Winning customers, creating strategies, documenting successes - a roadmap is suitable for many different purposes. For the best possible benefit, it is important to find the right roadmap for the respective requirements - a template saves you valuable time and maximizes the benefits of use.
In this article, you will learn which roadmap suits you best, how to make the most of it, and everything you should keep in mind when creating a roadmap using a template.
Why do you need a roadmap?
As a visual tool, roadmaps help to present complex issues such as business visions, sales strategies or marketing campaigns in a clear, comprehensible and quickly understandable way. Especially in the case of very extensive projects, the visual preparation in a roadmap is very useful. This way, all departments and project participants can see when they have to perform their work and how much time they have to do it. In addition, a roadmap can be used to assess whether the estimated timeline for a project can be realistically implemented and whether all the necessary work steps have been taken into account. To create your roadmap in an uncomplicated way, the use of a template is suitable.
Create a roadmap with template - these options are available
Every industry has its own requirements. That's why it makes sense to choose a roadmap that corresponds exactly to these industry-specific wishes and needs. The following overview shows you which options you have to create a roadmap and which templates are suitable when.
Strategic roadmap
Do you want to explain the overall vision for corporate growth to your boss, board or stakeholders in a clear and concise way? Then a Strategic Roadmap is the perfect tool. It allows you to map your campaigns and topics on different swimlanes, making the status quo of operations, short-term and long-term goals, and all the measures required to achieve the business vision tangible at a glance. Especially for long-term planning, it makes sense to create the Strategic Roadmap with a template.
Product roadmap
A product roadmap is suitable for both internal and external communication. Used internally, it maps the path of a product from development to market launch. This roadmap should be seen as a flexible tool that adapts to the development of the product again and again. As a guide, reminder and deadline, it helps to meet important milestones. When used externally, the product roadmap serves to present new products or services to customers and to receive direct feedback on which innovations should or should not be introduced. In order not to get lost in the amount of aspects that a product launch entails, it is also advisable here to rely on a template when creating the roadmap.
Team creates product roadmap with template © Yingyaipumi / adobe stock
Project roadmap
A project roadmap is exactly what its name suggests: it provides an overview of a specific project. This can be, for example, a marketing campaign or event planning. Anyone who wants to create and use a project roadmap will find all the important information about milestones, deliverables, key players, timelines, etc. in the template. Usually created by the project manager, this roadmap helps to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
Technology/IT roadmap
Creating a technology or IT roadmap is always useful when it comes to visualizing the technology infrastructure of a company and updating it on this basis. A technology roadmap provides you with a complete overview of all your CMS and ERP systems, your marketing automation, data analysis, etc. In order not to forget anything when you create the roadmap, a template is extremely helpful here as well.
Roadmap Creation Template © SeaTable
Agile roadmap
Agility is one of the most important keywords for companies that want to future-proof themselves. During the change process on the way to an agile operation, it is helpful to create an agile roadmap. A template ideally includes all the information you need to keep your strategy in view, react quickly to changes, and bring all teams along with you as the company evolves.
HR Roadmap
A wide variety of strands come together in a human resources department. It's all about personnel planning, vacation times, recruiting, applicant management and much more. In addition, every successful company has an HR strategy to attract and retain talent. In this context, an HR roadmap serves to give shape to all HR measures and align them with the company's overall vision. It is also a valuable tool for visualizing budget plans and presenting them to CEOs or board members in a manageable way. For greater clarity, it therefore makes perfect sense to create a roadmap. Using a template, this can be done quickly, easily and individually adapted to each company.
Criteria for a good roadmap template
The aspects you should consider when creating a roadmap and looking for a template depend primarily on your target audience. Depending on whether you are addressing (potential) customers, CEOs or simply the members of your team, it makes sense to use different templates. They will then highlight exactly the points that are relevant for each addressee.
In addition, a good roadmap is flexibly adaptable and can be prepared individually for different presentations. The only important thing is that it has exactly the right key elements (i.e. goals, strategies, timelines, etc.) that are crucial for your topic. And if the roadmap then offers appropriate customization options for detailed work, you can easily create the optimal roadmap and use the template again and again.
What are the types of roadmap templates?
To create a roadmap, you can use various templates. The most popular options include creating a roadmap with Excel as well as with PowerPoint. The advantage of creating a roadmap from a PowerPoint template: PowerPoint generally provides various roadmap templates. So you can directly find the template that fits your requirements. To find the right Excel template, on the other hand, you need to invest a little more time. Since these are not part of the general offer of the program, a little research is required until you find the right template for your purposes to download.
Many specialized providers also offer directly usable roadmap templates - for example, SeaTable. Reputable providers rely on customizable templates that meet your exact requirements and show you what features you can expect before you download them by means of corresponding preview options. This way, you avoid buying the proverbial pig in a poke. In addition, these preview modes help you find templates that are well-suited to your business and purposes. After all, if you can see what elements a template can serve with while researching for the right roadmap, you're guaranteed to make the right choice.
Find the right roadmap for every purpose
So if you want to create a roadmap and use a template for it, you should definitely spend some time comparing different templates and providers. A direct comparison of the features will quickly show which is the right template for your purposes.
Image source Cover image: © Duncan Andison/Adobe Stock
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