Annual Product Planning Template

Start 6-8 weeks before your fiscal year begins. The first 2 weeks are data gathering and strategy input. Weeks 3-4 are theme definition and bet scoping. Weeks 5-6 are resource allocation and milestone planning. Weeks 7-8 are executive review, iteration, and final approval.

No. The annual plan should include themes, bets, and milestones. Features are scoped during quarterly planning when you have more information. Committing to specific features 12 months in advance is a recipe for building the wrong things.

Build in flexibility. Allocate 10-15% of capacity as "strategic reserve" that can be redirected mid-year. If a major strategy change happens (acquisition, competitor move, market shift), convene an off-cycle portfolio review to reallocate. Do not wait until the next quarter.

This is common. Engineering wants 30% for debt, product wants 10%. The resolution is data. Ask engineering to quantify the cost of not addressing debt: incidents per month, developer velocity impact, customer-facing bugs. If the data supports a higher allocation, increase it. A common compromise is 20% with quarterly reviews.

Define 3-5 annual success metrics at the start of the year. Review them quarterly. At year-end, score each theme on a 1-5 scale: did the bets pay off? Did the success metrics move? What would you do differently? The retrospective feeds directly into next year's planning. ---