How do I create a Project Roadmap?

Step-by-step Powerpoint Roadmap Template Guide

Time needed: 1 hour

This process walks you through the steps to create your own roadmap slide for a presentation or to share.

  1. Choose your “Workstreams” (or “swim lanes”)

    “Workstreams” are the ongoing, most important delivery areas of your Product / Project.
    You will arrange key activities within these areas.
    There may be just one, and there may be many.
    Our advice is to choose 3-5 workstreams.
    These are also known as “Project Swim Lanes”. Set your workstreams - Three to Five is ideal

  2. Set the Timeframe

    Think: “What timeframe do you need to cover?”
    Be careful – the further in the future you go, the more uncertain. Read up on “the cone of uncertainty” Put a timeline on your roadmap

  3. Establish the important activities in each stream

    Within each Workstream, what are the key areas of activity?
    The could be “Projects” or “Tasks” etc, depending on your kind of product / programme / project.
    Bear in mind that you want the whole roadmap readable within 5 mins, so you do not want lots & lots. Put the important activities in your roadmap

  4. Communicate risk levels

    Use colour coding of the activity boxes in each work stream to indicate levels of risk or certainty.
    Explain your colour coding in a “Legend” at the top.
    You can use “Red Amber Green” or just highlight the Medium and High risks with amber and red. Show the risk levels for each work item in the swim lanes on your roadmap.

  5. Set some Milestones

    You should include a few key dates on the timeline.
    These can be represented as “Milestones”.
    e.g. Launches, handovers, closures, migrations, etc. Set your milestones along the top of the timeline on your roadmap.

  6. Add any other important points

    Bear in mind: your Roadmap tells your story.
    It needs to do that within 5 mins.
    Still,.. are there any other important points you need to highlight?
    If so, then put them in as call-out “comments”! Help tell the story of your roadmap by adding important comments

What do you need to prepare for a Project Roadmap?

You should prepare the titles of your workstreams (or “swimlanes”), and the major project units in each stream. This should be at a high level only, and you must be able to explain the whole roadmap within 2 minutes. It must tell a simple story!

What are the main elements of a Project Roadmap?

1. A timeline.
2. Ideally between two and five Workstreams.
3. Work units to show what each workstream is delivering.
4. Key risks highlighted.
5. Milestones highlighted.

Some more help for Creating Your Roadmap

Communicating your project plans and strategy in one document is not a simple process.
Project, programme and portfolio managers are increasingly using Roadmap Template formats to establish a clear, shared understanding of project plans, especially at the board and executive level.

Example Project Roadmap Layout

original Visio Roadmap Template

This is our popular Visio Roadmap Template from 2005.

Characteristics of a Project Roadmap

  1. Communicates project plans at a glance
    1. Highlights important milestones
    2. Tells your stakeholders what to expect, and when
  2. Demonstrates the use of the capacity you have available
    1. Demonstrates where your resources and budget are being allocated
    2. Gives a sense of proportional allocation
  3. Draws attention to important issues
    1. Keeps them few
    2. Makes them clear
  4. Gives you a tool to “manage upwards”
    1. Highlights what you need from stakeholders
    2. Manages expectations

Create your Roadmap

Before committing this to an electronic format, sketch it out on a large piece of paper, using pencil and eraser

  1. If you want to save time – you can see some Powerpoint Roadmap examples here.
    1. These roadmap samples can help you with layout ideas.
    2. There are Visio Roadmaps and Powerpoint Roadmaps.
  2. Set out your timeline
    1. How far do you want to show?
    2. Make sure this is going to be a relevant period of time – i.e. don’t go too far into the future
  3. Establish your workstreams
    1. Where are the areas of resource or budget focus?
    2. Work these into discrete “workstreams” of activity
    3. This helps you communicate to your stakeholders and their colleagues where the business is focussing
  4. Work out the high-level activities within each workstream
    1. Keep the level of detail down
    2. e.g. if your entire timeline is 12 months long, don’t include any activities below 1 month long
    3. Keep this realistic – i.e. don’t overload any of the workstreams
  5. If there are areas of high risk – add labels
    1. Resource issues/constraint/risks
    2. Financial issues/constraint/risks
    3. External issues/constraint/risks
  6. Put in your key milestones
    1. In a timeline along the top of your Roadmap, add markers for important dates
    2. Keep these dates realistic
    3. leave plenty of contingency
    4. If a date/milestone is tentative – clearly mark it so
  7. Clearly demark the status of your document
    1. If it is “draft”, clearly label it with “DRAFT” at the top of the document
    2. Give it a version number
    3. If it has been signed off by a key stakeholder, mark this prominently

With all parts of this Roadmap process, try and keep your roadmap document uncluttered.

Then create your electronic version – see the list of templates below if you need a good starting point.

Testing your Roadmap

  • Use a friend or colleage as a guinea pig to test your Roadmap.
  • They should be able to understand your roadmap and your project timelines within 1 minute of looking at it.
  • This is what separates it from a standard “Project Plan”.

Keep your Roadmap up to date

Once created, you must be sure to keep your roadmap up to date.
If you are running an agile process (i.e. regular iterations and regular product releases), keep your Roadmap updated at regular intervals in time with your iterations.

How much does a Hackathon Event cost?

BBC News Hack innovation event - FROST principles
How much does a Hackathon Event cost?

The cost will depend on the resources you have at your disposal, the number of participants, and your Hackathon goals. You can run small-scale events for free, if you have all the required resources. If you need to rent a venue or require catering or marketing, then you will need a budget.

Further info

These questions will have cost implications that drastically affect your budget:-

  1. Does your organisation have a suitable venue at which to hold the Hackathon?
  2. Do you have support staff to manage the event?
  3. How many participants are you planning to host?
  4. Are you paying for participant travel and/or accommodation?
  5. What kind of prizes do you want to provide?
  6. How long is the event? (2 days, 3 days, 5 days?)
  7. Are you running an overnight Hacking provision?

Standard Hackathon Budget Line Items:

Hackathon Support Team

  1. Planning resource
  2. Support staff
  3. PR for Participant Sign-up
  4. Design
  5. Marketing and PR

Venue

  1. Venue Hire
  2. Venue Furniture
  3. Hackathon Power Supply
  4. Hackathon WIFI Supply
  5. Venue Security
  6. Venue Cleaning

Suppliers

  1. Audio and Visual Supplier
  2. User Testing Supplier
  3. Misc Stage Equipment Supplier

Materials

  1. Stationery Supplies
  2. SWAG (T-Shirts, Stationery, etc – there is a good list of SWAG ideas here)
  3. Prizes.

Branding & PR

  1. Brand identity
  2. Event website
  3. Admin hours helping with local promotion
  4. Paid Advertising

Catering (Food and Drink) for a 2-day Hackathon

Day 1

  1. Breakfast
  2. Lunch
  3. Afternoon Snack

Day 2

  1. breakfast
  2. lunch
  3. End of event drinks & snacks

All Day: Beverages

  1. Hot Drinks
  2. Soft Drinks

AV Coverage for Promotion

  1. Video Camera Person
  2. Stills Photographer

Travel

  1. Attendee travel reimbursement
  2. Transport & Travel for Event Support

How do I manage an Innovation Pipeline?

Three Horizons Innovation Pipeline strategy template
How do I manage an Innovation Pipeline?

We recommend representing and managing concepts in your pipeline using the Three Horizon model:-
Horizon 1: These are the new projects and concepts that are close to your core business, and that you are close to launching – e.g. in the next few weeks / months.
Horizon 2: These are the projects and concepts that are departures from your normal business that you are launching in the mid-term – e.g. in the next few months / quarters.
Horizon 3: These are the new projects and concepts that are large changes from your core business that require significant new capabilities and are long term innovations – e.g. in 1-3 years.
In your innovation pipeline, you will be bringing new Horizon 1, 2 and 3 ideas into the fold constantly, then testing them, discarding the unfeasible ones, and developing the promising ones as appropriate.

Where did the Three Horizons Model come from?

McKinsey created the Three Horizons model to explain how businesses must invest in current products (1st Horizon), incremental innovations (2nd Horizon), and breakthrough innovations (3rd Horizon).

Is there a good Three Horizons Innovation Template?

Yes – we have one here and also a more fully featured Three Horizons Innovation Pipeline Template on our companion marketplace Spitmarket.

How Does the Three Horizons Framework work?

A good innovation programme invests in regular and open innovation activities (e.g. the FROST Innovation Framework). Sometimes this is managed using an R&D team, and other times all teams spend a percentage of their time on innovation. There are also mixtures of both models.
In all scenarios, there are a stream of new concepts being discussed and prototyped at any one time.

Invest in open innovation with your staff!

A good innovation programme invests in regular and open innovation activities (e.g. the FROST Innovation Framework). Sometimes this is managed using an R&D team, and other times all teams spend a percentage of their time on innovation. There are also mixtures of both models.

In all scenarios, there are a stream of new concepts being discussed and prototyped at any one time.

Track your innovations in three categories – your “Horizons”

  1. Horizon 1:
    1. Innovations close to your current business.
    2. They are close to launching – e.g. in the next few weeks / months.
  2. Horizon 2:
    1. Innovations that are departures from your normal business.
    2. Launching in the mid-term – e.g. in the next few months / quarters.
  3. Horizon 3:
    1. Innovations that are large changes from your core business.
    2. Require significant new capabilities.
    3. Launching in the long term – e.g. in 1-3 years.

Concepts and Projects move through the Three Horizons.

Promising, feasible projects that start as “Horizon 3” ideas (long term), develop into “Horizon 2” as time progresses.

Concepts that do not test well, or that do not show good results as prototypes, are discarded – i.e. not all ideas will progress from Horizon 3 to 2, and from 2 to 1. In fact, most ideas should not!

Three Horizons Innovation Pipeline strategy template
Structuring your Innovation Pipeline, using the Three Horizons Innovation Pipeline strategy template

Concepts and Projects start as being less important / visible, and rise in importance

Naturally, projects and concepts that start as “Horizon 3” are intrinsically less visible within an organisation – they are not yet “important”!

What makes a great hackathon?

Hackathon Events must have SWAG (aka Merch)
What makes a great Hackathon?

1. An inspirational shared challenge.
2. A great venue, at a great location.
3. Maximised “hacking” time, and minimised interruptions.
4. A focus on making it a joy for participants; support, refreshments, attention.

How do I choose a good Hackathon venue?

Make it close to transport links, near good bars and restaurants, and in a memorable building with good ventilation and lighting. Avoid bland hotels.

How do I frame a Hackathon challenge?

Use the “How might we…. ?” approach to framing an inspirational, open challenge. Avoid specifying technology, and avoid citing other products or approaches.

How long should I make our Hackathon?

Typically, Hackathon events 1-3 days, with the sweet spot being 2 days. 1 Day is fine for an “in house” company Hackathon, and generally 3 days is too long for people to “get away from the day job”.

The Top 5 things to remember for a Great Hackathon

1) An inspirational shared challenge

Choose a problem that all participants are interested in solving, so that you have a shared mission. You can use a “How might we …?” question to frame the challenge. Be sure to keep it broad and unrestricted.

2) A great venue at a great location

Avoid bland hotel spaces, and industrial estates out of town. Think: natural light, unusual, spacious, within buzzing communities, and good transport links.

3) Maximum “hacking” time, and minimum interruptions.

Get the participants in quick, and kick off rapidly. Avoid making participants sit through sponsors’ or stakeholders’ presentations (do those as trade stands at the side of the room instead). Do not interrupt your participants

4) Focus on making it a joy for participants

Provide comprehensive support – whatever you can afford: Technical, Expert, User Testing, Artistic, Physical materials, etc!

5) Fresh food and refreshments

Refreshments are essential – make sure they are always available, and ensure that the catering provides good, hot, diverse food.

Hack events are only good when they are done well!

A hack event design is easy to screw-up. Avoid common pitfalls and find out more about designing a great hack event here.

Complete IT Roadmap Template

Complete Powerpoint IT Roadmap Template

Complete IT Roadmap Template features:

  1. Four PHASES, spread over ONE YEAR.
    1. Design and Benefits Planning.
    2. Detailed analysis and Design.
    3. Developing, Testing and Training.
    4. Implementing, Tracking and Improving your project.
    5. Can be used as QUARTERLY PHASES, or changed to weeks or months.
  2. Four WORKSTREAMS.
    1. Governance and Management.
    2. Strategy and Benefits.
    3. People, Process and Technology Change.
    4. Stakeholder Engagement and Communications.
  3. Suggested activities within each Phase and Workstream.
    1. Based on professional experience, we have made suggestions.
    2. This forms a simple starting point for you.
  4. Simple Powerpoint formatting.
    1. All areas easily edited.
    2. Colourscheme easily changed.

This fantastic and Complete IT Roadmap Template will help you outline your 1 year plan for IT change.

Business Continuity Plan – Premium Template Pack

Business Continuity Plan - Premium Template Pack

A business continuity plan is an essential tool to address disasters and other events, which might prevent your business from functioning. Building a plan from scratch can be a daunting prospect.

This template bundle provides the practical foundation you need to develop your own business continuity plan. Use this template to plan against any event that may present a risk to your business.

Business Continuity Plan Template pack features:

  • 10 main documents and 7 appendices.
  • Key main documents including event scenario, scope, event management and many more.
  • Example wordings providing a contextual framework ensuring the templates are easy to follow and understand.
  • Extensive notes to explain the documents and their use.
  • Example process detailing the steps to building your plan.
  • Definitions of the teams required for the successful recovery of your business.
  • Includes minutes, testing and risk assessment technical templates.

Due diligence is an increasingly important part of modern businesses. Written by an industry expert, these templates are user friendly, easy to use, yet lead you a high quality result.

This template bundle will allow you to plan for any event. Producing a business continuity plan can be an arduous task. With this template bundle, you can move the production of your plan forward significantly.

Template documents included:

  • Start Here
  • Title Page
  • Index
  • Version Control
  • Terms Of Reference
  • Pre-Incident Readiness
  • Scenario Diagrams & Personnel
  • Response Teams
  • Event Stages
  • Scope & Activation
  • Event Management
  • Cascade
  • Checklist & Event Log
  • Risk Assessment
  • Walkthrough
  • Test Schedule
  • Plan Owner Responsibilities
  • Minutes