Review roadmaps on a regular basis and make adjustments when plans change
• Make sure everyone has access to the roadmap (and checks it on a regular basis)
• Stay connected with stakeholders at all levels to ensure alignment

Ready to make your very own roadmap? Get started for free with Jira Product Discovery .

Bree's a Product Manager on the Jira Software team and she gets a huge kick out of building products that bring a bit of delight to daily working life. Outside of the office, you'll find her trawling Sydney's bookshops, running along the harbour and generally over-caffeinated.

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What is a business roadmap?

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As an entrepreneur, you’ve got business goals to hit and a plan in mind to get there. While a business plan seems like the obvious choice for jotting down this plan, it’s not always the most relevant artifact for planning growth.

Business plans can get super granular and balloon to the size of a novel. And truth be told, it’s a ton for stakeholders to digest.

When planning organizational growth, you want a flexible document that captures and succinctly presents key goals, dates and plans of action relevant to all your stakeholders . Not an endless document you have to sift through with a fine tooth comb. Enter a business roadmap.

Find the right roadmapping tool for you and your business. Download our free guide here.

The business roadmap definition.

Much like a business plan, a roadmap is a long view of where your organization is going and how you’re getting there . But what differentiates it from your typical business plan is that it’s a higher-level visualization of your business’ big picture.

This type of roadmap illustrates your company’s major objectives and strategies for achieving growth. For businesses comprising of multiple departments, a roadmap prevents individual teams from being siloed off by clearly outlining the business’ future and each department’s role in upcoming growth.

Now, business growth can be illustrated in various types of roadmaps like a strategic roadmap, a startup roadmap or even something as specific as a marketing or HR roadmap. But the most common use case for mapping business growth is a roadmap that visualizes key business growth projects and deadlines across all of a company’s departments . So let’s take a look at this roadmap example.

How to visualize your business roadmap

Let’s assume we’re dealing with a business beyond the two-people-in-a-garage phase. (Not that this roadmap can’t work for small businesses, but it’ll be much simpler than what we’re presenting.) You’ve got different teams and departments with several balls in the air. Product is planning a rollout to mobile. Marketing needs to ensure the go-to marketing plan for this launch is ready. Plus, they’re planning their next event. Sales is following up on a crapload of leads brought in from the last event. And HR, well, they’re on a hiring roll for all departments.

With so many moving parts, there’s a lot for anyone in a business to wrap their head around. Your C-level execs need clarity on whether your departments are headed in the right direction. Your department heads need to know that their projects are contributing to the overall growth of the business—and not being stalled by other departments. And if you’re a business vying for investors or partners, these external stakeholders sure as heck want to know your future plans for expansion.

All set to build your own Timeline roadmap? Check out our ready-to-use business roadmap template.

A Timeline View of your roadmap provides a straight-to-the-point overview of major projects and deadlines team-by-team. Plotting each department’s growth strategy across months, quarters or a year (the timeframe’s completely up to you!), businesses can accurately assess each team’s time/resource allocation and contribution to growth-related initiatives . As well, this view lets teams see how they’re working in conjunction with the rest of the org to grow the business, squashing (or identifying) any feelings of being siloed off.

A timeline also lets a business pull out important dates via Milestones . By laying out expected deadlines, the entire organization can be on the same page about when to expect certain initiatives or goals to be complete, making it easier for teams to plan their work accordingly.

For businesses that crave details, this view can be pivoted many different ways to tell a more detail-oriented story of your business’ plan. For instance, you can pivot the roadmap by owner (like in the roadmap above), which allows higher-ups to determine if too much strain is being put on certain resources. The end result: better decisions about work distribution .

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For businesses that don’t really dig the idea of allocating specific timeframes to every single item, you can organize your roadmap in a Swimlane View . Still showing each department’s individual projects and strategies, you can have swimlanes dedicated to each team and then organize items by any timeframe. Think of this view as a snapshot of each team’s primary objectives for certain periods of time . Someone should be able to look at this roadmap and quickly understand what each team is trying to achieve in each timeframe.

But maybe you’re a more status-focused entrepreneur. In that case, you can pivot this view to highlight which projects per team are in progress vs. scheduled vs. proposed . This is another way to provide a transparent snapshot to anyone who wants an update on how the business is developing.

As your business evolves though, your business goals will change and your roadmap will have to reflect that. In the above examples, we’re still dealing with a lot of high-level business initiatives like operations determining onboarding practice, or sales cold calling their lead lists, or marketing rolling out conversion tracking. The more you grow, the more precise your goals get.

Maybe you want to map out specific revenue targets or fundraising goals . Or maybe you pivot to only showcase each department’s business development initiatives aimed at very-rapid revenue growth . Or if you’ve reached enterprise status, maybe you only map LARGE, ambitious business capabilities like releasing new product lines or owning certain percentage of market share. Your roadmap has to mature in order to reflect the more developed and thorough goals that come with business growth.

So go ahead, try one of our business roadmap templates. No matter your business size, you’ll always need a plan to achieve growth . Don’t solely depend on a business plan to strategize growth; implement a roadmap to align your entire organization on every team’s efforts to grow the business.

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What is a business roadmap and how to create one with examples

If you’re working in the world of software development, then you’ve almost certainly heard of a product roadmap — the document that helps communicate the direction and progress of the product to internal teams and external stakeholders.

A product roadmap shows what high-level features will be delivered and roughly in what order and timeframe. It also facilitates communication with different groups about what is likely to happen and when without giving too much detail on how it’s being done.

This vision supports the organization in developing a product. Just as importantly, it ensures that all parties are aware of the product direction so they can adjust activities based on this summary of features.

However, although you might have seen a product roadmap , not every organization has a business roadmap. What is this document, what does it include, and how do you know if you even need a business roadmap?

Table of contents

What is a business roadmap, business plan vs. business roadmap, develop business objectives, identify business capabilities, identify business limitations, identify activities that facilitate the objectives, develop an outline roadmap, not clearly defining business goals, setting too many goals, setting unrealistic timelines, not getting business or customer validation, business roadmap template.

As with a product roadmap, a business roadmap is designed to facilitate communication to various stakeholder groups on the direction of the business and plan of action to achieve business goals.

The business roadmap is a high-level visualization of objectives the organization hopes to achieve and in what order. It’s effectively a representation of the proverbial big picture.

A business roadmap should give the organization and everyone in it a general outline of short- to medium-term business goals. This allows relevant stakeholders to make appropriate business decisions that support the delivery of items in the roadmap .

I know what you’re thinking: isn’t a business roadmap just a business plan ? The short answer is no.

The fundamental difference between a business plan and a business roadmap boils down to the granularity of detail. A business roadmap is a much higher-level overview than a business plan, which is more precise and thorough.

For example:

• A business roadmap might say that in Q1 of this year, we’re looking to expand the sales team in Europe
• A business plan might say that in Q1 of this year, we plan to hire two people in France at a cost of $100,000, two people in Germany at a cost of $100,000, and a European sales manager at the cost of $100,000. These people will all need sales materials, phones, etc.

This variation in depth means that anyone looking at a business roadmap will know what the outcomes are going to be but not specifically how the business intends to get there. Someone reading a business plan should understand the individual steps the business plans to take along the journey.

Here’s an example of what a business plan looks like:

An example of a business roadmap

When you dive deeper into a business plan, you’ll also see that it covers aspects such as market analysis, sales and marketing plans , equipment requirements, and detailed financials. This provides a full, detailed view of how the business plans to operate over the short-to-medium term, which you can’t get from a business roadmap.

It’s more “We’ll have moved into a new office” rather than “We’ll be paying X for rent, and Y for new office equipment, and Z for the redirection of the post…”

How to create a business roadmap

When creating a business roadmap, it’s important to consider that, despite the relatively high level at which they present future activities, they do take a considerable amount of effort to produce.

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As with any roadmap , there’s a need to understand inputs and priorities from across the organization and bring these together into one coherent vision. This means taking the following steps:

Start at the beginning: what are you looking to achieve?

Your objectives should be self-contained, achievable goals that are clear for everyone across the organization to understand.

In the example business roadmap described above, the first line of the roadmap looks at the high-level primary objectives for the business — e.g., launching the business in new markets (Europe, the United States, and Canada) and moving the UK office.

From these objectives, the various functions across the business can determine their own individual milestones along the journey toward success.

Once you’ve established your objectives, the next step is to determine what is already in place to help you achieve them.

Ask yourself questions such as:

• What exists within current structures that supports your goal?
• Are there teams capable of achieving them?
• Do they have the knowledge required to succeed?
• Do they have enough funds?
• What tools are available to use in pursuit of the objectives?

The other side of business capabilities is business limitations:

• What doesn’t exist within the current organization that is needed to support your goals?
• What key skills are your teams missing?
• Where are new sources of financing required to move toward your objectives?

The final area to consider is what activities need to occur to achieve your objectives. For example:

• What specific tasks must the team complete to drive user behavior?
• What actions are requires to resolve or compensate for any limitations identified in the previous step?

Once this process is completed, activities designed to drive the business toward its objectives commence. It becomes necessary to group these tasks into some form of sequential order. That’s where the business roadmap comes in.

Let’s look at an example. If, in Q2, we’re planning to achieve X, which of our activities across our different business areas need to happen in Q1 and Q2 to reach that point? These are the building blocks of our business roadmap.

Each block represents an achievable milestone for that business area, clearly defining what they are looking to achieve at that point in time.

Common mistakes to avoid

If you’re new to business roadmaps, you’re bound to stumble here and there the first time you try to create one. It takes practice.

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However, some common mistakes businesses make include:

Without a clear, overarching business vision, it’s impossible to dive down into the various business areas and set departmental milestones. An unclear objective leads to a muddying of activities and a lack of focus when moving forward.

It’s tempting to think you can get through huge amounts of work when looking at the long time periods considered in a business roadmap. However, because business goals are usually quite large in scale, the number of activities you can realistically achieve is relatively small.

Too many goals leads to frustration because your team will never be able to deliver on what they set out to achieve.

Unrealistic timelines make the invalid assumption that you can get through more activities than you think we can.

A roadmap is a high-level visualization of your milestones, but a roadmap entry is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the work required to deliver on those goals. Sometimes big things take time.

What’s the point of creating a roadmap if everyone isn’t onboard with it? There’s no value in creating a beautiful-looking roadmap if, as soon as you get into month one, someone holds up their hand and asks, “Why aren’t we doing X?”

An example business roadmap (template)

If we look at our example business roadmap as described above, one of the business objectives in Q3 is to launch our service in the US. This primary goal for the business will drive the business roadmap entries for our various business areas.

Sales needs to understand what our capabilities currently are in the US and what might restrict us from achieving this objective. Then, it must develop some departmental goals that help the business move toward its overall objectives. This will leave us with some roadmap entries such as:

• Hiring a new sales team in Q2
• Launching the service in Q3

Finance needs to understand the company formation and financial reporting rules within the US, as well as how the launch will be funded, which will lead to roadmap entries such as:

• Form a US company
• Secure US operational funding

Operations need to determine what we need to complete to support US recruitment and obtain an office, equipment, materials, etc. Roadmap entries directed at the operations team might include things like:

• Hire a North American team
• Source North American IT equipment

To access a full version of the business roadmap example described above, follow this link . If you’d like to use it as a template when creating your own business roadmap, click the link to download the file and, from the menu at the top of the spreadsheet, select File > Make a copy .

Start with your business roadmap

Although there is a considerable amount of effort that goes into creating a business roadmap, this document is essential in supporting the successful operation of a business.

The vision provided by a well-written roadmap gives focus and support to the entire organization and ensures that all areas of the business are driving toward the same destination.

At the end of the day, that’s what we want: a route to success.

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How to Develop a Strategic Business Roadmap

Having a business needs constant analyzing and tweaking of the past results to help unite all the strategies and lead the business to success.

The process of doing a business roadmap helps you analyze the performance of the whole business, its potential, threats and opportunities, as well as key performance indicators.

These will give you an idea of the key issues and determine how to optimize them to make your business become more profitable.

What is a Business Roadmap?

A business roadmap is a specific plan of action that helps to achieve the company's objectives and sets specific targets and deadlines.

Similar to a business plan, your business roadmap shows you where you’re headed and how you’re getting there. The difference is that a roadmap is a more specific visualization of the bigger picture of your destination. It illustrates not only your major goals and key strategies but also the team and resources required in each area.

Mapping a business strategic roadmaps will highlight each project and deadline of every department in your company. With this, you are aware of every moving part of the business. And your managers have a clear direction on where their team is headed.

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Why do you need strategy roadmaps.

Imagine driving on the road with no destination in mind. You are free to go anywhere you like, visit stops every few minutes, or get out to the curb for no reason. It’s a fun and thrilling experience, but that won’t work if you’re trying to run a successful business.

Businesses that don’t create a roadmap have fewer tools to reach their goals.

When you run a business, it means that your financial capital is in the picture, there are people who rely on it, and there are resources you need to look into regularly. That’s why it’s crucial that you know where you’re always headed and what you should and shouldn’t do along the journey.

5 Steps to Creating Business Roadmap That Works

Strategic roadmapping is not something that you do on a whim. It should involve deep analysis and planning as well as collaboration with your organization.

It’s important to know the inputs of your executives and managers to be able to craft a roadmap that includes insights from those who are directly involved in various parts of the organization.

Also, your strategic roadmap should include a timeline as to when the business objectives you’ve set are expected to be completed.

In order for you to create an effective business roadmap, here are the steps you can follow:

1. Define your objectives

How do you want your business to run, grow, and succeed?  

Craft your mission and vision to help you develop concrete business objectives. A clear aim that you wish to achieve will be the first step to your path for growth.

Business objectives are the goals you would like to accomplish, and they can be crucial to exceeding your current standing. Consider them your roadmap to success, so to speak.

There is a distinction between business objectives and business goals. Business goals are the big-picture that you want to achieve, while business objectives are more specific, measurable, and actionable. 

If you’re running a business, your job is to make sure that you set a guide and lead the organization. You also have to convince your team to buy into your vision, so it’s important that you create a compelling business roadmap and help your team believe it.

When you do this, they are more likely to be willing to go the distance to make it happen. Make sure that everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction as you expect them to.

2. Identify your challenges

Identify the challenges you currently have or the potential ones you are expecting to experience, and then learn how to tackle them head-on.

This process can be complicated. For instance, you may think that technology is your main problem, but in reality, you’re actually facing a series of small issues that are preventing you from maximizing your technological assets.

It’s best to keep it as simple as possible, that’s why plotting your business objective first is important. Going blindly runs you the risk of being unable to find issues and prevent you from formulating strategies to face them.

3. Assess your business capabilities

What can you do to seize your challenges? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to assessing your business capabilities.

Start by assessing your business’ strengths. You may discover that you’re already doing well in one area, which can help you identify solutions for other areas that need attention.

Understanding your strengths helps you develop strategies that will guide you in running your business better.

4. Plan your courses of action

How can you make sure that you are on the right path?

Once you’ve laid down your capabilities, it’s high time to get your actions that bridges all the gaps. Consider your organization changes and process reevaluation too.

For example, if your marketing is doing great, the course of action is to appoint more efficient people to enhance the opportunities and results that your marketing brings in. You can also implement new channels such as the integration of digital marketing as a tool to fuel your growth.

If you have various lists of capabilities, start with identifying your priorities and focus first on the ones you mark as high priority.

5. Create your business roadmap

Your business roadmap is meant to map out the company’s growth and lay out the path that will get your company achieve its objectives. It should be accompanied by the elements we’ve listed above. 

Your roadmap is critical to effectively position your business to exceed your objectives in the marketplace.

Remember: business roadmaps are not set in stone, it’s a living document that will update as your business evolves.

It’s also important that the roadmap you create helps your team visualize where they are headed. You can do this by formatting your strategic roadmap document in a way that it’s fully understandable and not cluttered with ideas.

8 Common Business Roadmap Mistakes to Avoid

Many companies and organizations have failed because they did not devote enough time and energy to creating a business roadmap that would lead them to success. 

No matter how well you think you know the business you are working in, there are always going to be mistakes to avoid when drawing up your business roadmap.

This is understandable, as the world of business is constantly evolving. New technologies and new ideas are being brought to the forefront of society all the time, but this doesn’t mean that the old ways are wrong. 

To help you avoid common mistakes that can break your roadmap, look out for these things below:

• 1. Poorly defined goals
• 2. It’s too abstract
• 3. The timeline is too short
• 4. No budget plan
• 5. No customer insights
• 6. Unrealistic timeline and expectations
• 7. Lack of early business validation
• 8. Unclear and boring visualization

Your business roadmap plan should be realistic, relevant, visionary, and contain a strategy to bring about the goals and objectives. It may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs make these common mistakes on their business roadmap.

Business roadmaps are key documents that hold critical information on how to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities when they arise.

You don’t leave your business up to chance. Once you know where you want to be, your strategic roadmap will help you get there.

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How to Create a Product Development Roadmap

What is product development.

Product development refers to all of the work involved in taking a product from concept to the market.

The term does not just refer to the developers who build or code the product. Product development is a broad effort that involves many teams across a company: marketing, design, development, QA, sales, etc. In contrast, product management drives this effort from a strategic standpoint.

What Does the Product Development Process Look Like?

There are several frameworks available to help businesses structure their product development process .

One popular example is the design thinking framework . Another is the fuzzy front end (FFE) approach. This framework identifies the broad stages of development but offers flexibility in how an organization arranges and prioritizes these steps. As TechTarget explains, the five elements of the FFE approach are:

1. Identify design criteria: Brainstorming new product ideas.

2. Idea analysis: Using market data and other types of research to evaluate the viability of a product idea.

3. Concept genesis: Turning a product opportunity, the team agrees on viability into a tangled concept.

4. Rapid prototyping: Developing a simulated or “quick-and-dirty” model of the product for early user feedback. Learn more about rapid prototyping.

5. Product development: Gathering evidence of viability, making the business case, then beginning development.

Why Roadmaps Are Important for Product Development

Product development is a complex process. It encompasses many steps, involves several groups across the organization, and contains interdependencies among these groups. Also, the cross-functional team must frequently check on its progress to make sure they are continuing to execute according to plan. Product development requires continuous communication.

For these reasons, organizations should maintain a product development roadmap as a centralized resource to track and refer to everyone’s strategic role. A product development roadmap is an overview of the planned work and milestones involved in bringing a product to market.

Product Development Roadmap vs. Product Roadmap

The product development roadmap should not be confused with the product roadmap. Both are designed to communicate an organization’s strategic thinking and planning for its product. But the two are separate tools, each focusing on a different aspect of the product’s strategy.

A product development roadmap is designed to track and communicate a product’s development initiatives and milestones. It covers a shorter time frame, only a couple of months, and agile organizations arrange it in sprints.

Whereas, a product roadmap is designed to map out a product’s strategic vision and priorities over time. It highlights the product’s major themes, and, according to research we gathered for ProductPlan’s 2019 Product Planning Report , most organizations’ product roadmaps cover a timeframe of four to twelve months.

How to Build a Product Development Roadmap

1. Set a clearly defined goal for your product’s development.

The product development roadmap should not be simply a task list. Each item on the roadmap must serve a strategic purpose for the product’s overall success.

Before adding items to your roadmap, you and your team need to set a strategic goal for the roadmap. Then you can gauge each item that you want to add afterward according to whether or not it contributes strategically to that goal.

2. Agree on which teams and individuals own which tasks.

A roadmap doesn’t help your team’s product development unless every item on it has a clear owner. Therefore, that owner has taken responsibility for completing the task in the agreed timeframe.

3. Monitor the roadmap frequently and update as needed to stay on course.

4. Be willing to adjust plans and priorities based on new realities.

No complex initiative goes precisely according to plan from start to finish. You need to be prepared to shift resources or change priorities when realities force you to do so.

For example, if a portion of your marketing resources diverts to a higher-priority project, you need to be willing to adjust to that reality so that you can keep the product’s marketing efforts on track.

5. Start with a product development roadmap template, such as the one below.

Product development roadmaps include many short-term steps and milestones that can change frequently. It’s a good idea to build this blueprint with a tool designed for roadmaps—and not by drafting a static document from scratch.

Product Development Roadmap Template

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What Is a Business Roadmap — How To Set It Up

The 4 main types of business roadmaps 

Business roadmap examples to inspire and guide you, 1. business capability roadmap, 2. business transformation roadmap, 3. strategic roadmap, 4. content calendar roadmap, 5. it architecture roadmap , who can use a business roadmap, business roadmap vs. business plan — what’s the difference, how to define goals for a business roadmap, how to prioritize using a business roadmap template, a quick rundown of business roadmap templates..., how to make a business roadmap with airfocus:, defining kpis for your business roadmap, incorporating customer feedback into your business roadmap, the role of technology in business roadmaps, finally, a business roadmap checklist — are you ready.

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Airbnb is a modern-day success story that has transformed the travel and hospitality industry.

With just a few clicks, anyone can rent out their free space or book a night in a stranger's apartment, treehouse, or even a castle.

In March 2017, Airbnb raised over $3 billion in its last fundraising round, which valued the company at over $31 billion. This staggering achievement is a testament to the effectiveness of their business model.

Airbnb's visionary idea was originally written on a single piece of paper in 2014, and it outlined the company's goals, objectives, features, key dates, and important milestones. This document was half-jokingly referred to as "the infamous paper to take over the world" by Chip Conley, who was the head of global hospitality at the time.

The document condensed months of strategic thinking, business planning, and research into an easily digestible format. This allowed the entire company to stay focused on becoming a billion-dollar unicorn, and it ultimately led to the success of Airbnb as we know it today.

Get started with roadmaps templates

.css-uphcpb{position:absolute;left:0;top:-87px;} What is a business roadmap?

A business roadmap is a long-term strategic planning document showing your company's goals and the steps required to get there.

Unlike lengthy business plans, it does not show the individual items and activities required in fine detail.

Instead, it focuses on the big picture, clearly showing your company's major, business goals and objectives, and the high-level strategies it will use to achieve these — this helps keep stakeholders and team members aligned and on track to succeed.

But most importantly, business roadmaps are not set in stone. The activities and priorities outlined in a business roadmap are open to debate and can be reshuffled if needed to better reflect the current environment.

The most common use case for a business roadmap is to show how the business plans to grow. Still, they can be used for other strategic projects, such as change management, enterprise architecture projects, or even by individual departments.

Generally speaking, there are four main types of  business roadmaps . They are:

Department roadmaps.  These are roadmaps that define and explain how a particular department can move forward to address its goals. Defining a department roadmap is one of the best ways to ensure that the entire team is on the same page and working towards the same objectives. 

Business development roadmaps.  On the other hand, business development roadmaps encompass the bigger picture of your business. Rather than looking at various departments' goals, this looks at the larger goal that all departments are working together to reach, and how they'll reach that goal. 

Product roadmaps.  Product roadmaps  are useful for identifying the goals of a particular product and outlining the phases of development that will need to happen to get there. A product roadmap should encompass the entire lifecycle of the product, not just pre-deployment. 

Project roadmaps.  Similar to a product roadmap, a  project roadmap  is a roadmap that generally involves a small group of people, such as one team. The project can be a product to be released, internal app development, redesigning a space, and so on. 

Let's look at some business roadmap examples. Below are some important roadmap examples, some of them are more specialized than others, these can hopefully inspire you to start moving your business forward in a structured, organized way. 

Now that you have an idea of the main types of business roadmaps, let's look at and define the qualities of more specialized roadmaps, starting with a  business capability roadmap . This roadmap is used to outline the large-scale capabilities a business would like to have. 

For instance, if your business is looking to target a specific demographic, break into a particular market, or offer a new service, this would fall under a business capability roadmap.

What can your business do to develop the capability to produce a product or supply a service, and how will it accomplish these tasks?

Example of a business capability roadmap 

It's easy to find tools and examples online that will help you create your own business capability roadmap. These roadmaps take on different forms and routes, though most focus on dividing tasks between departments and teams. 

From there, arrows or some other directional icon illustrate which tasks need to be completed first for the next set of tasks to begin. This can look like a  Kanban board  or a traditional brain-mapping tool. 

Business transformation roadmaps analyze the current state of your business, set goals for how you want to change your business in significant ways, and then outline how you will get there. 

The most common reason for using a  business transformation roadmap  in today's world is digital transformation. That's the process of transitioning traditional workflows and strategies into digital workflows and strategies. 

Example of a business transformation roadmap 

In a business transformation roadmap, the focus will be on transforming each department individually rather than looking at how the changes in each department interact with one another. There will be some overlap, but for the most part, each department will have a unique roadmap. 

That roadmap will involve how various tools and processes can be replaced or replicated digitally. Then, it'll assign that process to multiple department heads and teams. It should also include the allocation of resources required for the transition. 

A  strategic roadmap  outlines a  vision  for your business. It's a mission you want to complete, a value you wish to embody, or a product you want to deploy. Whatever it is, the purpose of a strategic roadmap is to help you get there. 

A content calendar roadmap maps out the content your business will be creating and publishing in a given timeframe. Generally, a content calendar roadmap is reused repeatedly as you build up your content strategy. 

The last roadmap example we'll touch on is an  IT architecture roadmap . This type of roadmap helps your business implement the right types of technology and infrastructure. It's usually very detailed and aims to keep your business modernized and secure.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, or a marketing manager, everyone can use a business roadmap to make  communicating complicated business strategy almost effortless.

You can even use a business roadmap to plan your own career path — what do you want to achieve, by when, and why?

By identifying potential opportunities to grow and develop, as well as the partners and resources you'll need to make that happen, you'll be in the driver's seat, whichever industry you work in.

Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, a business roadmap is critical to organizational growth.

You've probably got  a million ideas  and just as many responsibilities, so regularly reviewing your twenty-page business plan simply isn't possible (or advisable!).

Instead, you should create a business roadmap.

At a glance, you can see how your current activities relate to your business's long-term strategic goals and objectives and instantly make changes if required.

As a roadmap is so easy to review, you can share this with new team members to quickly bring them up to speed. You could also use it to get buy-in from investors, quickly illustrating your future growth potential and what their investment would enable you to achieve.

Business owners

As a business leader, you likely have a crystal clear idea of where you want to take the organization in the future. You wake up every morning with a serious mission statement in mind — after all, you built this company with purpose, and that purpose acts as your true north in everything you do.

You  know where you're going… but does anyone else?

For small business owners, a business roadmap and financial capital is essential.

It helps you structure your business vision, reign in your ambition, and see the essential steps required to move forward. You'll also be able to predict risks along the way and what resources you'll need to bring your dream to life. For example, you may have ambitious development tasks up ahead — the remit for which lies beyond your personal technical capabilities. Here, finding an appropriate partner will be necessary to avoid any costly mistakes.

For more established companies and smaller businesses, a business roadmap will help you explore new directions for business operations, identify inefficiencies, and fine-tune your focus as the market evolves.

If you are looking to sell your company, you might not be focused on long-term strategy. However, an effective business roadmap helps and will increase the value of your business.

In this instance, creating a strategic business roadmap will help stabilize and motivate your management team. With a clear direction, your key personnel can continue to do their best work, even if you leave the business.

It will also show real potential for growth, demonstrating to buyers the potential future value of your business.

Business managers

Managers and sales teams are uniquely placed to recognize business needs and opportunities.

You see what happens every day, on the ‘front line,' but you've also got access to the C-Suite to ask for further funding.

Perhaps you've got big ideas on how to achieve your goals and need to convince senior management or executives in your organization. Perhaps you need more team members, resources, or just support for your strategy.

So how do you get it?

Don't waste your time writing a lengthy document or a complicated  presentation

Instead, use a business roadmap.

By boiling down your big idea into key steps, you'll keep your audience engaged and focused on the  benefits  of your strategy rather than the difficult implementation details. 

Historically, business plans have been an essential document for any business.

As little as a decade ago, if you approached someone with a business concept  without  a fully bound, multi-page business plan, you'd have been called naive and underprepared.

However, attitudes are changing. And the entire business world has become more fast-moving and agile. 

Stories of businesses raising millions in investment from just a pitch deck (Uber) or a 1-page document (Airbnb) are now commonplace, and lengthy business plans feel like a thing of the past.

So, let's put a business plan and a business development roadmap head-to-head...

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains the commercial potential of a business. 

There are no rules for what it should include, but it generally takes an essay format with structured sections that explain what your company is going to do, how it will achieve its goals, what the key risks are, and what the opportunity is. It often includes projected  cash flow  and other financial predictions.

Sure, they might be traditional, but a comprehensive business plan does have its advantages :

It demonstrates to investors, lenders, and other interested parties that you've done the research necessary to build the business correctly.

It shows the financial viability of your company in detail.

It helps get everyone involved on the same page and aligned on the direction of the company.

It might be required to get business loans or government grants. Some traditional investors expect to see a lengthy business plan.

There is hard evidence of the effectiveness of good business plans, too — a  study  by Professor Andrew Burke from the Cranfield School of Management proved that companies that write plans and use them grow 30% faster than businesses that fail to plan.

The problem with business plans...

The thing is, a comprehensive business plan takes time to create.

Choosing the right words, creating countless tables, and doing comprehensive research might reveal valuable insights and tell a compelling story, but it also drags you away from building your product, talking to customers, or getting real market feedback.

In 2018, the  Harvard Business Review  wrote:

  “The real key to succeeding in business is being flexible and responsive to opportunities. Entrepreneurs often have to pivot their business once it becomes clear that their original customer is not the right customer or when it turns out that their product or service fits better in an alternate market. Because of these realities, business plans are written at the start end up nothing more than a fable”.

Enter: the business roadmap and all its benefits!

This is where a business roadmap truly excels. By focusing on high-level steps, the benefits are: 

It can be reviewed quickly and constantly, enabling everyone to check if they are on track.

When the product, market, or  opportunity shifts , the roadmap can be modified quickly.

It keeps the business focused on the big picture, spotting potential roadblocks and obstacles earlier.

So, which is best?

A business plan is still a critical document for many businesses today, particularly those who need one to secure funding, financing, or convince traditional investors.

Yet, modern businesses benefit from increased agility, making a business roadmap a leaner, faster, and more responsive document.

In our view, there's one clear winner: the business roadmap . However, most of the time,  a business roadmap and a business plan work hand-in-hand.

By now, you should have an understanding of what a business roadmap is and how it can be applied in your business to map your strategic direction.

Probably you're pretty eager to get started  building your roadmap now

But, it's important to realize that the strategic thought that takes place  before  you create your roadmap is just as valuable as the act of creating the strategic roadmap itself.

Start with foundations by setting effective goals.

Then, build your business roadmap shows how to achieve these goals.

1. Understanding long-term goals

What specific objectives do you want to achieve in the next 3 to 5 years?

These long-term strategic goals that will help shape your business roadmap — if an activity doesn't play a role in helping you reach a long-term goal, then it doesn't deserve a place in the business intelligence roadmap today.

Long-term goals can be associated with:

Revenue:  The simplest to explain but the hardest to achieve, e.g., increasing profits or revenue by a certain percentage within a defined time.

Growth:  Expand the company through new employees, resources, or other key measures.

Service and reputation:  Improve the quality of your services, leading to increased customer satisfaction or customer retention.

Social:  Increasingly, businesses are setting long-term goals to give back to society or the environment.

2. Setting short-term goals

The context set by long-term goals helps you identify what you need to do in the near future to progress along your business objective strategic journey. Short-term goals are ideal milestones or destinations for your business objectives strategic roadmap now.

Remember, the best short term goals are SMART :

Specific . They should be targeted and highly detailed, so they can be easily understood.

Measurable . Set a metric that can be continually reviewed. This will prove progress is being made.

Action-oriented . Specify what actions need to be taken and when.

Realistic . Goals should be challenging but achievable. Make your goals realistic by reflecting on your past performance.

Time-specific . Look ahead and set a hard deadline to keep things on track. 

3. Speak with stakeholders

Once you've got a solid understanding of both your long and short-term goals, it's essential to get your team or employees motivated to achieve them.

Involve them in the process of creating your goals and listen intently to their feedback. After all, if they feel they helped shape where the company's vision is headed, they will be more motivated to get there.

4. Identify key steps on your roadmap

Now for the exciting part — the first steps of building your startup roadmap are:

Look at your goals and consider what major steps will be required to achieve them.

Annotate each of those steps with a brief high-level description.

Place these steps into order and consider whether you will have the resources required (such as people and time) to complete them. Make sure you can defend  why  the steps should be completed in this order. 

Critique your roadmap — is this realistic? If conditions change, can your roadmap adapt?

No team has unlimited resources. 

So to help you decide which projects or initiatives deserve a place in your business roadmap, you need to prioritize. This will make sure you get the most impact on your goals with the fewest resources possible.

There are many different approaches to prioritizing a roadmap, but the most quantitative and scientific way is to use a " prioritization matrix " or "weighted scoring model". This is a proven and field-tested framework used by companies like Nike, Shell, and The Washington Post. It will identify key risks and help your roadmap be as focused and successful as possible.

We built ready-to-use  prioritization frameworks within all of our templates , so you don't need to invent your own. But, if you prefer to do it manually, here is a step-by-step business roadmap prioritization guide.

1. Determine choices

Write down all the possible things you could add to  your roadmap  right now. For example, this could be a new sales initiative, a new marketing campaign, or a recruitment cycle.

2. Pick and rate criteria

Next, you need to figure out how you'll decide which item is more important than the others. These will be unique to your organization but could be current business goals like revenue increase, cost to implement, or strategic fit.

You can optionally assign these items a weight, showing how important each of the criteria is to your business.

For example, your primary goal for the year might be to increase revenue, so you might double the weight of this criteria. 

Place these criteria into a table as below:

On a simple 1-5 scale, rate each of the rows in the columns. 5 is most desirable, and 1 is least desirable — for example, for 5 could mean high revenue potential and lowest cost.

3. Calculate

Multiply your scores by their weight. The highest scoring total rows are your priorities. 

Now you understand how to use this matrix, you can plan and explain your prioritization decisions to stakeholders.

To save time, try using the  airfocus  built-in scoring feature and prioritization tool, which does all the hard calculations work for you.

You don't need to start from scratch with your business roadmap.

These templates all allow for unique roadmapping requirements — including a built-in prioritization feature, which can flex to your unique criteria.

For marketing teams, calculate the impact of your work with this  marketing planning and prioritization template . Simply change the value criteria from brand awareness to whatever  KPI  you are tracking.

Business owner, strategist, consultant, or executive? Get everyone on the same page instantly with our  business project roadmap template . Justify your decisions and spend with the built-in prioritization matrix

Startup founder? Build a billion-dollar empire by bringing order to chaos with this  startup roadmap template . It'll tell you in seconds what you should be working on next.

Creating a business roadmap is simple with airfocus.

Start by selecting our business roadmap template . We offer pre-built templates for various situations that are fully adjustable and built on proven decision-making and roadmapping methods. Plus, our templates are fully customizable — giving you the best of both worlds.

Add your projects, features, and initiatives manually or import them from your existing tools.

2. airfocus integrates Jira, Trello , Asana, or CSV as well as 1000+ other tools via Zapier. 

3. Once you've added your items, you can map your priorities on a chart to better understand the most important projects.

4. Next, organize your items into a beautiful roadmap with a simple drag-and-drop on prioritization chart

b. Timeline view

c. Table view

5. In the end, use a share link to communicate your strategy within minutes, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. As your priorities evolve, the shared version will also be updated, ensuring that everyone remains informed.

6. Don't forget to regularly revisit your roadmap to ensure you are on track!

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators , are metrics your business can measure to track its performance in certain areas. Technically, any aspect of your business's performance that you can measure is a "Performance Indicator." 

However, what makes a "PI" a "KPI" is the metric's impact. For example, your monthly revenue might be valuable to a product supplier but absolutely essential for a subscription-based service. 

In other words, a KPI is a crucial measurement of your business's performance, indicating an important trend. 

How to define KPIs for your business roadmap

For businesses in the modern age, picking and accurately measuring the correct KPIs is a crucial step in creating a successful business roadmap. Here are a few important tips for defining the KPIs that make up your business's roadmap. 

Identify your essential metrics

First, you should identify your essential metrics. As mentioned, these are the metrics that represent the biggest impact on your business. You can also think of these as the metrics that indicate trends (positive and negative) for your business. 

For example, a subscription-based business might want to look at monthly users and revenue, while a fast-food restaurant might consider customer retention and order delivery times. 

If you're having a hard time deciding which KPIs are essential for your business, you can easily find recommended KPIs online for your business model. This is usually a good place to start. 

Examine your roadmap

Next, you'll want to examine your business roadmap . How do your outlined steps and goals correlate with your chosen KPIs? Do they directly relate? Are there indirect relationships? 

Connecting these dots can help you determine two important things:

Is your business roadmap truly aligned with your business's strengths and weaknesses? Is it a good outline?

Have you chosen KPIs relevant to your business's goals and strategies? 

Use your KPIs to make decisions 

With those initial steps completed, you can start incorporating your KPIs into your overall strategy . That will primarily mean using your KPIs to make important decisions. 

Thinking about investing in a new service? Launching a new product? Making an acquisition? Consulting your KPIs and your business roadmap can help you quickly say "Yes" or "No" to these types of opportunities. 

They paint a picture of where your business currently is so you can see where you stand without wasting too much time.

Of course, KPIs aren't the only factor you should consider when creating a business roadmap. Another important consideration is customer feedback because it can also help point you in the right direction. 

How to incorporate customer feedback into your business roadmap

Collect your feedback in one place

An important factor in collecting customer feedback is ensuring it's all kept in one place. If you don't have a plan for collecting customer feedback, then you aren't really collecting it — you're just haphazardly hoarding it. 

Using a tool that connects feedback you receive in-app, through customer support channels, and directly on your website will help you stay organized and quickly analyze what your feedback is telling you. It tells the story of your feedback rather than forcing you to dig through it yourself. 

Use feedback to inform current and future projects

Feedback can also be helpful as a tool for informing your current and future projects. For example, you may be working on a feature only a few of your users have seen. If you're mainly getting negative responses, it might be time to rethink this feature. 

On the other hand, if you're getting requests for a new kind of feature, you may want to start moving in that direction. 

Assess your products and processes

Another way to use customer feedback is to assess whether your products and processes meet your users' needs. How are customers receiving your products? Are your processes living up to customer expectations? 

Feedback can be a light in the dark, giving you a solid idea of how to move in a way that will make customers happy. 

Of course, you can also lean on technology when building and refining your business roadmaps. It can help in various ways, some of which we'll cover below. 

How to use technology for your business roadmap

Use roadmapping software 

One of the first and best ways to use technology for your business roadmap is by leaning on roadmapping software . These tools can streamline your process for creating, editing, and sharing your business roadmap. 

airfocus is a great tool for this purpose. Our modular solution has been refined to make your job as simple as possible. 

Use roadmap templates

Business roadmap templates , while fairly "low-tech," can also speed up your process. They do most of the heavy lifting for you, so you just have to focus on filling them. They're a great resource if you're not sure where to start. 

Use feedback management tools

When it comes to collecting, organizing, and implementing feedback, feedback management tools are your best friend. They help structure and bring together all of your customer feedback in a single location, simplifying your job and painting an overarching picture that is easy to understand. 

Use technology to engage with your community

Of course, you don't just want to collect feedback from your community. You want to be interactive and engaging. Technological tools like airfocus Portal , can also help you out here, giving you a tool for directly interacting with customers and effectively closing the loop. 

Use AI to make things simple and quick

AI is already making significant enough strides to help you start refining and creating your business roadmaps. airfocus has AI Assist , a powerful AI tool to help you create high-quality, high-impact business roadmaps.

Don't worry if your head is spinning a little with all this new information.

Once you're in the swing of things, creating a business roadmap will become second nature. 

For now, though, simply follow the checklist to make sure you've crossed all the Ts and dotted all the Is...

Strategy and ownership:

Is your roadmap centered around achieving a clear mission, vision or goal?

Do you have cross-business buy-in from stakeholders to ensure support throughout the project?

Have you secured and funded the resources required?

Have you allocated each work item in the roadmap to encourage accountability?

Scoping and analysis:

Is the roadmap structured around major themes and events?

Is the scope of the roadmap clearly defined, with set timeframes?

Is it obvious what the key milestones are and what success will look like at these stages?

Are your items prioritized, with the reason for their prioritization clearly recorded?

Measurement and communication:

Remember, transparency encourages efficient and honest communication — is your roadmaps easily accessible to stakeholders and implementation teams?

Is it clear who should make changes to the roadmap if and when it's necessary?

Reality check:

Have you allowed for an ongoing review of the roadmap, to check progress and make corrections?

Is the pace of change achievable with the resources available?

Have you accounted for dependencies between items — and conceived of workarounds — to avoid last-minute blockers?

Answered ‘yes' to all of the above?!

That's it!

Now, you are ready to go! 

Don't forget - a compelling business roadmap isn't designed to replace the business plan entirely. Instead, a compelling business roadmap will help you stay on track and quickly reshuffle your priorities — visually communicating changes to all stakeholders whilst supporting strategic decisions with valid data.

If you're totally new to roadmapping, there are tonnes more to learn over on our blog.

airfocus was designed to help managers  get the right stuff done, and to make things easier, you can use one of our business roadmap templates to get started. There are  dozens  to choose from on our website, so  go take a look .

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How to build your 2024 annual product roadmap

Crafting product plans for a new year is invigorating. It is an opportunity to reflect on what you achieved in the previous year and refresh your goals and initiatives for the year ahead. As a product leader , strategic planning is one of your most important responsibilities — this is when you align high-level company goals with the product roadmap , establish success metrics, and set the groundwork for what the cross-functional product team will focus on in 2024.

So, yes, this is undoubtedly exciting. But it can also be really daunting. Where do you start? How do you synthesize all the feedback from customers, company leaders, and other stakeholders? What will you decide to build next?

These are not simple questions. But they are worthy of deep thought — how you choose to answer them will determine whether or not you are able to deliver value to customers and the business. Plus, the product team needs to believe in the plan as much as you do so that everyone can collectively make it happen.

Build a beautiful roadmap in Aha! Roadmaps. Sign up for a free trial .

Whether you lead or support product strategy, use this guide to get started with annual roadmap planning for 2024 (and beyond). You should come away with a clear sense of what goes into strategic planning and how to visualize your plans on a roadmap .

Jump ahead to explore sections of this guide:

Why annual product planning matters

10 steps for building your annual roadmap and securing stakeholder alignment, resources to help you get started, faqs about annual roadmap planning.

Teams are still struggling with the same challenges: behemoth group-think processes, bureaucratic gating, trickle-down development, and the dreadful feeling that no one is quite sure if they are working on the right thing. Brian de Haaff Aha! co-founder and CEO

New year, new product? Probably not. But a fresh year is a natural time to revisit your product strategy and the work you delivered in the prior year. Each win (and setback) can help inform what you pursue next.

The biggest outcome of annual planning is your strategic roadmap for the year. Of course, planning is not a singular event. Based on new customer insights , shifts in the market, and progress toward your goals, you are going to iterate on the plan as the year goes on.

Use a strategic roadmap to visualize how your product will support company strategy and business goals.

If product plans are dynamic, is it realistic to build and stick to an annual plan? Some product managers would say a roadmap is simply a forecast. When adjustments happen or deadlines slip, the roadmap falls by the wayside.

Plans can certainly change. And often, the details of the features you are building should change — especially when you learn something new about your customers. But the overall strategy that you define should not be a moving target. The best way to avoid this is to meaningfully invest in strategic planning and share that work with stakeholders at key points in the planning journey. This keeps everyone moving in the same direction and working toward shared objectives.

Here are 10 steps you can follow to build an annual roadmap that you can confidently deliver on:

1. Reflect on what went well and what did not

Get introspective at the outset of crafting your annual roadmap. Review last year's successes and failures with a critical eye:

What did the team accomplish together and what was the impact for customers?

Did you achieve your product goals ?

Did product initiatives deliver the desired results?

What went wrong and what did you learn?

The answers to these reflections will help you better understand how you can refine your product strategy — ensuring that what you focus on effectively aligns with team capabilities and customer needs.

Product goals represent tangible, noteworthy achievements on the way to making your vision a reality. Many organizations set new product goals annually, bi-annually, or quarterly.

2. Reconfirm your product vision and how it relates to the business vision

Product vision is the essence of why your product exists and forms the beginning of your strategy. For example, our vision at Aha! is simple: We aspire for a world of lovable software built by happy teams. This has been our vision since the start and drives our values and strategic direction.

Confirm again that your vision is still true for you. Make sure it directly aligns with your organization's broader vision and objectives. When product and business vision are in sync, the team has a clear purpose — reinforcing that product success is fundamental to overall business success.

This could also be a good time to revisit foundational information such as product positioning , customer personas , and competitive analysis . Getting a full picture of the market that you operate in and potential opportunities will help you better define your go-forward plans.

• What is product vision?
• What is product differentiation?

3. Set product goals and initiatives for the year

Now, you can more concretely establish what you want to achieve. Goals and initiatives are the earliest building blocks of your roadmap, helping to propel you toward your desired future state.

Product goals represent what you want to accomplish and how you will measure success. They should be easy to understand, actionable, and have a fixed time frame (spanning anywhere from three to 12 months).

Product initiatives specify the broad themes of work you will complete to reach your goals.

Different teams use different goal-setting frameworks, such as SMART goals or OKRs . No matter which framework you use, it is important that product goals align with company-level goals to show how work at the product level impacts the organization.

Let's look at an example for Fredwin Cycling, a fictitious social fitness company:

As you think about product goals and initiatives, a useful exercise for identifying the most impactful goals is to plot out potential on a chart noting the investment needed (from your team) and the impact (for your customers) . This same exercise works well at other junctures in planning, such as when you are prioritizing product features.

• What are product goals and initiatives?

How to set your 2024 product strategy

4. Get leadership's alignment

Securing alignment from top leadership at this stage is paramount. Decision makers and executive leaders — including the CEO, Chief Product Offer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer , and others — hold the metaphorical keys to the necessary resources, expertise, and cross-functional support needed to successfully implement the roadmap.

Invite stakeholders to validate your goals and initiatives and offer insights about overall business strategy and market trends. Here is a short list of questions you might consider discussing:

Are there any shifts in the overall company strategy that might influence our product direction?

What budget and resources are available for the upcoming year, and how might they impact our product planning?

Are there any updates or improvements needed in the existing technology infrastructure to support our product initiatives?

Are there specific design considerations or trends that stakeholders believe should be incorporated into the product?

What potential risks or obstacles do stakeholders foresee during the upcoming year, and how can we proactively address them?

Are there any external factors, such as regulatory changes, that might impact the product roadmap?

Are there emerging trends or technologies that stakeholders believe should be considered for long-term planning?

Discussing these topics will give you a more comprehensive understanding of stakeholders' perspectives as you get into deeper roadmap planning. It will also help you tailor your eventual roadmap presentation to the priorities and concerns that these stakeholders have.

Does stakeholder alignment really matter?

Best practices for using documents in Aha! software to collaborate with stakeholders

5. Identify how you want to help customers be successful

The next step in roadmap planning involves deeply understanding how the work you will focus on in the year ahead will help your customers do what they need to — some refer to this as "jobs to be done" (JTBD) . This concept entails dissecting the core tasks and challenges your product is designed to solve for customers. Identifying these crucial "jobs" is the lighthouse that guides what you will build so that your product remains aligned with what users need.

Let's revisit one of the example product initiatives for Fredwin Cycling: "Enhance partner portal." Example jobs to be done by partners might include:

As you move ahead to the next stages in the planning process, you will get a better sense of how to prioritize these jobs based on business value, customer feedback, and feasibility. The idea is to strike a balance between addressing immediate and longer-term needs.

6. Review customer feedback

Ideally, you have an idea management process in place and a central portal where customers can submit their feedback and requests. This makes it easy to collect feedback from a variety of sources and review it alongside your product backlog .

You want to look for common themes and recurring pain points within the feedback. It is also useful to assess how popular certain requests are or if particular customer segments are asking for similar things. That way, you can better understand how widespread a need is and use that data to inform prioritization decisions.

Use Aha! Ideas to capture customer feedback and streamline your review process.

• What is idea management software?
• How to estimate the value of new product ideas

7. Identify key areas of work

You can now go a step more granular and categorize product work into key areas of work, or epics . These provide a level of organization between broader initiatives and individual features or user stories. They are typically delivered across multiple sprints or releases.

Combining what you have gathered from goal setting, stakeholder conversations, your JTBD work, and customer feedback, you should have a sense of the major product requirements or areas of functionality to prioritize throughout the year. Clearly document each epic , providing a detailed description, objectives, and expected outcomes. Ensure that the purpose and scope are well-articulated and that you are considering dependencies among epics.

This would be a good time to pressure-test your epics with other leaders in product management. Encourage folks to challenge the assumptions underlying the epics and to help you identify anything you might be overlooking.

Initiatives vs. epics vs. features

When to use initiatives vs. epics

Themes, epics, stories, and tasks in scrum

8. Define and prioritize features

Next, break epics into the features you will deliver incrementally. At this point, it is most important that features tie back to the larger strategy — you might not be ready to detail exactly what each feature will involve.

Feature prioritization is an art that ensures your roadmap is not just a list of features, but a real articulation of your strategy. You want to prioritize features that will have the most value for the lowest effort. This approach ensures that the team's efforts are directed toward the most impactful and achievable features

In our software, you can use the Aha! product value scorecard to assign an objective value to each feature using metrics, scales, and weightings.

Collaborate with engineering leadership at this stage so you can gain an understanding of the effort and technical considerations behind the features you aim to prioritize. This collaboration is essential for establishing accurate timelines and ensuring your roadmap is feasible.

9. Showcase the roadmap and get stakeholder feedback

The end (or the beginning!) is near. You are now ready to visualize your plan on a roadmap. You might be able to get going with a static Excel roadmap , especially early on. But when you are ready, use the product roadmap templates that are available in roadmapping software like Aha! Roadmaps — this is the best way to keep everyone aligned and your product roadmap automatically updated. (Some teams will prefer lighter-weight roadmap options, such as the whiteboard templates in Aha! Notebooks .)

With your roadmap taking shape, it is once again time to engage stakeholders, including executives and leaders in customer support and marketing. Because different stakeholders and teams will look for specific things on your roadmap, you might want to create different views of it. Depending on your audience, you might choose from a few types of roadmaps to present views with varying degrees of specificity.

A features roadmap is a great way to showcase the specific functionality or improvements the team is building, along with a time frame for delivery.

• What to include on your product roadmap

6 product roadmap examples

10. Update the roadmap and get to work

Once your roadmap is well-defined and thoroughly reviewed, it is time to transition from planning to action. Think feature definition, capacity planning , and release planning .

Remember that your roadmap will evolve. As the year goes on, you will continuously adjust the details of the roadmap based on product performance, team velocity, customer needs, and feedback from stakeholders. The most successful product managers see the roadmap as a compass. It should guide you back to what matters most if daily demands pull you off course.

Congratulations — the journey has begun! Meticulous planning will lead to a more purposeful and productive year.

The Aha! software suite includes purpose-built tools for all phases of product development. Below is a short list of resources in our software that we find helpful during annual planning.

For reflection and benchmarking:

A product value scorecard makes it possible to track and review the value we delivered to customers.

The Ideas overview page helps us see feedback trends from customers.

The Features prioritization page provides a view of all features that are prioritized, but not yet in development.

The release retrospective report compares estimated effort against actual effort.

Velocity and throughput reports show team capacity and performance trends.

For setting goals:

Gap analysis : To pinpoint where we are now vs. where we want to be

Opportunity canvas : To identify opportunities for new product functionality

Problem framing : To more deeply understand specific problems we are trying to solve

SMART goals : To tie goals to success metrics

SWOT analysis : To assess internal and external factors impacting our success

For building plans:

Adding goals and initiatives in Aha! Roadmaps

Giving shape to important epics and features

Loosely building release plans and calendars

Showcasing workstreams and dependencies on a strategy roadmap

What is the difference between annual, half-yearly, and quarterly planning?

The cadence at which your team plans can depend on a number of factors: when your fiscal year starts, the type of product you build, or your development methodology . At a high level, annual product planning involves setting strategy and building a roadmap for the entire year. Half-yearly planning is about reviewing and adjusting plans to adapt to evolving customer and market needs. Quarterly planning, as you might expect, allows for even more frequent assessment and adjustment — at the feature level, for example. Each approach caters to different time frames and business needs, balancing foresight with flexibility.

How can you gather and prioritize customer feedback to identify the most critical needs?

To gather and prioritize customer feedback effectively, you need to develop an idea management process. If you use software like Aha! Ideas , you can create an ideas portal to collect ideas, review submissions, and engage with customers for clarification. Track themes to identify critical needs, score ideas based on value vs. effort, and promote prioritized ideas to your roadmap. Keep customers informed about idea status, encouraging ongoing engagement and submissions.

How can you prioritize initiatives and features to ensure an achievable roadmap?

The short answer? Select a prioritization framework and use it consistently. For instance, a framework like RICE helps you score initiatives and features based on reach, impact, confidence, and effort. We use a product value score at Aha! to measure and prioritize work based on its value — at multiple stages of product development. We also utilize priority limit lines in Aha! Roadmaps to set clear delivery expectations and group work by importance.

What are best practices for communicating roadmap progress?

Consider implementing regular check-ins, progress reports , and milestone updates with stakeholders to keep everyone informed of progress. Determine how feedback loops will be incorporated to allow for adjustments to the roadmap. Most importantly, build authentic relationships with stakeholders. You need to tailor your updates to what each individual or team cares about, proactively explain deviations from the roadmap, and build trust through a high "say/do" ratio . Maintaining trust is crucial for building confidence in the roadmap.

Bold product development teams rely on Aha! to build lovable products. Start a free trial today .

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Building for the future: The enterprise generative AI application lifecycle with Azure AI

By Gregory Buehrer Corporate Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Azure Machine Learning

Posted on November 6, 2023 7 min read

In our previous blog , we explored the emerging practice of large language model operations (LLMOps) and the nuances that set it apart from traditional machine learning operations (MLOps) . We discussed the challenges of scaling large language model-powered applications and how Microsoft Azure AI uniquely helps organizations manage this complexity. We touched on the importance of considering the development journey as an iterative process to achieve a quality application.  

Microsoft Azure AI

Drive business results and improve customer experiences

In this blog, we’ll explore these concepts in more detail. The enterprise development process requires collaboration, diligent evaluation, risk management, and scaled deployment. By providing a robust suite of capabilities supporting these challenges, Azure AI affords a clear and efficient path to generating value in your products for your customers.

Enterprise LLM Lifecycle

Ideating and exploring loop

The first loop typically involves a single developer searching for a model catalog for large language models (LLMs) that align with their specific business requirements. Working with a subset of data and prompts, the developer will try to understand the capabilities and limitations of each model with prototyping and evaluation. Developers usually explore altering prompts to the models, different chunking sizes and vectoring indexing methods, and basic interactions while trying to validate or refute business hypotheses. For instance, in a customer support scenario, they might input sample customer queries to see if the model generates appropriate and helpful responses. They can validate this first by typing in examples, but quickly move to bulk testing with files and automated metrics.

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Beyond Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI offers a comprehensive model catalog , which empowers users to discover, customize, evaluate, and deploy foundation models from leading providers such as Hugging Face, Meta, and OpenAI. This helps developers find and select optimal foundation models for their specific use case. Developers can quickly test and evaluate models using their own data to see how the pre-trained model would perform for their desired scenarios.  

Building and augmenting loop 

Once a developer discovers and evaluates the core capabilities of their preferred LLM, they advance to the next loop which focuses on guiding and enhancing the LLM to better meet their specific needs. Traditionally, a base model is trained with point-in-time data. However, often the scenario requires either enterprise-local data, real-time data, or more fundamental alterations.

For reasoning on enterprise data, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) is preferred, which injects information from internal data sources into the prompt based on the specific user request. Common sources are document search systems, structured databases, and non-SQL stores. With RAG, a developer can “ ground ” their solution using the capabilities of their LLMs to process and generate responses based on this injected data. This helps developers achieve customized solutions while maintaining relevance and optimizing costs. RAG also facilitates continuous data updates without the need for fine-tuning as the data comes from other sources.  

During this loop, the developer may find cases where the output accuracy doesn’t meet desired thresholds. Another method to alter the outcome of an LLM is fine-tuning . Fine-tuning helps most when the nature of the system needs to be altered. Generally, the LLM will answer any prompt in a similar tone and format. But for example, if the use case requires code output, JSON, or any such modification, there may be a consistent change or restriction in the output, where fine-tuning can be employed to better align the system’s responses with the specific requirements of the task at hand. By adjusting the parameters of the LLM during fine-tuning, the developer can significantly improve the output accuracy and relevance, making the system more useful and efficient for the intended use case. 

It is also feasible to combine prompt engineering, RAG augmentation, and a fine-tuned LLM. Since fine-tuning necessitates additional data, most users initiate with prompt engineering and modifications to data retrieval before proceeding to fine-tune the model. 

Most importantly, continuous evaluation is an essential element of this loop. During this phase, developers assess the quality and overall groundedness of their LLMs. The end goal is to facilitate safe, responsible, and data-driven insights to inform decision-making while ensuring the AI solutions are primed for production. 

Learn More Azure AI prompt flow   chevron_right

Azure AI prompt flow is a pivotal component in this loop. Prompt flow helps teams streamline the development and evaluation of LLM applications by providing tools for systematic experimentation and a rich array of built-in templates and metrics. This ensures a structured and informed approach to LLM refinement. Developers can also effortlessly integrate with frameworks like LangChain or Semantic Kernel , tailoring their LLM flows based on their business requirements. The addition of reusable Python tools enhances data processing capabilities, while simplified and secure connections to APIs and external data sources afford flexible augmentation of the solution. Developers can also use multiple LLMs as part of their workflow, applied dynamically or conditionally to work on specific tasks and manage costs.  

With Azure AI, evaluating the effectiveness of different development approaches becomes straightforward. Developers can easily craft and compare the performance of prompt variants against sample data, using insightful metrics such as groundedness, fluency, and coherence. In essence, throughout this loop, prompt flow is the linchpin, bridging the gap between innovative ideas and tangible AI solutions. 

Operationalizing loop 

The third loop captures the transition of LLMs from development to production. This loop primarily involves deployment, monitoring, incorporating content safety systems, and integrating with CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous deployment) processes. This stage of the process is often managed by production engineers who have existing processes for application deployment. Central to this stage is collaboration, facilitating a smooth handoff of assets between application developers and data scientists building on the LLMs, and production engineers tasked with deploying them.

Deployment allows for a seamless transfer of LLMs and prompt flows to endpoints for inference without the need for a complex infrastructure setup. Monitoring helps teams track and optimize their LLM application’s safety and quality in production. Content safety systems help detect and mitigate misuse and unwanted content, both on the ingress and egress of the application. Combined, these systems fortify the application against potential risks, improving alignment with risk, governance, and compliance standards.  

Unlike traditional machine learning models that might classify content, LLMs fundamentally generate content. This content often powers end-user-facing experiences like chatbots, with the integration often falling on developers who may not have experience managing probabilistic models. LLM-based applications often incorporate agents and plugins to enhance the capabilities of models to trigger some actions, which could also amplify the risk. These factors, combined with the inherent variability of LLM outputs, show the importance of risk management in LLMOps is critical.  

Explore Azure AI Content Safety   chevron_right

Azure AI prompt flow ensures a smooth deployment process to managed online endpoints in Azure Machine Learning. Because prompt flows are well-defined files that adhere to published schemas, they are easily incorporated into existing productization pipelines. Upon deployment, Azure Machine Learning invokes the model data collector , which autonomously gathers production data. That way, monitoring capabilities in Azure AI can provide a granular understanding of resource utilization, ensuring optimal performance and cost-effectiveness through token usage and cost monitoring. More importantly, customers can monitor their generative AI applications for quality and safety in production, using scheduled drift detection using either built-in or customer-defined metrics. Developers can also use Azure AI Content Safety to detect and mitigate harmful content or use the built-in content safety filters provided with Azure OpenAI Service models. Together, these systems provide greater control, quality, and transparency, delivering AI solutions that are safer, more efficient, and more easily meet the organization’s compliance standards.

Azure AI also helps to foster closer collaboration among diverse roles by facilitating the seamless sharing of assets like models, prompts, data, and experiment results using registries . Assets crafted in one workspace can be effortlessly discovered in another, ensuring a fluid handoff of LLMs and prompts. This not only enables a smoother development process but also preserves the lineage across both development and production environments. This integrated approach ensures that LLM applications are not only effective and insightful but also deeply ingrained within the business fabric, delivering unmatched value.

Managing loop 

The final loop in the Enterprise Lifecycle LLM process lays down a structured framework for ongoing governance, management, and security. AI governance can help organizations accelerate their AI adoption and innovation by providing clear and consistent guidelines, processes, and standards for their AI projects.

Explore Responsible AI practices   chevron_right

Azure AI provides built-in AI governance capabilities for privacy, security, compliance, and responsible AI , as well as extensive connectors and integrations to simplify AI governance across your data estate. For example, administrators can set policies to allow or enforce specific security configurations , such as whether your Azure Machine Learning workspace uses a private endpoint. Or, organizations can integrate Azure Machine Learning workspaces with Microsoft Purview to publish metadata on AI assets automatically to the Purview Data Map for easier lineage tracking. This helps risk and compliance professionals understand what data is used to train AI models, how base models are fine-tuned or extended, and where models are used across different production applications. This information is crucial for supporting responsible AI practices and providing evidence for compliance reports and audits.

Whether building generative AI applications with open-source models, Azure’s managed OpenAI models, or your own pre-trained custom models, Azure AI facilitates safe, secure, and reliable AI solutions with greater ease with purpose-built, scalable infrastructure.

Explore the harmonized journey of LLMOps at Microsoft Ignite

As organizations delve deeper into LLMOps to streamline processes, one truth becomes abundantly clear: the journey is multifaceted and requires a diverse range of skills. While tools and technologies like Azure AI prompt flow play a crucial role, the human element—and diverse expertise—is indispensable. It’s the harmonious collaboration of cross-functional teams that creates real magic. Together, they ensure the transformation of a promising idea into a proof of concept and then a game-changing LLM application.

As we approach our annual Microsoft Ignite conference this month, we will continue to post updates to our product line. Join us for more groundbreaking announcements and demonstrations and stay tuned for our next blog in this series.

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Rosatom Starts Production of Rare-Earth Magnets for Wind Power Generation

TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom has started gradual localization of rare-earth magnets manufacturing for wind power plants generators. The first sets of magnets have been manufactured and shipped to the customer.

In total, the contract between Elemash Magnit LLC (an enterprise of TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom in Elektrostal, Moscow region) and Red Wind B.V. (a joint venture of NovaWind JSC and the Dutch company Lagerwey) foresees manufacturing and supply over 200 sets of magnets. One set is designed to produce one power generator.

“The project includes gradual localization of magnets manufacturing in Russia, decreasing dependence on imports. We consider production of magnets as a promising sector for TVEL’s metallurgical business development. In this regard, our company does have the relevant research and technological expertise for creation of Russia’s first large-scale full cycle production of permanent rare-earth magnets,” commented Natalia Nikipelova, President of TVEL JSC.

“NovaWind, as the nuclear industry integrator for wind power projects, not only made-up an efficient supply chain, but also contributed to the development of inter-divisional cooperation and new expertise of Rosatom enterprises. TVEL has mastered a unique technology for the production of magnets for wind turbine generators. These technologies will be undoubtedly in demand in other areas as well,” noted Alexander Korchagin, Director General of NovaWind JSC.

For reference:

TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom incorporates enterprises for the fabrication of nuclear fuel, conversion and enrichment of uranium, production of gas centrifuges, as well as research and design organizations. It is the only supplier of nuclear fuel for Russian nuclear power plants. TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom provides nuclear fuel for 73 power reactors in 13 countries worldwide, research reactors in eight countries, as well as transport reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. Every sixth power reactor in the world operates on fuel manufactured by TVEL. www.tvel.ru

NovaWind JSC is a division of Rosatom; its primary objective is to consolidate the State Corporation's efforts in advanced segments and technological platforms of the electric power sector. The company was founded in 2017. NovaWind consolidates all of the Rosatom’s wind energy assets – from design and construction to power engineering and operation of wind farms.

Overall, by 2023, enterprises operating under the management of NovaWind JSC, will install 1 GW of wind farms. http://novawind.ru

Elemash Magnit LLC is a subsidiary of Kovrov Mechanical Plant (an enterprise of the TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom) and its main supplier of magnets for production of gas centrifuges. The company also produces magnets for other industries, in particular, for the automotive

industry. The production facilities of Elemash Magnit LLC are located in the city of Elektrostal, Moscow Region, at the site of Elemash Machine-Building Plant (a nuclear fuel fabrication facility of TVEL Fuel Company).

Rosatom is a global actor on the world’s nuclear technology market. Its leading edge stems from a number of competitive strengths, one of which is assets and competences at hand in all nuclear segments. Rosatom incorporates companies from all stages of the technological chain, such as uranium mining and enrichment, nuclear fuel fabrication, equipment manufacture and engineering, operation of nuclear power plants, and management of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. Nowadays, Rosatom brings together about 350 enterprises and organizations with the workforce above 250 K. https://rosatom.ru/en/

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Russia completes fuel deliveries for China’s CFR-600 fast reactor

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With the launch of the first CFR-600 power unit, the Xiapu NPP in Fujian Province will become the only nuclear power plant outside of Russia with a large-capacity fast neutron reactor. A special section for the production of CFR-600 uranium fuel was established at the MSZ in 2021 and the site for the fabrication of fast reactor fuel assemblies was modernised with the development and installation of unique equipment. At the end of 2021, assemblies of the control and protection system were sent to Chine to enable testing the reactor simulation zone.

The contract for the supply of fuel for the CFR-600 was concluded in December 2018 as part of the implementation of a China-Russia government agreement as part of a large-scale comprehensive programme of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for the coming decades. This includes the serial construction of the latest Russian nuclear power units with generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactors at two Chinese NPP sites (Tianwan and Xudabao). A package of intergovernmental documents and framework contracts for these projects were signed in 2018 during a meeting of heads of state.

Oleg Grigoriev, Senior Vice President for Commerce & International Business at Tvel said the delivery of fuel for the CFR-600 project. “is another important area of our cooperation in addition to the fuel supply of VVER reactors at the Tianwan NPP, the development of VVER fuel fabrication at China’s Yibin plant, as well as the supply of fuel for the first Chinese experimental fast reactor CEFR.” He added: “Rosatom has over 40 years of unique experience in the production of fuel for fast reactors, and we see significant potential for further use of this experience in the implementation of the strategy of two-component nuclear energy - with the simultaneous operation of thermal fast neutron reactors - not only in Russia , but also in China.”  

Image: The fuel assemblies were manufactured at the Elemash Machine-Building Plant in Elektrostal, near Moscow (courtesy of Tvel)

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Russia-Ukraine war live: US defense secretary visits Kyiv amid increasing division in Washington over aid funding

Lloyd Austin insists US ‘will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russian aggression’

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 635

• 2h ago Morning summary
• 5h ago Two killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukrainian authorities say
• 5h ago US defence secretary visits Kyiv
• 5h ago Opening summary

US defence secretary visits Kyiv

The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, arrived in Kyiv on Monday for a visit, he said on the X social media platform, Reuters reports.

“I’m here today to deliver an important message: the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future.”

The visit comes amid increasing division over Ukraine aid in the US legislature. A joint Ukraine-US military industry conference in Washington is due to take place next month.

That event, due to be held on 6-7 December, is intended to boost Ukraine’s domestic arms production as its fight against a full-scale Russian invasion nears the two-year mark.

Finland’s president, Sauli Niinisto , has said it had become impossible to return asylum seekers who do not meet the criteria for protection, and that this had to be taken into account when policies are set, Reuters reports.

Finland has closed four crossing points on its border with Russia as Helsinki seeks to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow, leaving only four stations open.

The Kremlin has denied sending migrants and said earlier that Finland’s decision to shut border crossings reflected Helsinki’s adoption of an anti-Russian stance (see earlier post at 09.41 ).

The bodies of 94 Ukrainian soldiers were returned to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government on Monday, the official account for the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War wrote on Telegram.

In exchange, Ukraine transferred the bodies of an unspecified number of Russian soldiers killed in combat to the Russian side, the headquarters said.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine will ensure the transportation of repatriated bodies and remains to designated state specialized institutions for transfer to representatives of law enforcement agencies and forensic medical experts for identification of the deceased,” it wrote.

Here are some images from Kherson following reported Russian shelling (Reuters was not able to independently verify the location or the date when the video the images were taken from was filmed):

The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said the public street protest in Moscow, led by wives of deployed Russian soldiers, on 7 November, was likely the first such demonstration in the Russian capital since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.

In its latest intelligence update , the MoD wrote on X:

The protestors gathered in the central Teatralnya Square and unfurled banners demanding the rotation of their partners away from the frontline. Since February 2022, social media has provided daily examples of Russian wives and mothers making online appeals protesting against the conditions of their loved ones’ service. However, Russia’s draconian legislation has so far prevented troops’ relatives from coalescing into an influential lobbying force, as soldiers’ mothers did during the Afghan-Soviet War of the 1980s. Police broke up the Teatralnya Square protest within minutes. However, the protestors’ immediate demand is notable. The apparently indefinitely extended combat deployments of personnel without rotation is increasingly seen as unsustainable by both the troops themselves and by their relatives.

Here is what the governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin , has posted on Telegram about the reports of two people being killed in Kherson by Russian shelling (see earlier post at 08.25 )

In the morning, the Russian army shelled the parking lot of a private transport company in Kherson. As a result of the enemy attack, two drivers were killed, another person was injured. Cars and a residential building were damaged.

These claims are yet to be independently verified.

Nato supports Bosnia’s territorial integrity and is concerned by “malign foreign interference,” including by Russia , in the volatile Balkans region that went through a devastating war in the 1990s, Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg , has said.

Sarajevo is the first stop on Stoltenberg’s tour of western Balkan countries that will also include Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia, the Associated Press reports.

“The Allies strongly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “We are concerned by the secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as malign foreign interference, including Russia.”

There are widespread fears that Russia is trying to destabilize Bosnia and the rest of the region and therefore shift at least some world attention from its war in Ukraine .

Morning summary

The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, arrived in Kyiv on Monday for a visit. “I’m here today to deliver an important message: the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future.”

Two people were killed early on Monday after Russian forces shelled a parking lot in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, authorities said. Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into the artillery strike, which occurred at about 9am (7am GMT) and injured one other person, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.

A Ukrainian soldier and a woman have died after a grenade exploded in a Kyiv apartment, police in the Ukrainian capital have said, but the cause of the blast, which injured a second man, was not immediately clear. Explosives technicians and investigators were working at the scene of Sunday’s explosion in the Dniprovskiy district, Kyiv police said in a statement.

The Ukrainian army said it had pushed back Russian forces “three to eight kilometres” from the banks of the Dnipro River, which if confirmed would be the first meaningful advance by Kyiv’s forces months into a disappointing counteroffensive . Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in the southern Kherson region for more than a year, after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank last November.

A Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied city of Mariupol during the war and prevented from leaving earlier this year has returned to Ukraine . Bohdan Yermokhin, who turned 18 on Sunday, appealed to Zelenskiy this month to help bring him back to Ukraine. “I believed I would be in Ukraine, but not on this day,” Yermokhin told Reuters while eating at a petrol station after crossing the border.

About 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks, including those carrying fuel and humanitarian aid, were stuck on the Polish side of the border on Sunday due to a more than 10-day blockade by Polish truckers, Ukrainian authorities said . Polish truckers earlier this month blocked roads to three border crossings with Ukraine to protest against what they see as government inaction over a loss of business to foreign competitors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Air defence units in Moscow intercepted a drone targeting the city late Sunday, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said . Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said units in the Elektrostal district in the capital’s east had intercepted the drone. No casualties or damage were initially reported. Air defences had also thwarted a drone attack on the Russian capital overnight to Sunday, authorities said earlier.

Russia launched 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones targeting Kyiv and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian military said, of which 15 were shot down . The overnight strikes on Kyiv were the second attack on the Ukrainian capital in 48 hours, said the city’s military administration spokesperson, Serhii Popko.

Five people including a three-year-old girl were injured in Russian artillery shelling of Kherson on Sunday morning, the Ukrainian interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said . “All of them sustained shrapnel wounds. The child and the grandmother were walking in the yard. Enemy artillery hit them near the entrance,” Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app.

The pro-war Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who is in custody awaiting trial for inciting extremism, said he wanted to run for president even though he understood the March election would be a “sham” with the winner already clear . Girkin, who is also known by the alias Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly said Russia faces revolution and even civil war unless President Vladimir Putin’s military top brass fight the war in Ukraine more effectively. A former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who helped Russia to annex Crimea in 2014 and then to organise pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine, Girkin said before his arrest that he and his supporters were entering politics.

The Kremlin, facing the prospect of a European Union ban on imports of Russian diamonds, said on Monday that EU sanctions tended to have a “boomerang effect” on those who applied them, Reuters reports.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was commenting on a proposed EU ban on diamond imports from Russia as part of a new sanctions package against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine .

Russia is the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds by volume. Peskov told reporters such a move had been anticipated for a long time, but was likely to backfire.

“As a rule, it turns out that a boomerang effect is partially triggered: the interests of the Europeans themselves suffer. So far, we have been able to find ways to minimise the negative consequences of sanctions,” he said.

EU diplomatic sources said last week the proposal under discussion was to ban direct diamond imports from Russia from 1 January and from March to implement a traceability mechanism that would prevent imports of Russian gems processed in third countries.

The Kremlin said on Monday that president Vladimir Putin will set out Russia’s view of what it sees as the “deeply unstable world situation” when he addresses an upcoming virtual G20 summit.

Russian state TV presenter Pavel Zarubin said on his Telegram channel on Sunday that it would be the “first event in a long time” including both Putin and western leaders.

According to the state RIA news agency, the G20 virtual summit will be held on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said on Monday it regretted Finland’s decision to shut crossings on its border with Russia , saying it reflected Helsinki’s adoption of an anti-Russian stance, Reuters reports.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov , speaking at a regular news briefing, also rejected Finland’s accusation that Russia is deliberately pushing illegal migrants towards the border and said that Russian border guards were following all instructions.

Finland, a member of the European Union and – from this year – also of the Nato military alliance, closed four crossings on its border with Russia on Saturday as Helsinki seeks to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow.

The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, arrives in Kyiv on Monday morning.

Two killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukrainian authorities say

Reuters reports that two people were killed early on Monday after Russian forces shelled a parking lot in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, authorities said.

Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into the artillery strike, which occurred at about 9am (7am GMT) and injured one other person, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.

The Kherson governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said the two dead were drivers for a private transport business.

Images posted on Telegram showed firefighters dousing cars that had been blasted apart, one day after a separate strike on the city wounded five people, including a three-year-old girl.

Russian forces have regularly shelled Kherson from across the Dnipro River since the regional capital was reoccupied by Ukrainian troops last November.

Ukraine said last week it had secured a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro and that its troops were trying to push Russian forces further back.

Reuters reports that a Japanese delegation led by senior industry and foreign ministry officials and including business representatives is visiting Ukraine on Monday for talks ahead of a reconstruction conference that Japan will host, the industry ministry said.

Japan, which has been supporting Ukraine with funds and by accepting refugees since Russia invaded in February 2022, has also been promoting support for Ukraine at the level of the G7, which Japan chairs this year.

Kazuchika Iwata , the state minister of economy, trade and industry (METI), and the state minister for foreign affairs Kiyoto Tsuji , are visiting together with representatives of Japan companies, METI said in a statement.

In Kyiv, the delegation, which includes members of Keidanren, Japan’s biggest business lobby, in charge of a committee on Ukraine’s reconstruction, plans talks with the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal , government officials and companies.

Shmyhal said this month Ukraine would need budget support of about $42bn this year and next year to plug a massive deficit and aid reconstruction from the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion.

METI said the visit was an opportunity to hear about Ukraine’s needs and to discuss specific projects and accelerate public and private efforts to help.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy – who visited Japan in May during a G7 summit – and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, agreed this month to hold a Japan-Ukraine Conference for promotion of Economic Reconstruction in Tokyo on 19 February.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine .

A Ukrainian soldier and a woman have died after a grenade exploded in a Kyiv apartment, police in the Ukrainian capital have said, but the cause of the blast, which injured a second man, was not immediately clear.

Explosives technicians and investigators were working at the scene of Sunday’s explosion in the Dniprovskiy district, Kyiv police said in a statement.

“A citizen contacted the police with a report that an explosion rang out in a neighbouring apartment,” they added.

The news came as Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed the commander of the military’s medical forces , Maj Gen Tetiana Ostashchenko, and said “new priorities had been set” in the operations of Ukraine’s military after a meeting with the defence minister, Rustem Umerov.

“There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening video address.

In other key developments:

Russia launched 20 Iranian-made Sha hed drones targeting Kyiv and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian military said, of which 15 were shot down . The overnight strikes on Kyiv were the second attack on the Ukrainian capital in 48 hours, said the city’s military administration spokesperson, Serhii Popko.

• Ukraine war live

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Zelenskiy calls for operational changes to Ukraine military after sacking commander

Two first responders killed by Russian rocket attacks in Zaporizhzhia

The man who sparked the Maidan revolution … and is now tasked with rebuilding Ukraine

Ukrainian military reports ‘successful operations’ on Dnipro River’s east bank

Russian artist jailed for seven years over Ukraine war price tag protest

Apec summit ends with unity on WTO reform but not Gaza or Ukraine

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Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin to give shock G20 speech as Moscow troops desert Donetsk frontline

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Vladimir Putin will set out Russia ’s view of the “deeply unstable world situation” in a shock G20 speech this week, the Kremlin has said, as Ukraine claimed growing numbers of Moscow’s troops were deserting the frontline in Donetsk .

Ukraine’s military has been bracing for a “third wave” of Russian assaults on the key city of Avdiivka – but a spokesperson claimed Moscow was being forced to rely increasingly on penal recruits and reservists due to its soldiers refusing to take part in casualty-heavy assaults.

Further south, Kyiv ’s forces claimed to have pushed Mr Putin’s forces three to eight kilometres back on the banks of the Dnipro River , in what would mark the first significant advance by Kyiv’s forces months into a grindingly slow counteroffensive.

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in Kherson for more than a year, until Kyiv claimed last week to have finally established multiple footholds on the river’s eastern bank.

Ukrainian army pushing Russian forces back at Dnipro river

Russia launches waves of drone strikes on kyiv for second night.

Cluster bombs in battle for Avdiivka fuelling stalemate on frontline, says UK

Ukraine establishes 'several bridgeheads' on eastern bank of Dnipro

Analysis | Russia’s plan B in Ukraine is working – now is not the moment for the West to turn away

12:27 , Andy Gregory

In this Independent Voices piece, James Nixey – director of Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme – writes:

When Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was fooled recently by two well-known Russian “comics” – surely paid-up Kremlin agents – into saying she was “tired” of the war in Ukraine and that everyone would soon be looking for a “way out”, too many of her counterparts in the West would have tacitly agreed (and perhaps sympathised: she is hardly the first to be pranked by these two).

But Ms Meloni deserves no sympathy. She thought she was talking to the head of the African Union Commission so this should have been a chance to exercise statecraft and reason with the supposed representative from the Global South and argue that Russia’s war in Ukraine is nothing if not colonialist itself – a desperate attempt to maintain its empire.

But Ms Meloni’s admission was worse than just not showing moral leadership. She was also playing into Russia’s hands by parroting its narrative: being tired and looking for a way out of the war is precisely what Vladimir Putin now wants from the Western world.

Russia’s plan B in Ukraine is working – the West must not turn away now

Nato concerned by secessionist rhetoric and Russian influence in Bosnia

11:58 , Andy Gregory

Jens Stoltenberg has said Nato is concerned by secessionist rhetoric and Russian influence in Bosnia, after months of Serb leaders increasingly saying they want to split and join Serbia.

Bosnia emerged from civil war in 1995 with a federal structure uniting a Serb-dominated republic and a federation of Croats and Bosniak Muslims. But the leader of Serbian entity, Milorad Dodik, has increasingly said in recent months that he aims to secede and join neighbouring Serbia.

“We are concerned by secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as ... foreign interference including Russia,” the Nato chief told reporters in Sarajevo, during a tour of the western Balkans region.

“This undermines the stability and hampers reform,” Mr Stoltenberg said, adding that all political leaders must work to preserve unity, build national institutions and achieve reconciliation.

Nato had deployed about 60,000 troops in Bosnia after the war, which were replaced by an EU peacekeeping force in 2004. Last year, the EU almost doubled its size to 1,100 troops, amid fears that instability from the Ukraine war could spill over to the western Balkans.

Putin to address G20 summit this week, Kremlin says

11:15 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin will set out Russia’s view of what it sees as the “deeply unstable world situation” when he addresses an upcoming virtual G20 summit, the Kremlin has said.

Russian state TV presenter Pavel Zarubin said on his Telegram channel on Sunday that it would be the “first event in a long time” including both the Russian president and Western leaders.

According to the state RIA news agency, the G20 virtual summit will be held on Wednesday.

Russia relying on penal recruits to stem increase in deserters on Donetsk frontline, Ukraine claims

11:06 , Andy Gregory

Growing numbers of Russian soldiers are deserting the frontline in Donetsk, Ukraine’s military has claimed as it braces for a long-awaited “third wave” of attacks by Moscow’s forces in Avdiivka.

The Institute for Study of War think-tank cited Ukrainian Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun as saying that Russia may soon intensify artillery preparations for the new wave of assaults on the strategically key city.

Moscow’s forces have not actively used heavy military equipment Avdiivka in recent days, have decreased aviation use in the area, and are increasingly using infantry, he said, claiming that Russia’s significant losses mean only 10 to 15 percent of some detachments’ original personnel remain.

In remarks on Sunday, Mr Shtupun claimed there were growing numbers of Russian deserters and personnel who refuse to conduct offensive operations, leading Russian commanders to use physical force and barrier troops to push Russian forces to fight, with an increased reliance on mobilised reservists and penal recruits.

EU sanctions tend to have ‘boomerang effect’, Russia claims

10:54 , Andy Gregory

The Kremlin has claimed that European Union sanctions tend to have a “boomerang effect”, as Moscow faces the prospect of an EU ban on imports of Russian diamonds.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that such a move had been anticipated for a long time, but was likely to backfire.

“As a rule, it turns out that a boomerang effect is partially triggered: the interests of the Europeans themselves suffer. So far, we have been able to find ways to minimise the negative consequences of sanctions,” he claimed.

EU diplomatic sources told Reuters last week that the proposal under discussion was to ban direct diamond imports from Russia from 1 January, and to implement a traceability mechanism by March which would prevent imports of Russian gems processed in third countries.

Exclusive: Andriy Shevchenko urges the world not to forget Ukraine

10:29 , Andy Gregory

On the morning of 24 February 2022 – a date etched in every Ukrainian’s mind – Andriy Shevchenko was woken by a phone call from his mother. She told him through tears that Russia was invading. Shevchenko was in London, where he lives with his wife and four sons; his mother and wider family were in Ukraine, under attack.

Shevchenko has barely slept since. “It’s almost impossible,” he says. “It’s going to be almost two years since the full war started, and every day I wake up, check the phone – what’s the news? Are we going to be attacked in Kyiv? Are we going to be attacked in a different city? How many drones? How many rockets? Where have the rockets hit? And then, talking to my friends – who’s dead? It’s a normal day for us.”

Shevchenko is using his platform as one of Europe’s greatest footballers, a Ballon d’Or winner and a Chelsea cult hero to keep the spotlight on Ukraine at a time when the world’s attention has turned to the Middle East. In the West, the initial shock caused by Russia’s invasion has subsided, and a sense of normalisation has crept in. He is understandably worried that Ukraine’s cause might be forgotten.

“I hope not,” he says. “Because for us, it’s everything. For us, it’s exist or not exist.”

Our senior sports writer Lawrence Ostlere has the full exclusive interview here:

Andriy Shevchenko on Ukraine: ‘Every day I wake up, check the phone. Who’s dead?’

Kremlin ‘deeply regrets’ Finland’s border closures

10:08 , Andy Gregory

The Kremlin has said it deeply regrets Finland’s decision to close crossings along the two countries’ vast border on Saturday.

Finland closed four crossings on Saturday in a bid to halt the flow of asylum-seekers, having accused Moscow of funnelling migrants to the frontier in retaliation for Helsinki’s ascension to Nato and increased Western military cooperation since the invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied Finland’s accusation on Monday and insisted that Russian border guards were carrying out their duties in line with the rules.

Asked about the closure of the four crossings, Mr Peskov told reporters: “This causes nothing but deep regret, because we had long-standing, very good relations with Finland, pragmatic, based on mutual respect.

“And of course, we regret that these relations were replaced by such an exclusively Russophobic position, which the leaders of this country began to espouse,” he said.

Moscow protest shows lengthy Russian deployments to frontline ‘unsustainable’, says UK

09:44 , Andy Gregory

Protests in Moscow by the wives of Russian soldiers show that their lengthy deployments to the front line are increasingly viewed as unsustainable, Britain’s Ministry of Defence suggested.

Russian wives and mothers have been making daily online appeals protesting against the conditions of their loved ones’ service since the invasion of Ukraine last February.

“However, Russia’s draconian legislation has so far prevented troops’ relatives from coalescing into an influential lobbying force, as soldiers’ mothers did during the Afghan-Soviet War of the 1980s,” said the ministry”.

But on 7 November, they held a rare street protest in Moscow’s central Teatralnya Square, unfurling banners demanding the rotation of their partners away from the frontline.

Police broke up the protest within minutes, according to the ministry, which added: “However, the protestors’ immediate demand is notable.

“The apparently indefinitely extended combat deployments of personnel without rotation is increasingly seen as unsustainable by both the troops themselves and by their relatives.”

US defence secretary’s visit to Kyiv is his first since early months of war

09:21 , Andy Gregory

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv today, as he pushes to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine.

Mr Austin travelled by train from Poland, and is scheduled to meet with senior Ukrainian officials.

It marks his second trip to Kyiv – with his first having taken place in April 2022, just two months after Russia’s invasion.

Two killed in Kherson after Russia shells parking lot, officials say

08:55 , Andy Gregory

Two people have been killed this morning after Russian forces shelled a parking lot in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to officials.

Regional prosecutors said they had opened a war-crimes investigation into the artillery strike, which occurred at around 9am and injured one other person.

Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the two dead were drivers for “a private transport business”.

Images posted on Telegram showed firefighters dousing cars that had been blasted apart, one day after a separate strike on the city wounded five people, including a 3-year-old girl.

Russian forces have regularly shelled Kherson from across the Dnipro River since the city was liberated last November by Ukrainian troops – who are now seeking to push Moscow’s troops away from the river after establishing a foothold on the opposite bank.

Second drone in as many days shot down near Moscow as Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks on capitals

08:29 , Andy Gregory

Russia and Ukraine sent drones targeting each other’s capital cities over the weekend in signs of renewed intensity for their aerial warfare, my colleague Arpan Rai reports.

Drones were shot down on both Saturday and Sunday in areas around Kyiv and Moscow. Air defence systems for both sides intercepted attacks and no casualties were reported.

Multiple drones that were heading for Moscow and Russia’s border areas on Sunday were downed by Russian air defence systems over the weekend, officials said.

Kyiv has promised to wage a major drone campaign against Russia this winter, as bad weather conditions make it difficult to conduct operations on the ground.

Russia under Ukraine’s drone attack for two nights in row as Moscow remains on target

Zelensky dismisses Ukraine’s military medical chief

08:11 , Andy Gregory

Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Major General Tetiana Ostashchenko as the commander of Ukraine’s medical forces, as he demanded rapid changes in the operations of the country’s military medical system.

“In today’s meeting with defence minister [Rustem] Umerov, priorities were set,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address on Sunday. “There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”

He added: “The task is clear, as has been repeatedly stressed in society, particularly among combat medics, we need a fundamentally new level of medical support for our soldiers.”

A wide range of improvements are needed, Mr Zelensky said – from better tourniquets, to improvements in digitalisation and communication.

Ms Ostashchenko was replaced by Major General Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, head of a military clinic in Kyiv.

US defence secretary arrives in Kyiv

07:45 , Andy Gregory

US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin has arrived for a visit in Kyiv.

I just arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders. I’m here today to deliver an important message – the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future. pic.twitter.com/1D96aeeACl — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) November 20, 2023

Two killed as grenade explodes in Kyiv apartment

07:26 , Andy Gregory

A Ukrainian soldier and a woman died when a grenade exploded in an apartment in Kyiv, injuring a second man, police said.

Explosives technicians and investigators were working at the scene of Sunday’s explosion in the Dniprovskiy district, Kyiv police said in a statement.

“A citizen contacted the police with a report that an explosion rang out in a neighbouring apartment,” they added.

Earlier this month, an aide to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, died when a grenade given to him as a birthday gift blew up.

An orphaned teenager who was taken to Russia early in the Ukraine war is back home with relatives

07:00 , Holly Evans

An orphaned Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia last year during the war in his country returned home after being reunited with relatives in Belarus on his 18th birthday Sunday.

Bohdan Yermokhin was pictured embracing family members in Minsk in photographs shared on social media by Russia’s children’s rights ombudswoman, Maria Lvova-Belova.

Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, confirmed that Yermokhin had arrived back in Ukraine and shared a photo of him with a Ukrainian flag. Yermak thanked UNICEF and Qatari negotiators for facilitating Yermokhin’s return.

Read the full article here

Putin could face new war crime case as evidence suggests starvation of Ukraine was pre-planned

05:30 , Holly Evans

Russia was actively preparing to steal grain supplies and starve the Ukrainian population of food for months before Vladimir Putin ordered last year’s invasion, according to new evidence compiled by human rights experts.

When Russian tanks did roll across the border on 24 February 2022 they deliberately targeted grain-rich areas and food production infrastructure first, the new report by international human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance found.

GRC found that Russia’s defence contractor began purchasing trucks to transport grain, as well as three new 170-metre bulk carrier cargo ships, as early as December 2021, evidence of advance planning for the pillage of Ukrainian food resources “on an unprecedented scale”.

Putin could face new war crime case over ‘planned’ starvation of Ukraine

Wife of twice-poisoned Briton held in Kremlin prison fears ‘time is running out’

04:30 , Holly Evans

The wife of a British-Russian national held in a Krelimn prison says she fears time is running out, and has called for the UK to take more urgent action to free him.

Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two near-fatal poisonings, in 2015 and 2017, which resulted in organ failure and polyneuropathy, a condition that causes nerve damage.

The Vladimir Putin critic was jailed for 25 years in April this year on charges of treason and spreading “false information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine .

Zelensky calls for rapid operation changes and sacks commander

03:30 , Holly Evans

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday demanded rapid changes in the operations of Ukraine’s military and announced the dismissal of the commander of the military’s medical forces.

Zelensky’s move was announced as he met Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, and coincided with debate over the conduct of the 20-month-old war against Russia, with questions over how quickly a counteroffensive in the east and south is proceeding.

“In today’s meeting with Defence Minister Umerov, priorities were set,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”

Zelensky said he had replaced Major-General Tetiana Ostashchenko as commander of the Armed Forces Medical Forces.

“The task is clear, as has been repeatedly stressed in society, particularly among combat medics, we need a fundamentally new level of medical support for our soldiers,” he said.

This, he said, included a range of issues -- better tourniquets, digitalisation and better communication.

Umerov acknowledged the change on the Telegram messaging app and set as top priorities digitalisation, “tactical medicine” and rotation of servicemen.

Plight of one Ukraine village illustrates toll of Russia’s invasion

02:30 , Holly Evans

Kamianka lies in a charming valley of bright flowers and lush trees. It used to be portrayed as a model village for a contented life in rural idyll. It was also a place of archaeological and geological lure, with its rare bronze age and Scythian sites and Jurassic limestone cliffs attracting visitors from afar.

The settlement , set in a sleepy hollow, was established in the 18th century by a count from the Tsar of Russia ’s court who had returned from Britain with new methods of farming and an English bride. Keen to put his new knowledge into practice, he allocated land, built a mill, constructed roads and funded a church and a school.

But Kamianka, in eastern Ukraine , also has a dark history of violence.

Read the full article from Kim Sengupta here

Russia’s plan B in Ukraine is working – now is not the moment for the West to turn away

01:30 , Holly Evans

hen Italy ’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni , was fooled recently by two well-known Russian “comics” – surely paid-up Kremlin agents – into saying she was “tired” of the war in Ukraine and that everyone would soon be looking for a “way out”, too many of her counterparts in the West would have tacitly agreed (and perhaps sympathised: she is hardly the first to be pranked by these two).

But Ms Meloni deserves no sympathy. She thought she was talking to the head of the African Union Commission so this should have been a chance to exercise statecraft and reason with the supposed representative from the Global South and argue that Russia ’s war in Ukraine is nothing if not colonialist itself – a desperate attempt to maintain its empire.

Russia, with an abundance of chutzpah and an absence of shame, claims that it is the West that is being colonialist in forcing its designs on Kyiv (even supposedly “Nazi-ruled Kyiv”). You have to apply to join Nato and the EU, of course, but facts like these are irrelevant.

Read the full article from James Nixey here

Moscow mayor says air defence units intercept drone targeting city

00:30 , Holly Evans

Air defence units in Moscow intercepted a drone targeting the city on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said units in the Elektrostal district in the capital’s east had intercepted the drone.

According to preliminary information, falling debris resulting from the operation had caused no casualties or damage, Sobyanin said.

UK defence ministry say ‘few immediate prospects’ for change along front line

Sunday 19 November 2023 23:30 , Holly Evans

Russian drones have targeted Kyiv as the British Defence Ministry said there were “few immediate prospects” for major change along the Ukrainian front line as the war enters its second winter.

Russia launched 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight, targeting the Ukrainian capital and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions, according to a military statement.

Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems shot down 15 of the drones.

The overnight strike on Kyiv is the second attack on the Ukrainian capital in 48 hours, said the city’s Military Administration spokesperson, Serhii Popko.

He said that the drones attacked Kyiv from different directions in waves that were “constantly changing vectors”.

Preliminary reports indicated no casualties or critical damage, he said.

Around 3,000 trucks stuck at Ukrainian border due to Polish drivers' blockade

Sunday 19 November 2023 22:30 , Holly Evans

bout 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks were stuck on the Polish side of the border as of Sunday morning due to a more than 10-day blockade by Polish truckers, Ukrainian authorities said.

Polish truckers earlier this month blocked roads to three border crossings with Ukraine to protest against what they see as government inaction over a loss of business to foreign competitors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian officials said last week Kyiv and Warsaw had again failed to reach an agreement to stop the protest.

For over 10 days, Ukrainian drivers have been blocked at the Polish border. Thousands of people are forced to live in difficult conditions with limited food, water, and fuel. Ukraine cares about its people wherever they are. Our team has already gone to the border and is… pic.twitter.com/kzn1KGLrug — Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) November 19, 2023

“For over 10 days, Ukrainian drivers have been blocked at the Polish border. Thousands of people are forced to live in difficult conditions with limited food, water and fuel,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Ukraine’s Prime Minister, said on X, formerly Twitter.

He said trucks were backed up more than 30 kms (18.6 miles)towards the Yahodyn crossing, more than 10 kms towards Rava-Ruska, and more than 16 kms towards the Krakivets crossing.

Russia and Iran call for ceasefire in Gaza

Sunday 19 November 2023 21:30 , Holly Evans

Russia and Iran’s foreign ministers on Sunday called for a ceasefire in Gaza and said that urgent assistance must be given to the civilian population there.

Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian at the request of Tehran.

“During the conversation, main attention was focused on the current situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.

Ukrainian teen returns to Ukraine after being taken to Russia from occupied Mariupol

Sunday 19 November 2023 20:39 , Holly Evans

Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied city of Mariupol during the war and prevented from leaving the country earlier this year returned to Ukraine on Sunday.

Bohdan Yermokhin, who turned 18 on Sunday, appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy this month to help bring him back to Ukraine. In March, he tried to leave Russia for Ukraine via Belarus, but was stopped and sent back.

“I believed I would be in Ukraine, but not on this day,” Yermokhin told Reuters while eating at a petrol station after crossing into Ukraine.

“This is a very pleasant gift, to put it in the right way. The emotions are overwhelming, all good, with the notion that Ukraine needs me.”

Zelenskiy welcomed Yermokhin’s return in his nightly video address.

“Many attempts were made to help him. I am happy everything worked out,” he said, expressing thanks to Ukrainian officials, international organisations, and particularly the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and authorities in Qatar for help in mediation.

Hungary’s Orban says Ukraine ‘light years away’ from joining EU

Sunday 19 November 2023 19:30 , Athena Stavrou

Hungary’s prime minister has said Ukraine is “light years away” from joining the European Union, further signalling that his government is likely to present a roadblock to Kyiv’s ambitions to join the bloc.

Speaking at a biannual congress of his nationalist Fidesz party, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he and his government would “resist” talks scheduled for mid-December on whether to formally invite Ukraine to start membership negotiations.

Admitting a new country requires unanimous approval from all existing member countries, giving Mr Orban a powerful veto.

Mr Orban said afterwards that standing in the way of Ukraine joining the EU would be one of his government’s top priorities in the coming months.

“Our task will be to correct the mistaken promise to start negotiations with Ukraine, since Ukraine is now light years away from the European Union,” Mr Orban said.

ICYMI: In Russia, more Kremlin critics are being imprisoned as intolerance of dissent grows

Sunday 19 November 2023 18:45 , Athena Stavrou

Russia under President Vladimir Putin has been closing in on those who challenge the Kremlin. Protesters and activists have been arrested or imprisoned, independent news outlets have been silenced, and various groups have been added to registers of “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations.”

The crackdown has been going on for years.

Full report:

In Russia, more Kremlin critics are being imprisoned as intolerance of dissent grows

Ukraine ‘preparing for winter attacks'

Sunday 19 November 2023 18:00 , Athena Stavrou

Ukraine is preparing for further attacks on their energy grid this winter.

In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian president Zelensky said that the “closer we are to winter, the more Russians will try to make the strikes more powerful.”

Zelenksy has previously raised concerns over Russian attacks on Ukraines energy grid - which became a prime target last year.

Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, the head of energy firm Ukrenergo, told local media: “All of us energy workers and defence forces are preparing to repel possible Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure this winter.”

Thousands of Ukrainian children forcefully taken to Belarus via Russia, study finds

Sunday 19 November 2023 17:15 , Athena Stavrou

Thousands of children from Ukraine aged between six and 17 years old have been forcefully transferred to 13 facilities across Belarus since Russia ‘s invasion last year , a study by Yale University has found.

The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health found that the transfer of 2,442 children was “directly overseen” by Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko – a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin .

Ukrainian teen who was taken to Russia from occupied Mariupol returns to Ukraine

Sunday 19 November 2023 16:30 , Athena Stavrou

A Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied city of Mariupol during the war and prevented from leaving the country earlier this year returned to Ukraine on Sunday.

Ukraine says 20,000 children have been illegally transferred to Russia since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, with some being put up for adoption. Kyiv says this is a war crime, an allegation denied by Russia, which says it was protecting children in a war zone.

Yermokhin, an orphan from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol that was captured by Moscow’s troops during the first year of the war, was taken to Russia and placed in a foster family in the Moscow region.

On Sunday, Reuters correspondents at Kortelisy, a Ukrainian village near the border with Belarus, saw Yermokhin driven into Ukraine from the border in a van. Asked if he was glad to be back in Ukraine, Yermokhin said “yes”.

🇺🇦Bohdan Yermokhin is in Ukraine! Together with other state authorities, the team of the Office of the Ombudsman worked out a way to return the boy within the framework of the implementation of the approved @bkb_ua action plan of the President of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/0wGh9fQtI4 — Dmytro Lubinets (@lubinetzs) November 19, 2023

Putin to take part in G20 summit

Sunday 19 November 2023 15:45 , Athena Stavrou

Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to take part in a virtual G20 summit next week, according to local media.

The conference is set to be hosted by India and happen on Wednesday, as reported by Russian news agency TASS, citing the TV channel ‘Russia-1’.

Putin did not attend the last two G20 meetings in India in September and Indonesia last year. He has taken few trips outside Russia since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.

Latest pictures from Ukraine

Sunday 19 November 2023 15:03 , Athena Stavrou

Sunday 19 November 2023 14:20 , Athena Stavrou

Despite slow progress, the War in Ukraine has not reached a stalemate.

Ukraine’s forces can only win if the West shows a renewed commitment to forcing Russia out, James Nixey writes:

Around 3,000 trucks stuck at Ukrainian border

Sunday 19 November 2023 13:19 , Athena Stavrou

About 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks were stuck on the Polish side of the border as of Sunday morning due to a more than 10-day blockade by Polish truckers, Ukrainian authorities said.

“For over 10 days, Ukrainian drivers have been blocked at the Polish border. Thousands of people are forced to live in difficult conditions with limited food, water and fuel,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Ukraine‘s Prime Minister, said on X, formerly Twitter.

Ukrainian grain brokers said last week Ukraine‘s shipments of food by road decreased 2.7% in the first 13 days of November due to difficulties on the Polish border caused by a drivers’ strike.

Sunday 19 November 2023 12:05 , Athena Stavrou

The Ukrainian army said on Sunday that it has pushed Russian forces back “three to eight kilometres” from the banks of Dnipro river.

If confirmed, it would be the first meaningful advance by Kyiv’s forces months into a disappointing counteroffensive.

“Preliminary figures vary from three to eight kilometres, depending on the specifics, geography and landscape design of the left bank,” army spokeswoman Natalia Gumenyuk told Ukrainian television Sunday, without specifying whether Ukraine’s military had complete control of the area or if the Russians had retreated.

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in the southern Kherson region for more than a year, after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank last November.

Ukrainian forces have staged multiple attempts to cross and hold positions on the Russian-controlled side -- with officials in Kyiv finally reporting a “successful” breakthrough last week.

‘Greater fighting capacity' of Ukrainian recruits trained by UK

Sunday 19 November 2023 11:54 , Athena Stavrou

A Ukrainian military spokesperson has said recruits trained in the UK’s Interflex training course have a “greater fighting capacity”.

Operation Interflex was launched by the UK Armed Forces in June 2022 to develop and better prepare Ukrainian soldiers. Recruits spend five weeks in the UK receiving intense training.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that 30,000 Ukrainians have been trained through Op Interflex.

They shared a comment from a Ukrainian armed forces spokesperson that said: “We notice the greater fighting capacity of the servicemen and women of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who completed the Interflex training course.”

"We notice the greater fighting capacity of the servicemen and women of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who completed the Interflex training course."- Maj Gen Oleksii Taran, Armed Forces of Ukraine. 30,000 Ukrainians have been trained through Op Interflex. 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/S2Z3nvUe4L — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 19, 2023

Five hurt in Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukraine says

Sunday 19 November 2023 10:56 , Athena Stavrou

Five people including a 3-year-old girl were injured in Russian artillery shelling of Kherson on Sunday morning, Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.

“All of them sustained shrapnel wounds. The child and the grandmother were walking in the yard. Enemy artillery hit them near the entrance,” Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian troops abandoned Kherson and the western bank of the Dnipro River in the region late last year, but now regularly shell those areas from positions on the eastern bank.

Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

Ukrainian forces work to push back Putin’s troops on key river

Sunday 19 November 2023 10:15 , Athena Stavrou

Ukrainian troops worked to push back Russian forces positioned on the east bank of the Dnieper River, the military said Saturday.

It comes a day after Ukraine claimed to have secured multiple bridgeheads on that side of the river that divides the country’s partially occupied Kherson region.

Ukraine’s establishment of footholds on on the Russian-held bank of the Dnieper represents a small but potentially significant strategic advance in the midst of a war largely at a standstill.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said its troops there had repelled 12 attacks by the Russian army between Friday and Saturday.

The Ukrainians now were trying to “push back Russian army units as far as possible in order to make life easier for the (western) bank of the Kherson region, so that they get shelled less,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, said.

The Russian military said on Saturday it had heavily bombed Ukrainian forces around the River Dnipro in southern Ukraine and killed up to 75 Ukrainian soldiers.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claim.

Jailed Russian nationalist Girkin 'wants to run for president'

Sunday 19 November 2023 09:49 , Athena Stavrou

Pro-war Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who is in custody awaiting trial for inciting extremism, has said he wants to run for president in the March 2024 election, his supporters said, citing a letter from prison.

A presidential election in Russia is set to take place in March 2024 with current president Vladimir Putin expected to also run once again.

Girkin has repeatedly warned that Russia faces revolution and even civil war unless Putin’s military top brass fight the war in Ukraine more effectively.

Oleg Nelzin, co-chairman of the Russian movement supporting Strelkov, read out a letter from Girkin in which he asked supporters to start work on putting him forward to run in the March election.

A picture of Girkin, 52, above a slogan “Our president - Igor Ivanovich Strelkov - ‘24,” was projected on a screen behind Nelzin as he spoke. Applause followed at the meeting, a clip of which Girkin’s supporters posted on Telegram.

Russia has cracked down on nationalist critics, who have called for a much tougher approach to fighting the war including martial law and a country-wide mobilisation, after the failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Russia ‘considering bringing Soviet-era aircraft back into service'

Sunday 19 November 2023 09:10 , Athena Stavrou

Russia is likely considering bringing a Soviet-era aircraft back into service, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.

In their latest defence intelligence update, the UK said the M-55 MYSTIC B high altitude reconnaissance aircraft may come back into service.

With an operating ceiling of over 70,000 feet, the aircraft has been recently employed as an earth-sciences research platform. However, it has been observed carrying a military reconnaissance pod, developed for employment on Russian fighter aircraft.

The defence ministry added that it was “almost certain” that the aircraft will conduct missions against Ukraine from the “relative safety of Russian airspace”.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 19 November 2023. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/wHi1SebuZi 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/XYFXSU8hKd — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 19, 2023

Zelensky issues sanctions for 108 people

Sunday 19 November 2023 08:38 , Athena Stavrou

Ukrainian Presidenty Zelensky has sanctioned 37 Russian groups and 108 people including a former prime minister and a former education minister.

“We are increasing the pressure of our state onto them and each of them must be held responsible for what they have done,” he said in his nightly video address on Saturday, after his office issued corresponding decrees with his signature.

Zelenskiy did not associate specific individuals or groups with particular wrongdoings. The decrees showed a range of 10-year penalties against individuals and five-year penalties against non-profit groups including one named in English as the “Russian Children’s Foundation.”

Zelenskiy said in his address that the list included “those involved in the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied territory” and individuals who “in various ways help Russian terror against Ukraine.”

Dmytro Tabachnyk, a former minister of education and science who had his Ukrainian citizenship stripped from him in February, and ex-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov were also included in the sanctions.

With former President Viktor Yanukovich, Azarov previously had assets and property frozen among other penalties. The two men fled Ukraine for Russia in 2014 after a crackdown on street protests that killed more than 100 demonstrators in Kyiv.

Sunday 19 November 2023 07:48 , Andy Gregory

Russia launched several waves of drone attacks on Kyiv for the second night in row, stepping up its assaults on the Ukrainian capital after several weeks of pause, the head of the city’s military administration has said.

“The enemy’s UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were launched in many groups and attacked Kyiv in waves, from different directions, at the same time constantly changing the vectors of movement along the route,” Serhiy Popko said.

“That is why the air raid alerts were announced several times in the capital.”

According to preliminary information Ukraine’s air defence systems hit close to 10 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones in Kyiv and its outskirts, Mr Popko said.

There have been no initial reports of “critical damage” or casualties, he added.

Sunday 19 November 2023 06:00 , Holly Evans

But Kamianka, in eastern Ukraine , also has a dark history of violence. Its strategic position on the banks of the Siversky Donets River made it a battleground for armies over the ages.

Read the full story from Kim Sengupta here

Bombs and betrayal: Plight of one Ukraine village highlights toll of Russian invasion

Sunday 19 November 2023 05:00 , Holly Evans

But it increased within days of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when Russia adopted a law criminalizing the spreading of “false information” about the military, effectively outlawing any public expression about the war that deviated from the official narrative. Scores of people have been prosecuted under the new law, and those implicated in high-profile cases have been given long prison terms.

Read more here

The Lazarus Project star says series predicted Russia-Ukraine war

Sunday 19 November 2023 04:00 , Holly Evans

Former Bank of Russia deputy placed on Moscow’s wanted list

Sunday 19 November 2023 03:00 , Holly Evans

Russia’s interior ministry has placed former Bank of Russia deputy governor and senior politician Sergei Aleksashenko on its wanted list, Russian state news agencies have reported.

Mr Aleksashenko, who has criticised Russia’s war in Ukraine, has been living in exile in the United States after falling out with President Vladimir Putin’s government and had already been designated a “foreign agent”.

Tass reported that Mr Aleksashenko had been added to the interior ministry’s wanted list on an unspecified criminal charge. Mr Aleksashenko said on Telegram that he had been listed on the database for five years already, but suggested that being added to the wanted list was a new development.

Earlier this week, Vasiliy Piskarev – who leads the Duma’s committee on investigating foreign interference – accused Mr Aleksashenko and economist Sergei Guriev of being engaged in shaping sanctions against Russia through their involvement with Stanford University’s international working group on Russian sanctions.

The world's attention is on Gaza, and Ukrainians worry war fatigue will hurt their cause

Sunday 19 November 2023 02:00 , Holly Evans

When Tymofii Postoiuk and his friends set up an online fundraising effort for Ukraine, donations poured in from around the globe, helping to purchase essential equipment for Ukrainian armed forces.

As the fighting with Russia wore on and war fatigue set in, the donations slowed down, but money continued to come in steadily. Then the Israel- Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7.

With the start of another major conflict, social media networks including X, formerly known as Twitter, were flooded with news from the Middle East . “Our fundraising posts and updates simply get lost in between those tweets,” Postoiuk said.

Sunday 19 November 2023 01:00 , Holly Evans

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president in March, accusing him and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Ukraine pushes back Russian troops from Dnieper River

Sunday 19 November 2023 00:00 , Holly Evans

Ukrainian troops worked to push back Russian forces positioned on the east bank of the Dnieper River, the military said Saturday, a day after Ukraine claimed to have secured multiple bridgeheads on that side of the river that divides the country’s partially occupied Kherson region.

Ukraine‘s establishment of footholds on on the Russian-held bank of the Dnieper represents a small but potentially significant strategic advance in the midst of a war largely at a standstill.

The General Staff of Ukraine‘s armed forces said its troops there had repelled 12 attacks by the Russian army between Friday and Saturday. The Ukrainians now were trying to “push back Russian army units as far as possible in order to make life easier for the (western) bank of the Kherson region, so that they get shelled less,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine‘s Southern Operational Command, said.

In response, the Russian military used “tactical aviation,” including Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones, to try to pin down Ukraine‘s troops, Humeniuk said.

The harrowing Ukraine war doc '20 Days in Mariupol' is coming to TV. Here's how to watch

The visceral documentary “20 Days in Mariupol ,” about Russia’s early assault on the Ukrainian city, will soon reach its widest audience yet.

The 94-minute film, a joint production by The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” has been met with critical acclaim and an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival.

AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov directed the movie from 30 hours of footage shot in Mariupol in the opening days of the war. Chernov and AP colleagues Evgeniy Maloletka, a photographer, and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko were the last international journalists in the city before escaping.

Ukraine says it is pushing Putin’s forces back in ‘successes’ on Dnipro River’s east bank

Saturday 18 November 2023 23:00 , Holly Evans

Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian soldiers out of positions on the eastern bank of the River Dnipro in the occupied Kherson region, Kyiv’s military said on Friday.

Crossing the Dnipro and transporting heavy military equipment and supplies over the river could allow Ukrainian troops to open a new line of attack in the south on the most direct land route to Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014.

The Ukrainian marines said that they had had a series of “successes”, established several bridgeheads and conducted other operations on the river’s eastern side. Russia conceded for the first time this week that Kyiv’s troops had crossed the Dnipro.

Read the full story here

Ukraine says it is pushing Russia back in ‘successes’ on Dnipro River’s east bank

Two dead in Russian strikes near front line

Saturday 18 November 2023 22:00 , Holly Evans

At least two people have died and several more were injured after Russian strikes hit a village near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian police said.

The strikes occurred in the village of Komyshuvakha.

“As a result of the first two strikes, four local residents were injured and a fire broke out in a residential building,” Ukrainian police said in a statement.

“When the police and rescuers arrived at the scene, Russians conducted another strike. Two emergency service workers were killed, and three more were injured.”

The Moscow Times is declared 'foreign agent’

Saturday 18 November 2023 21:00 , Holly Evans

Russia ‘s Justice Ministry on Friday added The Moscow Times, an online newspaper popular among Russia’s expatriate community, to its list of “foreign agents” in the country’s continuing crackdown on critical news media and opposition.

The “foreign agent” designation subjects individuals and organizations to increased financial scrutiny and requires any of their public material to prominently include notice of being declared a foreign agent. The label is seen as a pejorative aimed at undermining the designees’ credibility.

The Moscow Times, noted for its English coverage of Russia, is declared a 'foreign agent'

Dozens of migrants wait at Finland-Russia border after Helsinki blocks crossings

Saturday 18 November 2023 20:00 , Holly Evans

Dozens of migrants stood behind barriers at two crossings on Finland’s border with Russia on Saturday, the Finnish Border Guard said, after Helsinki erected barricades to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow.

The Finnish government has accused Russia of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin.

The Finnish Border Guard erected barriers from midnight on Friday at the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border posts in southeast Finland, which account for most of the traffic between the two countries.

Saturday 18 November 2023 19:00 , Holly Evans

Aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Zaporizhhzia region

Saturday 18 November 2023 17:52 , Jabed Ahmed

Pictures below show firefighters working at the site where houses were damaged by a Russian drone strike, in the Zaporizhzhia region on Friday night.

Ukrainian police said Russia fired a series of rockets at the village of Komyshuvakha, close to the frontline in Zaporizhzhia, which Russia annexed last year.

Two first responders were also killed by the rocket attacks.

Russian doctors call for release of imprisoned artist who protested Ukraine war

Saturday 18 November 2023 17:30 , Jabed Ahmed

More than 100 Russian doctors have signed an open letter today that demands the immediate release of Sasha Skochilenko, an artist and musician who was sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing supermarket price tags with anti-war slogans.

The letter calling for the artist to be freed was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned that time in prison could lead to a “significant deterioration” in the 33-year-old artist’s health.

Skochilenko was “diagnosed with a number of severe chronic diseases that require proper medical supervision and a special diet,” states the letter, which also notes the doctors’ anger at the “obvious injustice of the verdict.”

Sasha Skochilenko, 33, a self-described pacifist, appeared in a St Petersburg court on 17 November after 19 months of pre-trial detention.

She was  charged last April  with discrediting Russia’s armed forces and spreading misinformation about the “special military operation”.

"The Russian army bombed an arts school in Mariupol. Some 400 people were hiding in it from the shelling," one replaced price tag read. Another said, "Russian conscripts are being sent to Ukraine. Lives of our children are the price of this war."

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David Oyelowo talks playing the real man at the heart of Taylor Sheridan's buzzy new show 'Lawmen: Bass Reeves': 'I simply couldn't believe that this was a historical character'

Oyelowo says he quickly "became obsessed" with the inspiration for the show.

Angel Reese sits out LSU game after benching amid messy situation in Baton Rouge

There has been a lot of public sniping around LSU in the last few days, with Reese at the center.

'Saltburn' director Emerald Fennell on why she would never force an actor to do a nude scene

Writer-director follows up Oscar-winning 'Promising Young Woman' with comedic thriller set at wealthy British manor.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Last call for Skylar Mays

It's a youth movement, as this week's fantasy hoops pickups are highlighted by several rookies and second-year players.