Common Templates For Business Roadmaps
Business roadmaps can take on countless forms—depending on the business function the roadmap is in charge of. This article will discuss different templates for different purposes, so you can decide which template suits your needs best. The first type of roadmap we’ll talk about is a product roadmap.
Product managers are responsible for determining what products to work on and how they should be developed over time. They use their product roadmap to keep track of all these decisions and communicate them with other teams throughout the company. It’s a living document that should be updated on an ongoing basis.
Business roadmaps are essential to any business. They allow for the proper organization of resources and time so that they can be allocated appropriately. This is especially important when it comes to companies that are still in their early stages or have started expanding, as this will help them with decision-making processes. The different templates of roadmaps for different purposes is something we shall discuss today.
A product roadmap template can be used for a variety of purposes, including the planning and prioritization of new features; identifying what needs to be done – and in which order – towards launching a new product; communicating with other teams throughout the company; efficiently allocating resources (and their time); showing everyone involved where your business is headed.
Product roadmaps are typically categorized into two types: horizontal and vertical. A product manager uses the horizontal roadmap when they’re working with multiple products in one area of business, like IT or finance.
On this type of roadmap, each row represents a specific timeline, whereas the columns show the different types of presenting needs of the product.
The vertical roadmap is used when the product manager is dealing with a single product and its different versions or releases.
When it comes to business, the saying “form follows function” is very true. You may be familiar with a few of these different types of roadmaps, but there are many more out there that you might not have heard about.
Common Templates For Business Roadmaps
Product Roadmap Template
The goal of this template is to show how a product will evolve over time, from its initial conception all the way to release. This can be helpful for stakeholders who want to see what features will be coming down the pipeline.
Not just that, it is also helpful for senior executives to determine what product development investments should be made.
This template is mainly used by marketers who want to show the different marketing campaigns that will happen over time, and how they are expected to play out.
It is designed to help visualize how the product will be sold, and what are the different stages a customer goes through before they become a paying customer.
This type of roadmap is suited for products that have an existing market, and want to understand what are the next steps to grow their market share.
The goal of this template is to track new and upcoming projects that will affect the future of a company’s business.
This could include mergers and acquisitions, product launches, or changes to existing products that may have an effect on what direction a company is headed in.
The main purpose of this roadmap template is to show new projects before they happen so stakeholders can prepare accordingly for their impact on business operations.
Timeline Roadmap Template
This template offers a high-level view of what needs to be done and when it should be completed. It’s best used when there is a need to follow up on the progress of a specific project or product. This is especially helpful when different teams are working on different aspects of the product and need to be coordinated. It is not helpful for those who need to make strategic decisions.
In this template, projects are listed from left-to-right and top to bottom according to the time they will be completed at a high level of detail. Milestones that mark progress along the way can also be seen in the roadmap. Highlight the ones that need more attention and detail to flesh out the plan.
This is a very common type of roadmap, as it shows how all the different pieces of a project fit together. It can be used by those who need to make strategic decisions about their product or company. The timeline in this template only goes up to one year but can be extended if necessary.
The best part of this type of roadmap is that it provides a comprehensive look at the product or service and how all its components will fit together.
This template gives an idea about what should be achieved in one year’s time. It can also show which parts of a project are ahead or behind schedule to indicate whether changes need to be made. The timeline for the organization need not be more than five years. This template is targeted at executives who need to make decisions about the roadmap of the project, but are not involved with its day-to-day execution.
This type of roadmap shows what has been achieved in one year’s time and how much progress was made each quarter over a long term timeline. It can be helpful for the project manager to track the progress of their team and also for upper management to get a sense of how well the project is doing. The timeline should be more than five years, but less than fifteen years.
This template is used by product managers who want to track new features and releases over time.
Campaign Roadmap Template
The goal of this roadmap is for stakeholders (such as upper management) to understand where you expect a spike in the number of customers or revenue.
It can also show where you expect a dip in numbers so teams are prepared for the change ahead.
This roadmap template is used to communicate business goals and targets, while also showing how your company plans on achieving them. It’s an excellent tool to help stakeholders get excited about what they’re helping build! Strategic roadmap exercises will help your team uncover new opportunities and prioritize initiatives.
Apart from that, it also helps in aligning your employees with the company’s goals.
The strategic roadmap template is useful to communicate changes that will be taking place over time, for example when new strategies or product lines are being introduced into the market.
It helps stakeholders understand how their role contributes towards the overall goal of growing sales numbers and revenue over a set period pre-decided and researched by the company.
Operational Roadmap Template
The goal of this roadmap is to communicate the day-to-day workings of a business, including goals, tasks, dependencies, and deadlines. It should help team members understand what they need to do on a daily or weekly basis to support strategic objectives.
Operational roadmap exercises help managers and executives make better-informed decisions by providing a high-level overview of all current and upcoming projects, initiatives, and activities that are planned or in progress within their area of responsibility.
The operational template is best for detailing what’s happening “today” as it pertains to your business – including what’s being worked on, who is responsible, and when it needs to be completed.
A Project Roadmap
A project roadmap is a planning tool that outlines the steps required to bring a new product or service to market. It typically includes key milestones, deliverables, timelines, and dependencies.
Project roadmaps are often used in conjunction with product roadmaps, which outline the features and functionality of a new product or service.
When creating a project roadmap, it’s important to consider the following:
- The business objectives the project is trying to achieve
- The key stakeholders involved in the project
- The resources required to complete the project
- The dependencies between different tasks/projects
This template is used when there is a specific product or service that the company wants to launch in the market.
The key advantage of using a product roadmap is that it can help stakeholders understand how individual features will contribute to the overall business objectives.
It’s important to remember that a product roadmap should be constantly evolving, as new information.
Gantt Chart Template
This is one of the most popular types used because it shows all tasks involved in achieving an objective and their relationships to each other. It highlights dependencies between different projects, milestones that need to be completed first before another can start, who’s responsible for what kind of work, and when different tasks should be completed.
This is used especially when there are gantt chart dependencies between different teams or divisions working on a project.
PERT Chart Template
The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a project management tool that helps planners estimate the time required to complete a task, the critical path of tasks, and identifies potential problems.
Critical Path Method (CPM) is a subset of PERT that focuses exclusively on the critical path and identifies potential risks that could delay the completion of the project. It’s also helpful in calculating the amount of time required to complete each task, as well as how much they interrelate.
This template is used when there is a need to focus on the critical path and identify potential risks that could delay the completion of the project.
Milestone Chart Template
A milestone chart is used to track and manage milestones or goals for a project. It usually contains information such as the milestone name, description, date completed, assigned individual, status (completed, uncompleted, in progress), and notes.
This template is used when there is a need to track and manage milestones or goals for a project. This is also employed to visualize the critical path and identify potential risks that could delay the completion of a project.
In this template, each task is laid out in order of execution along with information on how long they should take to execute as well as their dependency on other tasks. You can also include additional notes for clarification or enhancement purposes.
Conclusion
While all of these templates allow for different levels of detail, it is important to choose the right one for your specific needs. As with anything else in business, a little preparation can go a long way in ensuring that your projects are successful.
We recommend using software for product management that comes with various tools like roadmap pillar etc to craft amazing products.