Best Product Roadmap Tools of 2024

Having a winning product roadmap is crucial in today's dynamic business landscape — and the right tools can make a difference in achieving success.

With so many options available, finding the right tool that suits your team's unique needs can significantly impact your business growth trajectory.

This blog post will explore a list of product roadmap software, key benefits, and essential features that empower teams to collaborate, prioritize, streamline workflows and elevate project management practices.

TL;DR: Product roadmap tools

1. Scribe
2. Airtable
3. Productboard
4. Aha!
5. ProductPlan
6. Roadmunk
7. Jira

What is a product roadmap?

A product roadmap is a strategic planning and communication tool that outlines the vision, direction, and timeline for product development. It serves as a high-level visual representation of the product's evolution over time.

Product roadmaps:

• Guide the product team, stakeholders, and relevant parties in understanding the product's growth and alignment with business objectives.
• Provide a clear and coherent plan for product development.
• Ensure all team members and stakeholders are on the same page regarding the product's direction.
• Answer questions about product management.

What are product roadmap tools? 

Product roadmap tools are designed to help product managers and teams create, manage and communicate product roadmaps effectively, including:

• Digital platforms for visualizing, planning, and tracking product or service development.
• Software solutions to streamline roadmap creation and enhance collaboration.
• Web-based SaaS models for accessing and utilizing product roadmap software through internet browsers.

7 best product roadmap tools

While there are various product roadmapping software out there, we believe some are better built than others, particularly concerning specialized features and fulfilling enterprise road mapping requirements.

Here are the top 7 product roadmap tools to try in 2024. 

1. Sc‎ribe

‎G2 rating: 4.8/5

Capterra rating: 4.9/5

Overview:

Scribe is a versatile and robust IT documentation generation tool that can be repurposed and used creatively as a product roadmap tool for tech development projects and teams.

Scribe is an AI-powered documentation software that simplifies capturing your on-screen movements during any process, automatically creating visual step-by-step guides.

Save hours with Scribe by automating process documents, creating how-to guides to answer repeat questions, and building SOPs to train your team.

The following features make Scribe a great product roadmap software:

• Structured documentation: Whether you want to help your team master any tool (whether it's Workday, GSuite, Jira, or another solution) or quickly solve employees’ technical problems, Scribe allows you to create foolproof technical documentation in seconds! It provides a structured way to effectively organize and present information and communicate your product's vision, key initiatives, and timelines.
• Versioning and history: Scribe supports versioning and keeps track of document changes over time. This feature can be utilized to maintain a history of product roadmaps, making it easier to review past versions and track the evolution of the product strategy.
• Collaboration and sharing: Scribe enables collaborative editing and sharing capabilities. This allows product teams to collaborate on the roadmap, gather feedback from stakeholders, and ensure everyone is aligned on the product vision.
• Integration of visuals: Users can include images, diagrams, charts and other visual elements when creating roadmaps. Product teams can use these visual elements to represent the roadmap timeline, milestone dates, and other important information.
• Customization: It enables the customization of document templates, styles, and branding, allowing Product teams to tailor the look and feel of the roadmap to match their organization's branding or presentation preferences.
• Template library: Scribe has a wide range of pre-built templates tailored to various IT documentation needs, such as network diagrams, system configurations, hardware inventory, software licenses, and more.
• Security and access control: With Scribe, users enjoy role-based access control to manage permissions and restrict access to sensitive IT documentation.
• Search and retrieval options: Users can enjoy Scribe’s advanced search capabilities to find specific information within the documentation repository quickly.
• Exporting/publishing: Export documents via email, embed them in your wikis or LMS, export in various formats (e.g., PDF, HTML or Markdown) and publish them internally or on a knowledge base for easy access.
• IT documentation lifecycle management: Scribe supports the entire lifecycle of IT documentation, including creation, review, approval, publication, and archiving.

Scribe integrates with other software to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. Some common integrations include:

• Project management tools: Scribe integrates seamlessly with project management platforms like Notion, ‎ClickUp or Airtable to sync tasks and updates between the tools.
• Communication tools: With Scribe, users can integrate with communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to receive updates or notifications within these platforms.
• Version control systems: Integration with version control systems like Confluence to link roadmap items with code changes and development progress.
• Analytics platforms: You can integrate with analytics tools to track the performance of features and gather user feedback for future iterations.
• Customer support systems: Integrate with customer support software to capture and address customer feedback and feature requests.

2. Ai‎rtable

G2 rating: 4.6/5

Capterra rating: 4.7/5

Overview:

Airtable is a versatile cloud-based database and collaboration platform that offers flexibility and customization options, making it suitable for various use cases, including product roadmapping. The following features make Airtable an excellent product roadmap software:

• Roadmap table: With Airtable, you can create a table to represent your product roadmap. Each record in the table can represent a specific feature, task, or milestone. Columns can be used to capture essential details such as feature descriptions, priority, status, target release dates, and assigned team members.
• Visualization: Airtable provides various views, including Grid view, Calendar view, and Kanban view, which can help you visualize your product roadmap in different ways. For instance, the Grid view can present your roadmap as a traditional table, while the Calendar view can show milestones and deadlines on a timeline.
• Collaboration and communication: Airtable allows multiple team members to collaborate on the same table simultaneously. This makes it easy for product managers, developers, designers, and other stakeholders to stay updated, make changes, and discuss progress in real-time.
• Integration: Airtable offers integration options with various third-party tools and services. You can link your roadmap data with other project management or communication tools to ensure a smooth workflow and data consistency.
• Customization: Airtable allows you to customize your product roadmap table with various field types, colors, and labels. This flexibility enables you to tailor the table to suit your team's specific needs and preferences.
• Attachments and documentation: You can attach relevant documents, mockups, or images to each record in Airtable, ensuring that all relevant information is centralized within the roadmap table.
• Mobile access: Airtable offers mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, allowing you and your team to access the roadmap on the go.

3. Pr‎oductboard

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Capterra rating: 4.7/5

Overview:

Productboard is a product roadmap software designed to help product managers and teams collect, prioritize, and organize customer feedback, feature requests, and ideas. The following features make Productboard a great product roadmap software:

• Idea collection and feedback management: Productboard allows you to collect and centralize product ideas and customer feedback from various sources, such as emails, support tickets, surveys, and user interviews. This helps product teams gain insights into customer needs and pain points, which can then be used to prioritize feature development.
• Roadmap visualization: The platform offers a visual roadmap that allows you to create a clear timeline of planned features, enhancements, and product releases. This helps communicate the product vision to stakeholders and team members.
• Priority score frameworks: Productboard provides prioritization frameworks like RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) and Value vs. Effort to help you objectively evaluate and rank features based on their potential impact and effort required for implementation.
• User persona alignment: You can align features and product initiatives with specific user personas, ensuring that the product development process remains customer-centric.
• Feature collaboration: Product team members and stakeholders can collaborate on features and initiatives directly within the platform. Users can upvote and comment on features, providing valuable feedback and helping the team focus on the most impactful ideas.
• Data-driven decision-making: It offers analytics and reporting features, providing insights into feature performance, user engagement, and customer feedback. This data empowers product managers to make informed decisions.
• Customizable workflows: Productboard can be tailored to fit your team's unique product development process, allowing you to adapt the tool to your specific needs.

4. Ah‎a!

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Capterra rating: 4.7/5

Overview:

Aha! is a comprehensive product management software with powerful product roadmap and strategy planning capabilities. It is designed to help product managers and teams create visual roadmaps, prioritize features, and align product development with business goals. The following features make Aha! a great product roadmap software:

• Visual roadmap creation: Aha! provides a flexible and customizable visual roadmap that allows product managers to create high-level strategic roadmaps and detailed release plans with timelines, milestones, and dependencies.
• Strategic planning capabilities: This product roadmap software enables product managers to set strategic goals, initiatives, and key performance indicators (KPIs) and then map features and enhancements to those objectives.
• Idea and feedback management: Aha! allows teams to capture and manage ideas and feedback from customers, stakeholders, and internal teams. Ideas can be linked to roadmap items for better prioritization.
• Prioritization and scorecards: Aha! offers various prioritization frameworks and scorecards to evaluate objectively and rank features based on impact, effort, and strategic alignment criteria.
• Integration with development tools: Aha! can integrate with popular development and project management tools, such as Jira, Trello, and Azure DevOps, to facilitate seamless collaboration between product and engineering teams.
• Idea portal for customer feedback: Customers can submit and vote on ideas, giving product teams valuable insights into customer needs and preferences.

5. Pr‎oductPlan

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Capterra rating: 4.4/5

Overview:

ProductPlan is a product roadmap software that product managers, development teams, and businesses use to plan, visualize, and communicate their product strategies. It provides a collaborative platform to create and share product roadmaps with stakeholders, helping teams align their efforts and prioritize tasks effectively.

The following features make ProductPlan a great product roadmap software:

• Intuitive roadmap creation: Users can easily create product roadmaps using drag-and-drop functionality, making it simple to add items, move them around, and adjust timelines.
• Customizable views: ProductPlan allows users to customize their roadmap views to suit different audiences and stakeholders. You can create high-level strategic roadmaps for executives and more detailed ones for development teams.
• Collaboration and sharing: Teams can collaborate in real-time, making it easy to gather feedback and make changes to the roadmap as needed. Roadmaps can be shared with stakeholders both within and outside the organization.
• Dependencies and timelines: It allows you to set dependencies between items and provides timeline visualization to better understand how various tasks are interconnected.
• Data visualization: It offers various visualization options, such as Gantt charts, list views, swimlanes, etc., to present the roadmap in a format that is most effective for the audience.
• Security and privacy: ProductPlan provides security measures and options to control access to sensitive product information, ensuring that only authorized individuals can view and edit the roadmap.

6. Ro‎admunk

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Capterra rating: 4.4/5

Overview:

Roadmunk is a roadmap tool for cross-functional teams, including product development and launch teams. With its dynamic drag-and-drop interface, users can easily visualize key item-level details by hovering over each field. Moreover, the Idea Prioritization tab aids effective brainstorming and prioritization of ideas using both customizable and pre-built frameworks (like RICE).

The following features make Roadmunk a great product roadmap software:

• Drag-and-drop interface: Roadmunk offers an intuitive interface where users can easily create, rearrange, and update items on the roadmap with a simple drag-and-drop functionality.
• Customizable roadmap views: Users can choose from various roadmap views, such as a timeline view, swimlane view, or a Gantt-style view, depending on their preference and the specific needs of their project.
• Data integration: Roadmunk allows users to import data from other tools, such as Jira, Trello, or Excel, to populate their roadmaps with existing project information.
• What-if scenarios: Users can create "what-if" scenarios to explore different strategies or potential roadmap changes without affecting the live roadmap.
• Roadmap filters and segmentation: Users can also apply filters to focus on specific items or segments of the roadmap, helping them analyze data from different angles.
• Visual elements and themes: The platform allows users to customize the appearance of their roadmaps with various visual elements, colors, and themes to match their branding or presentation needs.

7. Ji‎ra

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Capterra rating: 4.4/5

Overview:

Jira is primarily known as a popular project management and issue-tracking software developed by Atlassian. While Jira is not specifically designed as a dedicated product roadmap tool, software and mobile app development teams can adapt and use it to create and manage product roadmaps effectively.

The following features make Jira a great product roadmap software:

• Epics and versions: Jira allows you to create epics to represent high-level initiatives or features that form the basis of your product roadmap. These epics can be organized into different versions or sprints to outline your product's timeline and release plan.
• Custom issue types: Jira allows you to define custom issue types, such as "Features," "Bugs," or "Enhancements," which can align with the elements you want to include in your roadmap.
• Boards and filters: You can create boards and filters in Jira to display specific epics or issues related to your product roadmap. This way, you can focus on the relevant items and visualize the roadmap in a more organized manner.
• Integration with Confluence: Jira integrates with Confluence, Atlassian's collaboration platform, where you can create detailed product documentation and use it as a central hub for sharing and discussing the product roadmap.
• Third-party add-ons: While it may not have all the features of a dedicated product roadmap tool, various third-party add-ons and plugins in the Atlassian Marketplace can extend Jira's capabilities to include roadmapping features.

Features of product roadmap tools

For product leads looking to evaluate software solutions specifically to help them build a product roadmap, these key features are worth checking out:

• Roadmap visualization: Create visual representations of product roadmaps using timelines, swimlanes, or Gantt charts.
• Drag-and-drop functionality: Easily add, remove, and rearrange roadmap items through simple drag-and-drop actions.
• Collaboration and sharing features: Real-time sharing and commenting on the roadmap to facilitate collaboration among team members and stakeholders.
• Versioning and history tracking: Track changes made to the roadmap over time and maintain a version history.
• Integration with project management tools: Seamless transfer of roadmap items into actionable tasks and projects for the development team.
• Customization options: Ability to customize the appearance of the roadmap, including colors, labels, and themes.
• Security and access controls: Access controls and security features to protect sensitive product information.
• Filtering and views: Filter the roadmap to display specific information and provide tailored views for different audiences.
• Dependency mapping: Visualize and manage dependencies between resource allocation and risk management roadmap items.
• Integration with data and analytics: Integration with analytics tools, customer feedback platforms, or market research data for data-driven insights in roadmap decisions.

Benefits of product roadmaps for businesses

Product roadmaps play a crucial role in the success and growth of businesses across various industries. Here are some key benefits of product roadmaps:

• Increased project success: A product roadmap is a crucial project management tool, ensuring that teams stay aligned with strategic goals and meet project milestones.
• Strategic alignment: Product roadmaps align product development efforts with the overall business strategy.
• Enhanced team collaboration: A well-structured product roadmap encourages collaboration and provides a shared vision for the team.
• Resource optimization: Roadmaps optimize resource allocation, prevent wasting resources on less critical tasks, and maximize team efficiency.
• Time-to-market improvement: Companies prioritizing time-to-market achieve 40 percent higher returns to shareholders.
• Flexibility and adaptability: Product roadmaps provide a clear direction while remaining adaptable to changes in the market, technology, or customer requirements.
• Customer satisfaction: Personalized customer service and online solutions increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Increased revenue and profitability: Project management software, such as product roadmaps, contributes to revenue growth and improved profitability.

💡 ‎Related resource: The Ultimate Product Development Checklist

Choosing the right product roadmap tools

Choosing the right product roadmapping tool for your team can significantly impact your product development process. Here are some essential steps to help you make an informed decision:

• Identify your team's needs: Understand your team's specific requirements and pain points by involving key stakeholders, including product managers, developers, designers, and other relevant team members, to gather their input on the features and functionalities they need in a roadmapping tool.
• Consider collaboration and accessibility: Select a tool that promotes collaboration and allows multiple team members to work together simultaneously. Ensure that it offers accessibility across different devices and platforms to accommodate remote teams.
• Integration: Check if the tool integrates with your existing project management, task tracking, or development tools. Seamless integration streamlines workflows and avoids duplication of efforts.
• Visualization options: Different teams may prefer different visualization formats such as timelines, Gantt charts, or Kanban boards. Choose a tool that offers the most suitable visualization options for your team's needs.
• Ease of use: The tool should be user-friendly and intuitive, allowing team members to quickly grasp its features and start using it effectively without extensive training.
• Customization and flexibility: Ensure the tool allows you to tailor the roadmap to suit different audiences and stakeholder needs. Customization options should enable you to create high-level roadmaps for executives and detailed plans for development teams.
• Budget and scalability: Consider the tool's pricing and scalability. Ensure that it fits within your budget and can grow with your team's requirements as your product and team expand.
• Customer support and updates: Look for a product roadmapping tool backed by reliable customer support and regular updates. A responsive support team can help troubleshoot issues and address concerns promptly.
• Security and data privacy: If your product roadmapping activities involve sensitive or proprietary information, verify that the tool has adequate security measures and complies with data privacy regulations.
• User reviews and recommendations: Research user reviews and seek recommendations from peers or colleagues who have used the tool. Their experiences can provide valuable insights into the tool's strengths and weaknesses.
• Free trials/demos: Take advantage of free trials or demos offered by roadmapping tool providers. This will allow you to test the tool's features, usability, and compatibility with your team's workflow before making a commitment.

Product roadmap tools FAQs

Can I use product roadmaps for Agile development?

Yes, product roadmaps can be used for Agile development.

• Agile focuses on iterative development and continuous improvement.
• Agile roadmaps align development sprints with the product vision.
• Agile roadmaps are flexible and allow for changes and adaptations.
• Product roadmaps are helpful in Agile development for providing an overview of upcoming features and priorities.
• Product roadmaps foster collaboration between product managers and development teams.
• Product roadmaps keep stakeholders informed about the product's direction.

Who maintains your product roadmap?

Typically, ownership of roadmaps lies within the Product team, with the Product owner taking charge of its construction.

• A product manager may handle the roadmap single-handedly in smaller teams.
• In larger teams, responsibility for maintaining the roadmap could be distributed among multiple individuals, including other Product managers and professionals from different teams.
• When selecting a product roadmap tool, consider whether collaborative features are needed.
• Opt for a more collaborative road mapping software if multiple stakeholders require editing access.

What are the types of product roadmaps?

The different types of product roadmaps are:

• Strategic roadmap: High-level goals and initiatives for the product's contribution to the company's strategy.
• Tactical roadmap: Specific features and steps to achieve strategic objectives.
• Release roadmap: Upcoming product releases and features/enhancements for each release.
• Technology roadmap: Technical aspects of product development (infrastructure upgrades, technology dependencies).
• Marketing roadmap: Aligns marketing activities with product development timeline to support launch and promotion.

Conclusion: product roadmap tools

Ultimately, your organization's best product roadmap software will depend on your specific needs, team size, collaboration requirements, and budget. I recommend thoroughly evaluating each tool's features, pricing plans, and user reviews to make an informed decision that aligns with your product management goals.

Using the right tool will empower your product team to deliver customer-focused products and help your organization stay ahead in today's dynamic and competitive market.

Ready to create IT documentation in seconds, streamline collaboration, visualize your roadmap easily, and drive successful product launches? Get Scribe for free!