#18 Debunking roadmaps | Itamar Gilad (Gmail, Youtube, Microsoft) and Bruce McCarthy (Product Culture)

My guests today are Itamar Gilad and Bruce McCarthy.Itamar is a former product leader for Gmail, Youtube, and Microsoft - and is the author of the bestselling book Evidence Guided.Itamar’s latest book is about creating high-impact products in the face of uncertainty, and he also has some strong views on roadmaps, roadmapping, common traps to avoid, and what to consider instead.But so does Bruce!Bruce is the author of the book Product Roadmaps Relaunched and, most recently, the book Aligned - a deep dive into stakeholder management for product leaders.The question is: do Itamar and Bruce agree on what a great roadmap looks like? Whether we need them at all?You’ll have to listen to find outAll I can say is: this was such a beautiful conversation, with two giants discussing their points of view and talking highly of each other’s work. Loved it, and I’m sure you will too.We covered:* The purpose of roadmaps* The dangers of output-based roadmaps and practical tips to avoid them* When to have dates on roadmaps* How to craft an outcome-based roadmap* Techniques to use instead of roadmaps* How to use OKRs and roadmaps* Deep dive on Itamar’s framework GIST* And so much more This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com