Product Roadmap Slide Template – The Flyover Method

Articulating your product roadmap to your stakeholders in a way that’s easy to understand is the gold standard for Product Managers. One way PMs have done that in the past is through a product roadmap slide or product roadmap presentation. This simple view of your roadmap is able to show off your entire product strategy in one fell swoop. But is it still fit for purpose? 

I think there’s a better alternative to the product roadmap slide 🛩️. 

Now don’t worry, I’m still going to give you all the insights you need to know about the product roadmap slide – there’s even a template or two if you really want to make one – but I am also going to make the case for something wayyy better: The flyover method. 

As the inventor of the best product roadmap format – Now-Next-Later –  I know a thing or two about product roadmaps. It’s kind of my jam. if you can’t trust me then honestly I don’t know who you can.

Over the years I’ve talked to thousands of Product Managers who struggle with the product roadmap slide, be that not understanding what it’s for, or struggling with the demand making one brings. 

Here’s my advice on the product roadmap slide, what it’s for, as well as a template to help you achieve the same effect more easily.

What is a product roadmap slide?

A product roadmap slide is a one-page presentation slide that shows off your roadmap and strategy. It’s a top-level visual of your roadmap that’s stripped of extra detail so that various stakeholders can get the core idea without being bogged down by nuance they might not care about. 

It’s the spark notes of your roadmap. The condensed TL;DR version including high-level data like your Objectives and the initiatives  

What’s the point of a product roadmap slide? 

The aim of a product roadmap slide is to make sure that all your cross-functional teams and external stakeholders have a clear idea of what’s going on. It’s a way to communicate and collaborate and remove the shroud of shadow and mystery that can fall over the Product Team if it’s not shared. 

Of course, when making a product roadmap slide, you don’t want to overshare. Take a look at your current roadmap. It may be a little cluttered. That extra detail is great for you, but may not be necessary for whoever you’re presenting the slide for. You’re trying to show your strategy in a clear and concise way that shows what work is coming up in a way that isn’t too granular. 

Why is that simplicity important? Because you need to make sure that the conversation doesn’t get too focused on the outcomes. The detail will derail your ability to present your strategy. 

A roadmap slide comes into its own when you’re trying to convey the big picture – it’s a visual aid that shows your product strategy, how it fits with business goals, and how you aim to deliver against those strategic objectives. It’s a way to create a dialouge without giving away things you aren’t ready to share or getting bogged down in specifics.

Who is a product roadmap slide for?

A product roadmap slide can be for ANYONE. Any single type of stakeholder can benefit from getting a view of your roadmap through a product roadmap slide. They can be both external or internal:

• C-Suite Executives – They want to see how your roadmap aligns with business goals, growth strategies, and long-term vision.
• Sales – They need insight into upcoming features and improvements to help shape their pitches and set customer expectations.
• Product Marketing – They rely on roadmap updates to plan campaigns, content, and product launches effectively.
• Customer Success – They use the roadmap to anticipate customer needs, manage expectations, and provide proactive support.
• Product Developers – They benefit from understanding what’s coming next and how their work fits into product development.
• Customers – They want to know when they can expect new product features, improvements, and bug fixes that enhance their experience.

Now here’s something important. Ideally, you’re not making a single product roadmap slide to be used for all these stakeholders. Instead, the aim should be to make a customized product roadmap slide for each individual type of stakeholder. 

This is because each stakeholder is looking to learn different things. They care about different aspects. A Product roadmap slide for your financial and product-led growth focused C-Suite stakeholders should include different things that a product roadmap slide for your Customer Success Team.

As a product roadmap slide is something that you make manually, crafting one for each stakeholder at a regular cadence is a lot of work. It’s time-consuming. 

Is there a better way? There sure is.

Do you actually need to create a product roadmap slide? 

In this day and age, creating a single, one-slide product roadmap presentation is a bit outdated, and it doesn’t align well with other principles of creating a good product roadmap. 

For starters, a roadmap presentation slide is static, a single snapshot in time that gets outdated quickly. If your stakeholders only have this small window into your roadmap, they’re not getting a full, consistent picture of what’s going on. This can quickly lead to misalignment if you’re not updating them often enough.

Plus, you need to make multiple versions of your product roadmap slide. This is time-consuming and is taking you away from he strategic part of your work – the meat and bones of Product Management. So what do you do now?

Well, If I’m going to be honest with you all, I don’t think you need to create a product roadmap slide at all – in fact, I think it’s best if you don’t. 

Instead, I think it’s better to show a high-level view of your product roadmap. I think you need to give stakeholders access to a dynamic, modified version of your roadmap. To do that, let’s explain The Flyover Method 🛩️. 

What is the flyover method? 

Instead of creating a product roadmap slide, I suggest giving stakeholders a public product roadmap. The flyover method is our funky, catchy name for giving a stakeholder access to this public roadmap view. It provides a framework for how to create it that makes sure we’re doing it right and achieving the main aims of a product roadmap slide. 

“Can I have a look at the product roadmap, please?”
“Sure, we’ll give you a flyover.”

We call it the flyover because it neatly describes the core characteristics of what makes a good public product roadmap. A flyover is a low flight over a certain area to record details about it. Think FBI or MI5 reconnaissance missions. They get a bird’s eye view of the area: exactly what you want to do when sharing a public product roadmap. 

You don’t want to get too granular, instead the aim is to focus on top-level details so that they get the gist. By using the flyover method, you’re creating a public roadmap that strips back the specific details, such as Ideas and Target Dates.You don’t have to provide a deep dive into everything, just focus on the core aims in each time horizon. 

Another key aspect of creating a public product roadmap with the flyover method is that it’s dynamic. Instead of a product roadmap slide that’s rigid and set in stone like it’s just finished a staring contest with Medusa, it changes in real-time. This means that every time a stakeholder accesses their public product roadmap link, they see the most up-to-date version instead of a static document that was created a week ago. 

That’s where flyover fits again, as you’re moving over the roadmap, not just hovering in one single place or moment in time. 

How to make a public product roadmap with the flyover method

So how do you actually make a public roadmap that incorporates the ideas of the flyover method? Well before you do anything, you need to answer a few questions: 

Who is your audience? 

Think about who you’re creating the public roadmap for. Think about what they care about and what they want to see. For example, C-Suite stakeholders might be more curious about how your work aligns with long-term goals and drives growth. This dictates that you should include your product vision and strategic plans in your public roadmap, and the objectives your initiatives link to, but you can leave out actual Ideas and prioritzation model scores. 

Internal teams like Customer Support might value seeing the feedback and ideas from customers on their public roadmap view, while Sales might be keen to see User Personas and User Stories – which you can add on ProdPad – to help them focus their messaging. 

Understanding who you’re creating this public roadmap for will dictate what is included.

How transparent should you be?

Before you put together your public roadmap, you need to decide just how much you want to share. Transparency is great for building trust with customers and stakeholders, but there’s a fine line between being open and oversharing.

For example, sharing high-level themes and priorities helps set expectations without locking you into specific deadlines. On the other hand, if you include too much detail – like every feature in progress or precise release dates – you risk disappointing customers when things shift (because they will shift).

Think about what level of transparency aligns with your company’s communication style and risk tolerance. Some teams keep things broad and strategic, while others are happy to go deep into specifics. Striking the right balance ensures your roadmap is useful without becoming a source of frustration.

Once you know these things, you’re in a better position to create your public roadmap.  

In ProdPad, you can easily share public roadmaps and configure exactly what you want to share by toggling on and off different initiatives, time horizon columns, and much more. 

Gee, that’s a lot easier than making a manual product roadmap slide.

Once you’re happy, generate a secure link to the roadmap and share it with who you want to give this view. Crucially the stakeholders who get their hands on the public view will NOT be able to make any changes to the roadmap – just like how a pilot in a flyover can’t alter or change the landscape they’re viewing in any way. 

Start a free trial with ProdPad to start making public product roadmaps with the flyover method, and kiss the product roadmap slide goodbye.

ProdPad’s public roadmap

There’s a saying that goes something like, don’t copy what I say, copy I what I do. Well, with ProdPad you can do both. 

We have and always will have a public version of our product roadmap available for anyone to vist and check out, so that you can see what we’re working on and how the product is improving. It’s a great resource for users and potential customers to check out, but it’s also a great example of what a public product roadmap should look like. 

Here’s a snapshot:

A key take away is that there are no timelines, just the bare-bones headline ideas and key milestones – and not too many of them – and the goal or goals that they are intended to achieve. The headlines are backed up with a sentence or two that gives a little more detail about the initiative so that the reader can see how our activity links to our strategy. It’s easy to take in and understand, which is the main goal of a public product roadmap and product roadmap slide. 

We also have a feedback widget enabled on the page because we want to hear from our customers: 

Remember that your roadmap is a prototype for your strategy, your version of the strategy based on what you know today. Use the roadmap to facilitate dialogue with external stakeholders who may have a wider view of the world and whose views can be used to inform your strategy.

Product roadmap slide vs the flyover method

Now, I’ve not been subtle about my thoughts about what method is better when sharing an overview of your product roadmap. But, to really make it clear,  let’s compare these options side-by-side.

Product roadmap slide – pros and cons 

✅ It’s available on and offline
✅ You’re in complete control of what you put on the slide
✅ It exists within a presentation and can be quickly added to other people’s slide deck 

❌ It’s manual – you have to create the slide by hand every time
❌ It’s static and can become outdated really quickly
❌ A slide is set at a restrictive 16:9 size ratio – good luck fitting everything on there
❌ You have to make multiple versions for different audiences
❌ Cumbersome file sizes – you can really clog up a company’s server
❌ Once shared people can add whatever they want and mess it all up

Public roadmap (the flyover) – pros and cons

✅ It’s available on and offline (just like the product roadmap slide)
✅ You’re in complete control of what you put on it (again, just like the product roadmap slide)
✅ It’s quick and easy to make 
✅ You can make multiple versions for different stakeholders effortlessly
✅ The public roadmap is always up-to-date
✅ There’s no edit access available so your roadmap can’t be ruined

❌ Um, I don’t know, it might make people envious of how good you are at your job?

Seriously, when comparing a product roadmap slide with a public roadmap, there’s no competition.

Public Product roadmap templates 

If you want to check out some examples of killer public product roadmaps, we’ve got plenty of them chilling in our interactive sandbox environment. Our sandbox is a free-to-access version of ProdPad, where you can explore its full functionality and learn how our Now-Next-Later roadmap works. 

We’ve got a customizable template and other roadmap examples for you to explore, ranging from startup product roadmaps to roadmaps for various types of product lines. 

Start using our product roadmap template to easily create a public view and remove the need to create manual, time-consuming product roadmap slides. Give your stakeholders the full picture by adopting the flyover method.