Overview
Deciding what to build next is one of the hardest parts of product management. The roadmap module gives you several tools to prioritize topics based on real data rather than gut feeling. This guide covers three approaches to prioritization and how to combine them for the best results.
Approach 1: Using Vote Counts from Linked Feedback
The most data-driven way to prioritize is by looking at how much user demand exists for each topic. When you link feedback items to roadmap topics, the total vote count from all linked items rolls up to the topic level.
How to Use It
- Make sure your roadmap topics have linked feedback. Open each topic and link any related feedback items if you have not already.
- On the roadmap view, sort topics by vote count to see which ones have the most user demand.
- During planning sessions, start with the highest-voted topics and work your way down.
When This Works Best
Vote-based prioritization works well when you have an active user community that regularly submits and votes on feedback. It surfaces genuine demand and reduces the risk of building features nobody wants.
Watch Out For
- Vocal minority bias — A small group of power users can dominate voting. Cross-reference vote counts with the number of unique voters and the customer segments they represent.
- Missing context — High votes do not always mean high value. A feature with 200 votes from free-tier users may be less impactful than one with 20 votes from enterprise customers. Consider who is voting, not just how many.
Approach 2: Manual Ordering
Sometimes you need to override data-driven signals with strategic judgment. Manual ordering lets you drag and drop topics within a stage to set their priority explicitly.
How to Use It
- Open your roadmap.
- Within any stage, drag topics to reorder them. Items at the top are higher priority.
- Use this during planning meetings to reflect decisions made by your team.
When This Works Best
Manual ordering is ideal when strategic priorities do not align with user vote counts. For example, you might need to prioritize a security improvement or a compliance feature that has few votes but is critical for your business.
Tips
- Document why you ordered topics the way you did. Add internal notes to each topic so your team remembers the reasoning later.
- Revisit manual ordering quarterly. Priorities shift, and a topic that was critical last quarter may no longer be urgent.
Approach 3: Stage-Based Prioritization
Use stages themselves as a prioritization tool. Instead of trying to rank every topic against every other topic, sort them into buckets based on how soon they will be addressed.
How to Use It
- Define your stages to reflect priority tiers. For example: Now (actively building), Next (committed for the near term), Later (on the radar but not committed), and Shipped (done).
- Move topics between stages as priorities change.
- Within each stage, use either vote counts or manual ordering for finer-grained ranking.
When This Works Best
Stage-based prioritization works well for public roadmaps because it communicates priority without committing to specific dates. Users can see that a topic is in "Next" without expecting it to ship on a particular day.
Combining Approaches
The most effective prioritization uses all three approaches together:
- Start with vote data. Sort topics by linked feedback votes to see what users want most.
- Apply strategic adjustments. Use manual ordering to bump up topics that are strategically important regardless of vote count.
- Organize into stages. Place topics into Now / Next / Later stages to communicate timelines without hard dates.
This layered approach ensures you are responsive to user needs while still steering the product according to your vision and business goals.
Review Cadence
- Review priorities at least monthly. User demand shifts, business context changes, and new opportunities emerge.
- After each planning cycle, update your roadmap stages and ordering to reflect the latest decisions.
- Share changes with your team and, if your roadmap is public, with your users. Transparency about shifting priorities builds trust even when something gets deprioritized.