The 7 Top Roadmaps Used By Project Managers
A roadmap can be called the most important tool in a project manager’s arsenal. A project manager has to handle an internal cross-functional team and ensure everyone is on the same page while also managing external stakeholders to create clear communication lines and a targeted roadmap that explicitly lists out the expectations, deliverables, and schedules for the product or project.
Roadmaps come in different kinds and suit different purposes within the project management sphere depending on the project’s scale and scope. It is, therefore, important to note the differences in the various kinds of roadmaps there are and understand which one will be the most suitable for your purposes.
You can also learn more about Roadmaps on our blog, highlighting the best practices and templates for effective Roadmaps.
7 TOP ROADMAPS FOR EVERY SITUATION-
1. The No-Dates Roadmap
The No-Dates Roadmap is the most flexible form of a roadmap out there. It works perfectly within a company whose priorities are constantly shifting. This can also apply to Agile project management, which relies on smaller increments of work done and has the ability to constantly change deadlines, scope, and priorities of a project. It is also the perfect roadmap for the beginning of any project, wherein there is a lot of new information coming in to be processed, and the workflow needs to be more fluid to fit new requirements and shifting deadlines.
Advantages
- Highly flexible.
- Open to changes in trends, industry standards, and client requirements.
Disadvantages
- Having no deadlines can lead to disorganization and delays.
- Lack of accountability in larger teams.
Source: Milestone PowerPoint Template by SlideUpLift
Source: No-Dates Roadmap by SlideUpLift
Check out more creative ways to showcase No-Dates Roadmap Templates to your audience. As mentioned before, these roadmaps are most suited at the beginning of the projects.
2. The Hybrid Roadmap
The Hybrid Roadmap retains the flexibility of the No-Dates Roadmap. Still, it allows for more rigidity in terms of the deadlines or scheduling by providing a general framework for a month or quarter. This means that a company can prioritize and organize its tasks based on soft deadlines but still planning for the future in a way that’s not constraining.
Advantages
- Relatively flexible.
- Can accommodate some amount of change within the scope of its deadlines.
Disadvantages
- Blocking months or quarters in advance can lead to speculation about future product development, which may end up being different when the actual time comes.
- A loose projection for the future may not instill faith in the stakeholders looking for concrete projections.
Source: Hybrid Roadmap Template by SlideUpLift
Source: Hybrid Timeline Template by SlideUpLift
Find a huge library of Hybrid Roadmap Templates for your presentation needs. Use these roadmaps to put deadlines on big tasks that need to be finished.
3. Release Plan Roadmap
As the name suggests, this is a Roadmap that deals primarily with releasing a product and its work. They consist of a plan outlining the work you are planning to do and a general time frame you have allotted for that. It is often used to provide a bird’s eye view of the entire product release strategy to the higher-ups, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams. It is great for planning without set deadlines, having milestones as product releases and versions of the same.
Advantages
- Provides a general overview of the work, which keeps everyone on the same page.
- Works well with cross-functional teams and agile project management.
Disadvantages
- No set launch date can potentially put off the client and stakeholders.
- It is hyper-specific to product releases and subsequent versions. Does not account for development and planning.
Source: Product Launch Release Plan by SlideUpLift
Source: Release Plan Template by SlideUpLift
Find more Release Plan Roadmap Templates for your presentation needs. Ensure that all the cross-functional teams have their input in creating a detailed plan for the project.
4. Sprint Plan Roadmap
A Sprint Roadmap is helpful for sprint planning. It is delivery-focused and is used for aligning upcoming work required to complete the development and deliverables of a project. Delivery can be planned over multiple sprints, allowing a team to monitor its own workload and efforts. It is also a highly customizable roadmap, adding in swimlanes for additional context and being as granular as required. It is usually only for the development portion of the product management strategy.
Advantages
- Customizable to fit specific project requirements with ease.
- Allows for self-monitoring and accountability across the development team.
- Keeps cross-functional teams in sync.
Disadvantages
- It may not be very effective in larger teams as sprint requires utmost cooperation and collaboration.
- It works on the development team's best estimations, leading to speculative deadlines and constantly changing scopes of the project.
Source: Sprint Plan Roadmap by SlideUpLift
Source: Sprint Agile Project Management by SlideUpLift
Check out the editable library of Sprint Plan Roadmaps. Ensure that your development team uses these templates to stay on track with the project releases and milestones.
5. Now-Next-Later Roadmap
Now-Next-Later Roadmaps help you chart out your priorities over a broader timeframe. It categorizes tasks based on “Now” — which are high priority, detail-heavy tasks to be done as soon as possible, followed by “Next” — which show the tasks in the pipeline that are relatively high priority but can be put off until every task in the “Now” category is finished. The last category is “Later,” which outlines tasks with no immediate urgency and reflects a more long-term strategy.
Advantages
- Great for communicating tentative plans with a larger audience, including clients, conferences, and pitches.
- It can be used by organizations that move quickly and keep things on track using robust prioritization of tasks within the workplace.
Disadvantages
- It requires a very carefully planned management strategy as things in the “Later” list risk the chance of never coming to fruition due to faulty prioritization management.
- It is not as flexible as other roadmaps due to the possibility of certain long-term plans requiring immediate attention that upturns the team's entire process of prioritization.
Source: Now Next Later Roadmap by SlideUpLift
Source: Now Next Later Template by SlideUpLift
Check out for more Now Next Later Roadmaps to showcase your high-level roadmap. You can use this roadmap to define your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.
6. Kanban Roadmap
Another delivery-focused roadmap is the Kanban Roadmap. It essentially divides initiatives into ‘backlogs,’ ‘planned,’ and ‘in progress, keeping track of changes in the development and delivery process for a product. It also does not utilize a set timeframe for its project management strategy as it relies on general tasks and constant revisiting of tasks to update or rework them. It is essentially a list of tasks that need to be checked off by a team to smoothen development and delivery.
Advantages
- Allows the delivery team to communicate plans and deliverables with the stakeholders and clients without committing exact dates.
- Motivates the team and keeps things in sync by providing a place that showcases all the tasks needed to be done or that have already been finished in one place.
Disadvantages
- Kanban Boards can become very messy and confusing, with multiple lists and conflicting tasks if not carefully monitored.
- There are no timeframes attached, which can lead to delays and miscommunication across larger or cross-functional teams.
Source: Kanban Board by SildeUpLift
Source: Kanban Board Template by SlideUpLift
Check out the library of Kanban Board Templates. Kanban Boards are a must-have for any project or a product manager to keep track of all the activities.
7. Theme-Oriented Roadmap
A Theme-Oriented Roadmap allows a project manager to develop a roadmap outlining the values and outcomes of a particular project that revolve around a particular theme, such as customer experience, onboarding process, user interface, etc. Within these larger themes, a roadmap is created outlining the primary values and goals that a team is working towards, ensuring it follows the larger project strategy and the organization, client, and stakeholders’ priorities.
Advantages
- Allows nesting of epics and task lists within broader frameworks, which are easy to understand and ensure that the whole team is working towards a larger goal.
- Provides a clear picture to the client, senior executives, and stakeholders about the team's process and strategy involved in the project.
Disadvantages
- It can often be too vague, and the over-generalization of tasks leads to a roadmap that is not quite functional at a practical level.
Source: Theme Oriented Roadmap by SlideUpLift
Source: Product Theme Roadmap by SlideUpLift
Browse more Theme-Oriented Roadmap Templates for your presentation.
Here are some Free Roadmap Templates:
Source: Free Roadmap PowerPoint Template by SlideUpLift
Source: Free Roadmap PowerPoint Template by SlideUpLift
Roadmaps are a great tool to ensure transparency of work, motivate the team and keep all parties involved aligned to the larger goals. Finding and utilizing the right Roadmap is key to the successful planning, development, and delivery of a product!
Now you don’t have to scour the web to find out the right templates. Download our PowerPoint Templates from within PowerPoint. See how?
About SlideUplift:
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Originally published at https://slideuplift.com on April 15, 2021.
