Product planning and roadmapping have become essential for businesses developing physical and digital goods. As customer and market demands evolve rapidly, companies must constantly innovate and adapt their product offerings. This drives increased adoption of purpose-built product planning software to help orchestrate the end-to-end development process.
With so many options on the market, choosing the right product planning tool can feel overwhelming.
Requirements will vary depending on team size, industry, development approach, and budget. This guide aims to bring clarity to the selection process. We’ll explore the core capabilities to look for and how various software solutions compare. Example users will also share real insights into what they’ve gained from their chosen platforms.
By understanding your unique planning needs and doing your research, 2023 can be the year you streamline collaboration and deliver better products faster. Let’s start by identifying what matters most for your business goals. Then, we can narrow the field of contenders with the features and functionality likely to make your process sing.
Key Considerations for Selecting Product Planning Software
Here are some critical considerations for selecting product planning software, along with an explanation for each:
- Ease of Use – Look for a solution with intuitive user interfaces that don’t require extensive training. Users should be able to start quickly inputting roadmaps, ideas, feedback, etc.
- Collaboration Features – Important for remote/distributed teams. Look for tools with commenting, @mentions, real-time editing, voting, and assigning tasks.
- Roadmapping Capabilities – Check for features like customizable roadmap templates,drag-and-drop scheduling, capacity planning, and integration with project management apps.
- Idea Management – Good software will let you collect customer requests, rank/prioritize ideas, capture feedback, and link concepts to roadmap items.
- Reporting and Analytics – Helpful for data-driven decisions. Look for customizable dashboards, metrics on roadmap progress, idea traction, etc.
- Pricing Model – Consider subscription tiers based on team size, industry-specific pricing, etc. Check for additional costs like customization services.
- Integrations – Compatibility with other apps your team uses, like Jira, Confluence, and Slack, reduces manual data entry.
- Support and Training – Evaluate the quality of customer success resources through online tutorials, demos, or consulting services.
- Scalability – If your team or product portfolio is likely to grow, ensure the solution can accommodate future needs.
Considering these critical factors will help identify software that maximizes your team’s productivity and decision-making.
Top Product Planning Tools to Explore in 2023
Here are some top product planning tools to explore in 2023
Chisel
Chisel is a versatile platform that is an idea-collection tool and powerful roadmapping software. Its capability to link ideas to roadmaps and tickets makes it highly effective for end-to-end product development. Chisel offers extensive customization along with robust collaboration features.
ProductPlan
ProductPlan provides comprehensive roadmapping functionality and integrations to Jira, GitHub, and other tools. Its customizable workflows and flexible data sources help track all aspects of a product. Ideas management and interactive dashboards add visibility.
VersionOne
VersionOne excels at enterprise-grade Agile portfolio management. It facilitates strategic planning alongside active development through Kanban boards, release burn-downs, and capacity tracking. Custom objects extend their use.
LeanKit Kanban
LeanKit Kanban emphasizes visual workflows through customizable Kanban boards. Features like WIP limits, swimlanes, and automated workflows aid Agile planning. Integrates with primary ALM tools.
ProdPad
ProdPad offers an intuitive UX for planning and collaboration. Its flexible boards, idea voting, and integration with tools like Confluence make it a good fit for smaller distributed teams.
Exploring these top options will help you identify the best solution to streamline product planning for 2023 objectives. Software selection depends on your unique team needs and processes.
Conclusion
Overall, thoroughly researching your product planning software options and understanding your specific needs will lead to a choice that truly accelerates your team’s performance. Ideal solutions combine powerful roadmapping, flexible workflows, robust collaboration, and intelligent integrations to maximize productivity across distributed teams.
Focusing your evaluation on factors like ease of use, scalability, feature sets, support quality, and pricing model will narrow the field. Feel free to experiment with trial versions so team members gain hands-on insights into front-runners. Customized vendor demonstrations can also show real user experiences and best practices.
Adopting the right purpose-built platform empowers centralized management of your product strategy and development processes. It gives leadership unparalleled visibility while empowering contributors. Most importantly, streamlined planning paves the way for faster delivery of innovative solutions to your customers.
