Skip to main content

Understanding Your Roadmap

Your Distil roadmap isn't like traditional roadmaps. It's built from the bottom up, based on actual feedback patterns. Here's what makes it different.

What Is the Roadmap?​

In Distil, your roadmap is simply the Accepted section.

Every card in Accepted represents:

  • Feedback you've validated as signal (not noise)
  • Work you've decided is worth doing
  • Items backed by real user needs

The Roadmap Is Not a Timeline​

Traditional roadmaps show "what we'll ship when." Distil roadmaps show "what we've validated as worth building."

You control when things move from Accepted to development tools (Jira/Linear). Accepting something doesn't mean you'll build it next week - it means you've validated it's worth doing eventually.

How to Read Your Roadmap​

Open the Roadmap view to see three sections:

Needs Signal (Your Inbox)​

Raw feedback that hasn't been evaluated yet. This is your queue for review sessions.

What to do: Review regularly (weekly works for most teams) and decide what's signal vs. noise.

Accepted (Your Roadmap)​

Validated feedback you plan to build. This section answers the question "what have we committed to?"

What to do: Scope, prioritize, and push to Jira/Linear when ready to build.

Ready (In Development)​

Items that have been pushed to your development tools. This is your "in flight" work.

What to do: Monitor progress in Jira/Linear. These cards stay in Distil as a record.

Using Your Roadmap with Stakeholders​

Your Accepted section is perfect for stakeholder conversations:

Product review: "Here's what we've validated based on user feedback."

Customer success: "Yes, that feature is on our roadmap - here's the card showing why."

Investors: "Our roadmap is data-driven and backed by real user needs."

Each card includes:

  • Original feedback
  • Signal notes showing patterns
  • Acceptance rationale explaining the decision
  • Tags showing themes

This transparency builds trust.

Roadmap Anti-Patterns to Avoid​

Don't Accept Everything​

If everything is on the roadmap, nothing is on the roadmap. Be selective. Only accept feedback that represents real patterns and aligns with strategy.

Don't Let Accepted Become a Graveyard​

If cards sit in Accepted for months without progress, you're over-accepting. Review quarterly and move non-priorities back to Needs Signal.

Don't Skip Acceptance Rationale​

"We should build this" isn't enough. Document why this matters. Future-you (and your team) need that context.

Roadmap Workflows​

Weekly Review​

Spend 30 minutes processing Needs Signal. Accept clear winners, add signal notes to maybes, archive obvious noise.

Quarterly Planning​

Review your Accepted section. What's ready to push to development? What should be deprioritized? Update accordingly.

Stakeholder Updates​

Export your Accepted cards or share your roadmap view directly. The built-in context (signal notes, rationale) makes updates easy.

Advanced: Using Packs​

With Governance Pack​

  • Cards can be locked to prevent changes
  • Acceptance requires documented rationale (enforced)
  • Full audit trail shows who accepted what and when

With Visibility Pack​

  • Share a public roadmap with customers
  • Choose which cards to make visible
  • Build trust through transparency

With Organization Pack​

  • Organize cards into projects or initiatives
  • Track progress across multiple workstreams
  • Roll up metrics for leadership

Learn more about Packs

Key Principles​

Your roadmap should be defensible: Each accepted card should have clear rationale based on evidence, not hunches.

Your roadmap should be living: Add and remove items as you learn. A static roadmap is a dead roadmap.

Your roadmap should be transparent: Share it with your team and stakeholders. Hide nothing (unless you have a specific competitive reason).

Next Steps​