"The product roadmap is a list of sales requests"
Lemur Media · author: Dominik Dębski · updated 28.10.2026
A roadmap fills up with sales requests when the company has no written product strategy and no criteria for assessing requests. The solution is one product goal per quarter, a shared assessment of the value of requests and clear decision rights on the product side.
What are the symptoms?
- Most roadmap items name a specific customer or sales opportunity in their description.
- Features promised in negotiations are delivered before the work planned for the quarter.
- After a feature ships, nobody checks whether the customer who asked for it actually uses it.
- The product team spends more time estimating for sales reps than talking to users.
What are the causes?
- 01No product strategyWithout a written goal and target segment, every request looks equally justified.
- 02Asymmetric decision rightsSales has a revenue plan and direct access to the board; product has no mandate to say no.
- 03No usage dataWithout data on feature usage, the loudest customer's voice replaces the picture of the whole customer base.
| Headcount | Typical picture |
|---|---|
| 50–249 employees | Requests reach the product team directly from sales reps or via the CEO, bypassing any queue. |
| 250–999 employees | Several product teams deliver commitments to different large customers, and the product splits into special versions. |
What questions should the board ask?
- What share of the work in the last two quarters came from one-off sales promises?
- Who in the company has the right to refuse to build a feature promised to a customer?
- Which features built at customers' request are used by more than one customer?
Which metrics should you check?
- Share of team capacity spent on work driven by individual customer requests (%)
- Feature adoption 90 days after release (share of active customers using the feature)
- Win rate of opportunities where a feature outside the roadmap was promised, compared with other opportunities
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Expanding the request process without changing who makes the decision.
- Cutting sales off from the roadmap entirely, which removes valuable market signals.
How does the solution work?
Methods: Operating model. Lemur Compass sets the sequence of actions based on the company's growth phase, scale, business model and profitability.
- 01Roadmap inventoryEach item gets a source, an assigned customer and an estimated impact on revenue or retention.
- 02Product goalThe board approves one measurable product goal per quarter and the segment the product is meant to serve.
- 03Shared assessment of requestsSales and product assess requests against the same criteria, e.g. RICE, once a month.
- 04Decision rightsIt is written down who decides on the roadmap, who has an advisory voice and how exceptions are escalated.
Where should you start?
Review of the roadmap and decision rights (2 weeks), ending with a product and sales workshop (1 day).