UX Glossary | F
Field roadmap
Also: UX field roadmap
A roadmap of every future problem UX could own across the organisation, whether or not the current team can take it on.
A field roadmap widens the UX roadmap from “what this team will do” to “what UX could be doing for this organisation”. It lists every future problem that falls within the discipline’s remit, regardless of current headcount or budget. It deliberately leaves out work that belongs to other functions, such as engineering or marketing.
What it is for
The ordinary UX roadmap is shaped by capacity, so it only shows what fits. A field roadmap shows the full size of the opportunity and, by comparison, the gap. That makes it a planning and persuasion tool: it supports a case for hiring a researcher, funding an accessibility programme or starting a content design practice, because the work is visible and sized.
How it differs from its neighbours
The product roadmap covers all disciplines, but only what the product will do. The UX roadmap covers UX only, but only what the team will do. The field roadmap covers UX only and everything the field might do. Slice it by discipline and you get a specialty roadmap.
Common mistake
Treating it as a commitment. It is a map of the territory, not a delivery plan. Present it that way to leadership, or a wish list gets read as a promise, or worse, as a sign that the team is trying to claim everything.