[2023] Roadmap Builder Tools: Your Path to Successful Project Planning

Strategic preparation is the key to success in the field of project management. Roadmaps are essential because they show how projects should be done from the beginning to the end. But to get the most out of them, you need to use “roadmap builders” software that makes making a roadmap easier. In this piece, we’ll dive into the world of roadmap builders and talk about what they are and how they can change how you plan projects.

Who is Going to be Responsible for Maintaining Your Product Roadmap?

Typically, the product team is the owner of the roadmaps. More precisely, the Product Owner will supervise the creation of the roadmap.

The product manager can function as a solo team member in smaller teams. In this case, their job will be to create and maintain the roadmap.

However, in larger teams, managing the roadmap might be assigned to several people. This could involve members of other teams, such as customer success managers, as well as other product managers.

This should be taken into account while selecting a roadmap builder tool.

In the event that a single individual is overseeing the plan, collaboration tools become less of an issue.

Nonetheless, you must select a more collaborative roadmapping program that allows editing access for multiple users.

More to read: 30 Must-have Customer Feedback Survey Questions

What Will be Shown on the Product Roadmap?

SaaS companies and even teams within the same company can use roadmaps for various purposes.

Some roadmaps are very detailed and show what is planned for the product in a lot of depth. Some, on the other hand, are simple, high-level views of what the future might be like.

Step one is to decide what kind of plan is best for your business. 

Ultimately, it all comes down to this: what do you want your plan to do? How does it help your business? Is it just a way for your Product team to keep all their ideas in one place, or is it also a way to show stakeholders what to expect? It could be both.

Once you know why you’re making this plan and what it will look like, you can pick the right roadmap builder tool. If you want more information, it doesn’t help to use a high-level roadmapping tool.

Who Will be Able to Use the Product Roadmap Tool?

Even though the product team usually gets the most out of the plan, other teams can use it.

Your Sales team, for example, could use your roadmap to tell clients about upcoming updates when they ask about them. Your Customer Success team may want to know how a customer’s feature request is coming along. Each team may need to see the plan differently.

If you think you’ll need this, your roadmap builder tool must let you do it.

Your customers are another group of people you might want to let see your plan. Sometimes, the best way to do things is to be open and give your customers and prospects a road map. So they will know what you plan to do with the products.

The Best Roadmap Builder Tools for SaaS 

So, you now know what to think about when deciding which product plan tool to use.

So, let’s look at what we think are the best roadmap builder tools for SaaS businesses in 2023.

Dragonboat

By linking OKRs and product efforts, Dragonboat helps align product roadmaps with company, business, and customer goals.

Dragonboat knows that having faith and being able to follow through on a beautiful roadmap is just as important. So, it’s not just a roadmapping tool; it’s also an end-to-end product portfolio platform that brings together OKRs, roadmapping, customer data, portfolio planning, tracking, and delivery. 

Users of Dragonboat say that it helps them prioritize, plan, and produce better because it gives them a complete picture of the portfolio’s roadmap, allocation, dependencies, and resources. Product managers can choose from five different types of roadmaps: Kanban, Board, List, Gantt, Swimlane, and 3D Dynamic. There are also several ways to set priorities, such as RICE, MoSCoW, and custom fields. 

Dragonboat licenses start at $49 per writer per month, and there is no limit to the number of free users who can view the site.  

Find out more: The Importance of customer feedback to SaaS Founders

Airfocus

airfocus is a roadmap builder tool for making roadmaps that helps you get your roadmap up and running as quickly as possible.

You can start making your plan right away because it works with JIRA, Trello, Github, and more. The drag-and-drop interface of Airfocus makes it easy to build your project.

Airfocus is mostly about making and sharing roadmaps (it’s important to note that you can have as many viewers as you want). Still, you can also build your own scoring and weighting for ideas and feature requests. It helps you figure out what goes on your road map.

But, even though Airfocus tries to make roadmapping as easy as possible, many users say it still takes a while to get up and going. They also suggest many small changes that could be made, making it sound like the product could use some polishing.

Airfocus costs $15 per person per month, on the lower end of the price range. That seems like a fair price, given that Airfocus is just as useful as the best items on the market and has great reviews on G2. This is something that early-stage companies should keep in mind.

Their one-of-a-kind feature is called “Priority Poker,” and everyone with a stake in the game can play it independently. Priority Poker is a fun, engaging, and collaborative way for a group to decide what to do first and what to do next in the least amount of time.

Wrike

Wrike is a roadmap builder tool for many different fields, including SaaS. Because of this, the product can be hard to understand at first.

But once you figure out how to work with Wrike, you’ll find that it’s a great way to get your Product team on the same page and keep track of who’s doing what.

Your plan is shown as a Gantt chart in Wrike. You can also look at it as a list or a Kanban board. In this way, Wrike is like Monday or Asana, also used to organize projects.

The fact that projects and chores can show up in different places simultaneously may be Wrike’s best selling point. This means that the right people from each team can get in. 

Wrike is an excellent tool for getting teams to work together and having everyone on the same page.

But when it comes to customer access, it falls short. You are also limited in how much information you can put on your roadmap.

Wrike does offer a free plan with restricted features for up to 5 users. The cheapest plan costs $9.80 a month per person. This means it’s a little cheaper than its two main rivals, Monday and Asana. This makes it a good choice for startups in their early stages.

Roadmap builders are the tools that are used to plan and carry out projects. They give project managers, product owners, and business leaders the tools to make clear, flexible plans that lead teams to success. By using roadmap builders, you can make planning easier and improve teamwork, communication, and making decisions. Embrace the power of these tools and watch your projects, goods, and business strategies thrive in efficient and successful project management.