📖 Add Roadmaps to bring visibility and allow better collaboration

roadmap/README.md

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+# Kubebuilder Roadmaps
+
+**Welcome to the Kubebuilder Roadmaps directory!**
+
+This space is dedicated to housing the strategic roadmaps for the
+Kubebuilder project, organized by year. Each document within this repository
+outlines the key initiatives, objectives, and goals for Kubebuilder, reflecting our
+commitment to enhancing the development experience within the Kubernetes ecosystem.
+
+Below, you will find links to the roadmap document for each year. These documents provide insights into the
+specific objectives set for the project during that time, the motivation behind each goal, and the progress
+made towards achieving them:
+
+- [Roadmap 2024](roadmap_2024.md)
+
+## :point_right: New plugins/RFEs to provide integrations within other Projects
+
+As Kubebuilder evolves, we prioritize a focused project scope and minimal reliance on third-party dependencies,
+concentrating on features that bring the most value to our community.
+
+While recognizing the need for flexibility, we opt not to directly support third-party project integrations.
+Instead, we've enhanced Kubebuilder as a library, enabling any project to create compatible plugins.
+This approach delegates maintenance to those with the deepest understanding of their projects, fostering higher
+quality and community contributions.
+
+We're here to support you in developing your own Kubebuilder plugins.
+For guidance on [Creating Your own plugins](https://kubebuilder.io/plugins/creating-plugins).
+
+This strategy empowers our users and contributors to innovate,
+keeping Kubebuilder streamlined and focused on essential Kubernetes development functionalities.
+
+**Therefore, our primary objective remains to offer a CLI tool that assists users in developing
+solutions for deployment and distribution on Kubernetes clusters using Golang.
+We aim to simplify the complexities involved and speed up the development process,
+thereby lowering the learning curve.**
+
+## :steam_locomotive: Contributing
+
+Your input and contributions are what make Kubebuilder a continually
+evolving and improving project. We encourage the community to participate in discussions,
+provide feedback on the roadmaps, and contribute to the development efforts.
+
+If you have suggestions for future objectives or want to get involved
+in current initiatives, please refer to our [contributing guidelines](./../CONTRIBUTING.md)
+or reach out to the project maintainers. Please, feel free either
+to raise new issues and/or Pull Requests against this repository with your
+suggestions.
+
+## :loudspeaker: Stay Tuned
+
+For the latest updates, discussions, and contributions to the Kubebuilder project,
+please join our community channels and forums. Your involvement is crucial for the
+sustained growth and success of Kubebuilder.
+
+**:tada: Thank you for being a part of the Kubebuilder journey.**
+
+Together, we are building the future of Kubernetes development.

roadmap/roadmap_2024.md

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+# Kubebuilder Project Roadmap 2024
+
+### **(Major Release for Kubebuilder CLI 4.x)** Removing Deprecated Plugins for Enhanced Maintainability and User Experience
+
+**Status:** :construction: Work in Progress
+
+**Objective:** To remove all deprecated plugins from Kubebuilder to improve project maintainability and
+enhance user experience. This initiative also includes updating the project documentation to provide clear
+and concise information, eliminating any confusion for users.
+
+**Motivation:** By focusing on removing deprecated plugins—specifically, versions or kinds that can no
+longer be supported—we aim to streamline the development process and ensure a higher quality user experience.
+Clear and updated documentation will further assist in making development workflows more efficient and less prone to errors.
+
+**More Info:** [GitHub Discussion #3622](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/discussions/3622)
+
+### Providing Helpers for Project Distribution
+
+#### Distribution via Kustomize
+
+**Status:** :white_check_mark: Complete
+
+As of release ([v3.14.0](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/releases/tag/v3.14.0)),
+Kubebuilder includes enhanced support for project distribution.
+Users can now scaffold projects with a `build-installer` makefile target.
+This improvement enables the straightforward deployment of solutions directly to Kubernetes clusters.
+Users can deploy their projects using commands like:
+
+```shell
+kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<org>/my-project/<tag or branch>/dist/install.yaml
+```
+
+This enhancement streamlines the process of getting Kubebuilder projects running on clusters, providing a seamless deployment experience.
+
+#### (New Optional Plugin) Helm Chart Packaging
+
+**Status:** :raised_hands: Proposal in Progress; Seeking Contributions
+
+**Objective:** We aim to introduce a new plugin for Kubebuilder that packages projects as Helm charts,
+facilitating easier distribution and integration of solutions within the Kubernetes ecosystem.
+
+**Motivation:** The growth of the Kubernetes ecosystem underscores the need for flexible and
+accessible distribution methods. A Helm chart packaging plugin would simplify the distribution of the solutions
+and allow easily integrations with common applications used by administrators.
+
+**More Info:** For details on this proposal and how to contribute,
+see [GitHub Pull Request #3632](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/pull/3632).
+
+### Proposal Pending: Seeking Contributions for kube-rbac-proxy's Role in Default Scaffold
+
+**Status:** :raised_hands: Open for Discussion/Proposal Pending; Contributions Welcome
+
+**Objective:** Evaluate potential modifications or the exclusion of [kube-rbac-proxy](https://github.com/brancz/kube-rbac-proxy)
+from the default Kubebuilder scaffold in response to deprecations and evolving user requirements.
+
+**Context:** [kube-rbac-proxy](https://github.com/brancz/kube-rbac-proxy) , a key component for securing Kubebuilder-generated projects,
+faces significant deprecations that impact automatic certificate generation.
+For more insights into these challenges, see [Issue #3524](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3524).
+
+This situation necessitates a reevaluation of its inclusion and potentially prompts users to
+adopt alternatives like cert-manager by default. Additionally, the requirement to manually rebuild
+[kube-rbac-proxy images—due](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/blob/master/RELEASE.md#to-build-the-kube-rbac-proxy-images)
+to its external status from Kubernetes-SIG—places a considerable maintenance
+burden on Kubebuilder maintainers.
+
+**Motivations:**
+- Address kube-rbac-proxy breaking changes/deprecations.
+  - For further information: [Issue #3524 - kube-rbac-proxy warn about deprecation and future breaking changes](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3524)
+- Feedback from the community has highlighted a preference for cert-manager's default integration, aiming security with Prometheus and metrics.
+  - More info: [GitHub Issue #3524 - Improve scaffolding of ServiceMonitor](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3657)
+- Desire for kube-rbac-proxy to be optional, citing its prescriptive nature.
+  - See: [Issue #3482 - The kube-rbac-proxy is too opinionated to be opt-out.](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3482)
+- Reduce the maintainability effort to generate the images used by Kubebuilder projects and dependency within third-party solutions.
+  - Related issues:
+    - [Issue #1885 - use a NetworkPolicy instead of kube-rbac-proxy](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/1885)
+    - [Issue #3230 - Migrate away from google.com gcp project kubebuilder](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3230)
+
+**Proposed Solutions:**
+
+- **Making kube-rbac-proxy Optional:** Offering users the option to include kube-rbac-proxy caters to diverse project
+requirements and simplifies the transition towards its potential externalization or removal,
+reducing future maintenance efforts.
+
+- **Leveraging NetworkPolicies:** This alternative focuses on minimizing external dependencies by
+utilizing Kubernetes-native solutions like NetworkPolicies, in line with our maintenance reduction goals.
+
+- **Default Enablement of cert-manager:** While not directly addressing the maintenance concerns related to
+kube-rbac-proxy, defaulting to cert-manager responds to community feedback and navigates the upcoming deprecations.
+This strategy also acknowledges cert-manager's existing role as a prerequisite for webhooks.
+
+**We encourage the Kubebuilder community to participate in this discussion, offering feedback and contributing ideas
+to refine these proposals. Your involvement is crucial in shaping the future of secure and efficient project scaffolding in Kubebuilder.**
+
+### :rocket: Overarching Goal for 2024: Reducing the Maintenance Burden with Major Release and Removal of Deprecated features/plugins
+
+**Objective:** Across all initiatives, our primary goal for 2024 is to significantly reduce the maintenance burden on
+Kubebuilder maintainers.
+
+**Motivation:** By focusing on reducing the project's maintenance demands, we aim to foster a more sustainable
+development environment that can rapidly adapt to the Kubernetes ecosystem's changes without overwhelming our contributors.
+
+This roadmap reflects our commitment to making Kubebuilder more maintainable,
+user-friendly, and adaptable to future Kubernetes developments. We welcome the
+community's feedback and contributions as we embark on these initiatives to enhance
+the Kubebuilder project in 2024.