How to create a Releases timeline roadmap

Plan and communicate when different releases will be worked on. This visualization is ideal for planning outputs and milestones for your products with clear timeframes.

In this article:

• How to create a Releases timeline roadmap
  • Create your roadmap
  • Add releases to your roadmap
  • Configure release status and visibility
  • Rearrange release timeframe and order
  • Align features under a release
  • Add milestones to your roadmap
  • How to display time horizons and feature visualizations
  • How to zoom into your Releases timeline roadmap
  • How to share and export your Releases timeline roadmap
• When to use a Releases timeline roadmap
• Learn more about using Releases timeline roadmaps

How to create a Releases timeline roadmap

Create your roadmap

1. Click the + button next to your Teamspace or folder name.
2. From the drop-down menu, select Create Roadmap.

1. Select Releases timeline roadmap from the left menu.
2. Click Choose roadmap.

Add releases to your roadmap

1. Click the blue + button to display a list of your releases. Click on a release to add it to the roadmap.
2. Click on a blank space on the roadmap to create a search bar. Click the name of an existing release to add it to your roadmap. If the release already has a designated timeframe, you can keep that timeframe or update it.
3. Click on a blank space on the roadmap to create a search bar. Write the name of a new release and click Create to create a new release within the specified timeframe.

On the column roadmap, you can either select the columns by clicking the Add columns button on the roadmap header, or by clicking in the middle of the canvas.

For the release column roadmap, you can first choose the release group you want to work with, and then you can quickly add a column by toggling on the releases.

You can choose which entities you will work with in the roadmap by clicking Item type in the roadmap header and selecting the entity from the drop-down menu. You can turn on/off secondary or tertiary items on all roadmaps. You will then see which items you are displaying in the header. 

You can also assign a timeframe to a release by clicking on that release's name from a release column.

Configure release status and visibility

1. Click on a downward-facing caret to reveal underlying features and subfeatures attached to a release.
2. Click on the flag on the right side of a release card to adjust the status of the release. Note: this will not impact the feature status of any underlying feature cards.
3. Click the  menu and select Hide to prevent contributors and viewers from seeing this card. You can reveal hidden cards via your Settings menu if you wish.
4. Click the  menu and select Remove from roadmap to remove the release from your roadmap. This action will not delete the release object, or impact the relationship between your release and any underlying features.

Rearrange release timeframe and order

1. Drag and drop the ends of each release card to adjust the start and stop dates of the timeframe field.
2. Drag and drop release cards to adjust the order in which they are displayed.
3. Drag and drop a release card to automatically update its timeframe field.

Align features under a release

The Releases timeline roadmap makes it easy to align the timeframe of your individual features with the timeframe of your overall release. 

If a feature associated with a release has a timeframe outside the date range of the release, the roadmap will display an overlap, indicated with a transparent background and a dashed outline.

To address an overlap:

1. Adjust the timeframe of the release by double-clicking on the overlap or dragging and dropping the end of the release to align with the outlying feature.
2. Adjust the timeframe of the feature by dragging and dropping the feature along the timeframe, or clicking on the feature to edit the date field.

1. If a feature does not have its own timeframe, it will display transparently on the roadmap.
2. Hovering over the feature will reveal a calendar icon. Click on the calendar icon to assign the release's timeframe to the feature.
3. To remove a feature's timeframe, click ••• on a feature, then select Clear timeframe.

Features with assigned timeframes can be dragged and dropped into the same line:

Add milestones to your roadmap

1. Click above the top of your roadmap to place a milestone. Adjust the date via the drop-down calendar field if necessary.
2. When adjusting a release's timeframe, a guideline will appear when the timeframe approaches a milestone.

How to organize your Releases timeline roadmap

1. Click Swimlanes in the Group menu on the top left of your roadmap to organize your roadmap horizontally.
2. Click  Configure to open up the configuration menu.
3. Toggle Time horizons to display your features organized into broader time horizons.
4. Select Feature visualization to decide whether timeframes represent duration or end date.
5. Toggle Effort to display story points on each feature card.
6. Click on the People section and select which avatar you want to visualize on each feature card - Owner, Teams, or Custom Member field.
7. Enterprise plans: Toggle Objectives to display any objectives associated with that feature.
8. Toggle User impact score to display the user impact score of a feature on its card.
9. Toggle Tags to display associated tags of a feature on its card.
10. Enterprise plans: Toggle Enable dependencies to monitor your delivery process for possible conflicts.
11. Toggle Show subfeatures to display associated subfeature cards.
12. Toggle Show hidden cards to display feature and subfeature cards that have been manually hidden from contributors.

Change timeline cadence

1. Click the cadence menu next to Settings.
2. Select the desired structure: Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly.

Add customizable swimlanes

1. Click Group to open up the configuration menu.
2. Click the Swimlanes drop-down menu and select Customizable.
3. Rename your default swimlane.
4. Scroll down to click [+] to create another swimlane.
5. Drag and drop releases into the desired swimlane.

How to display time horizons and feature visualizations

Visualize feature duration

1. Click the  Configure menu in the top right corner.
2. Under Feature Visualization Settings, select how you want to display features under objectives. Select Duration to visualize feature duration or Flat list to show features without communicating their timeframes.
3. This will round up specific dates on your roadmap into broader time horizons and automatically align your cards into the correct column.
4. Click Save roadmap in the top right corner before sharing your roadmap.

Display time horizons on your roadmap

Note: Turning on time horizons is only a change in visualization. It won't affect the timeframes you've assigned to your features.

1. Click the  Configure menu in the top right corner.
2. Under Timeline Settings, toggle on Time horizons. This will round up specific dates on your roadmap into broader time horizons, and automatically align your cards into the correct column.
3. Select Duration to visualize duration or End date to visualize anticipated release date.
4. Click Save roadmap in the top right corner before sharing your roadmap.

When time horizons are turned on, dragging and dropping a feature around your roadmap will automatically update that feature's timeframe.

How to zoom into your Releases timeline roadmap

In the bottom right corner of any timeline roadmap, you will see -100%+ indicating the current level of granularity. Click the minus button to zoom out and click the plus button to zoom in.

If using a trackpad-enabled device, you can zoom in and out of a timeline roadmap by pinching.

How to share and export your Releases timeline roadmap

1. After making any configuration changes, click Save. You will see a confirmation once your roadmap changes have been saved, and the Save button will now read Share.
2. Click the next to the share button.
3. Click Print to print your roadmap.
4. Click Export as PNG to generate a PNG of your roadmap.

When to use a Releases timeline roadmap

Releases timeline roadmaps are good for:

• Creating a low-maintenance tactical roadmap to track progress against important deadlines. Changing the timeframe of a release will dynamically update the timeframe for its associated features - no need to fine-tune every underlying feature.
• Scheduled releases (e.g. release objects like "October" or "Q1").

Releases timeline roadmaps might not be good for:

• Giving big audiences the Big Picture about your vision. If you're trying to convey why you're building certain features, or how your upcoming releases will contribute to your company's success, consider an Objectives timeline roadmap.
• Continuous feature release processes. Consider the Release plan roadmap (high level), a Feature timeline roadmap (granular), or a Kanban roadmap (status-based).

Learn more about using Releases timeline roadmaps

• Guide: Plan releases to decide what to deliver when
• Guide: Choose the right roadmap for your audience