How can you find product roadmap tools that offer customizable templates?

First step is to get the requirements of organization i.e needs or expectations from tool. Determine / write down organization's specific requirements for a product roadmap tool. Consider factors such as the size of your team, team skill level, the complexity of projects, and the level of customization needed in your roadmaps. Also find the gap between expectations of organization & deliveries of existing tool.

A roadmapping tool serves as the core demonstration of your work, and a crucial aspect to consider when selecting one is its universal adoption across the company. This implies that everyone, from the CEO to an intern, should be able to use it seamlessly. Such widespread usage fosters transparency and encourages contributions, ultimately earning the trust and buy-in of stakeholders.

Specific to my industry experience, the offered product range varies widely in complexity and required features. It is crucial to precisely understand the user 'needs' & 'wants' and then articulate these needs into technical design goals. The challenge most product managers have is to distinguish between a need and a want, as those are very subjective and change from time to time.

GAIN CUSTOMER EMPATHY Work with those who will input, manage, report on, slice and consume these reports to understand their problem statement or job to be done (JTBD). Be sure to capture needs from ground level team/teammates, stakeholders (who may consume, slice and also want to enrich) and leaders (who have both internal and external parties to support each e.g., board members, prospective funders, or public company statements). DOCUMENT & PRIORITIZE Document and prioritize these needs in a RFP doc (I say RFP so you think about all facets of feature requirements beyond functional like non-functionals: data privacy and portability).

Start by conducting online research, list down all available tools, identify popular product roadmap tools. From the list identify product roadmap tools that align with your needs. Look for tools that emphasize customization and offer a variety of templates to choose from.

Explore review websites and comparison platforms that specialize in software tools. These platforms often provide detailed information about features, pricing, and user reviews, which can help you narrow down your options. Visit the websites of potential vendors to learn more about their product roadmap tools and the customization options they offer. Look for information about available templates, customization features, and any case studies or testimonials from other users

Read reviews and testimonials from other users to gain insights into their experiences with various product roadmap tools. Look for feedback on customization features, template quality, user interface, and overall satisfaction with the tool.

Take advantage of free trials or demos offered by product roadmap tool vendors. This allows you to test the tool firsthand and evaluate its customization capabilities. During the trial period, pay attention to the available templates and how easy it is to customize them to fit your specific needs.

SANDBOX WITH PRELOADED DATA I find it more expedient to get assess to a preloaded functional environment so you can quickly put the product through initial requirements trials before investing time in loading your own data.

Consulting peers is important, but note that one person's negative experience may not always be the product's fault. Engage with colleagues that you know well and you respect their opinion. Online forums are sometimes filled with egotistical trolls that think they could do better or former employees with a vendetta. Try to find people that have been using the product for a long time and have seen a tranformation of the product taking feedback into account.

ASK VENDOR FOR LIKE REFERRALS This will help you assess whether they have industry cohort customers and that they generally understand your requirements given similar nature of their business and operations.

Experiences in the shopfloor for R&D ,Design ,Engineering & Proto Types developement for Performance Analysis and Improvements with Guidance !

FUTURE PROOF Discuss with vendor what’s on their product roadmap and strategic approach to growing their offering / company.