# Example 23 — Command path: prioritize -> roadmap -> exec summary

## Why this example exists

A quarter-planning problem is rarely just a prioritization problem.
The real job usually has three layers:

1. decide what goes above and below the line
2. turn that decision into a believable staged plan
3. explain the plan upward in a way leadership can react to

This example shows how a command-style path turns those three layers into one clean PM work sequence.

## Command used

- `prioritize-roadmap-exec`

## Scene

A head of product for an AI collaboration tool has too many valid requests and too little capacity.
The company needs better activation, stronger early retention, and enough enterprise credibility to close a few high-value deals.
Leadership alignment is weak because different stakeholders are each optimizing for a different pain point.

## Raw input

> We need to lock next quarter soon. We can’t do everything. CEO wants growth, sales wants enterprise readiness, support wants onboarding friction fixed, and the team is also pushing for search because everyone agrees it is eventually important. Help me turn this into something leadership can align on.

## Why one workflow is not enough

If you stop at `prioritize-requests`, you may end with a ranking but no quarter story.
If you jump straight to `build-roadmap`, you risk sequencing work before the actual above-the-line call is made.
If you only write an `exec-summary`, you may end up with polished language over weak portfolio logic.

## Step 1 — Prioritize the work

### What strong behavior looks like

A strong first pass should:

- define the quarter objective before ranking items
- identify the scarcest resource being spent
- produce an above-the-line / below-the-line call
- explain which tension is being resolved and why

### Useful prioritization outcome

A believable outcome might be:

- top priorities: onboarding simplification, AI answer quality tuning, enterprise audit logs
- below the line: referral loop, workspace sharing, admin billing controls, search for this period
- main logic: protect activation and trust first, while doing only the minimum enterprise credibility work needed for near-term deals

## Step 2 — Turn the call into a roadmap

### What strong behavior looks like

A strong roadmap pass should:

- define one stage goal for the quarter
- show a believable sequence
- make dependencies visible
- keep the roadmap from turning back into a wish list

### Useful roadmap outcome

A believable roadmap might say:

- **stage goal:** reduce the biggest value-loss points between first use and early team adoption
- **phase 1:** onboarding and setup friction
- **phase 2:** answer quality tuning on top workflows
- **phase 3:** focused enterprise credibility work for active deals
- **non-focus:** search and referral stay below the line this quarter

## Step 3 — Turn it into an exec summary

### What strong behavior looks like

A strong final pass should:

- lead with the quarter thesis immediately
- keep only the evidence leadership needs
- make the trade-off visible
- end with a concrete ask or alignment point

### Useful exec-summary outcome

A credible final summary might sound like:

- we are not optimizing for broad feature coverage next quarter
- we are focusing on activation and trust because that protects the product’s current growth ceiling better than adding more surface area
- we are doing limited enterprise credibility work, not a full enterprise push
- leadership ask: align on this stage goal and keep below-the-line pressure from fragmenting the quarter

## Why this command path matters

This path demonstrates what makes `pm-workbench` feel more like a PM workbench than a generic model:

- it handles the portfolio call, not just the ranked list
- it turns the call into a stage-based plan
- it then compresses that plan into leadership-ready communication

## Suggested final output package

A compact package from this command path should leave the PM or head of product with:

1. a Prioritization Stack
2. a Roadmap One-Pager
3. an Executive Summary with a leadership ask

## What this proves about the workbench

The real differentiator is not “more structure.”
It is the ability to move through a realistic PM chain without losing the logic of the original decision:

**make the portfolio call -> turn it into a staged plan -> communicate it upward clearly**
