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The Delivery Map is the execution side of ProductBrain. It shows the same data as the Planning Tree, reorganized for delivery.

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Reading the map

  • Columns are approaches, your active bets
  • Rows are iterations, your delivery slices
  • Cells are jobs. The proof that each bet is being delivered
  • Misc column holds standalone tasks (outside the tree hierarchy)
Above each column, you’ll see the approach label and its parent need and goal. The strategic context for why this work exists.

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Filtering by iteration

Select an iteration from the dropdown to focus on what’s shipping now. Only approaches with jobs in that iteration appear as columns. This keeps the view clean. No empty columns cluttering the map.

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Show All toggle

When an iteration is selected, toggle Show All to see ghosted jobs from other iterations. This shows what’s coming, future work queued under the same approaches, without losing focus on the current delivery slice.

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What to look for

  • Balance: Is the iteration pulling from multiple approaches, or is everything under one bet? A healthy iteration progresses several bets by a small amount rather than one bet by a large amount.
  • Depth vs breadth: Are you going too deep on one approach when you should be getting a first version of another into the world? The advanced version can wait.
  • Size: Does the iteration have a reasonable number of jobs, or is it overloaded?
  • Progress: Which jobs are done? Which are still open? Is one approach blocking others?
  • Gaps: Are there approaches with no jobs in any iteration? That’s a bet you’ve made but haven’t committed to delivering.
  • What’s coming: Toggle Show All to see future work queued under the same approaches. This tells you how deep each bet goes. Whether you’re one iteration away from done or three iterations deep with more planned.

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Planning an iteration in the map

The Delivery Map is where iteration planning becomes tangible. A few principles that help: Start with the theme. What’s this iteration about? “Onboarding”, “API access”, “Payment flow”. The theme tells you which approaches should have jobs in this slice. If you can’t name the theme, the iteration is probably a grab bag. Rocks first, then sand. Pick 2-3 approach-level deliverables that define the theme. Add supporting jobs. Fill remaining capacity with small fixes and tasks. If the iteration is all small tasks and no strategic work, it’ll ship but won’t move the needle. Cross-cut the tree. The best iterations pull from multiple goals. An iteration scoped entirely under one goal might be too narrow. Check if there’s related work under other goals that belongs in the same theme. If it keeps growing, split it. An iteration that accumulates jobs session after session without shipping is a planning problem. Ask: what’s the minimum I could ship today? Split, ship the core, defer the rest.

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Switching back to the tree

Click the view toggle to return to the Planning Tree. The data is the same. You’re just changing the lens from “what are we shipping” to “why are we shipping it.”