Creating a project roadmap is a foundational first step to kickoff any project, whether you’re building new product features or apps, or planning your company’s annual user conference. Even smaller projects, such as a thought leadership webinar or short-term marketing campaign, can benefit from a project roadmap. The reason is that project roadmaps define the scope and timeline of a project, and provide a transparent, bird’s eye view into who and what will be involved. They also ensure that your project is aligned with overarching business goals. Creating a project roadmap is a step in the planning process that should never be skipped, no matter how tempting it might be to dive in and start getting things done.
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What is a project roadmap?
A project roadmap is a visual representation of your project’s primary goals, deliverables, and important milestones. It sets the strategic, high-level overview and project timeline and is used along with, or to create, other planning documents.
Project roadmap vs. project plan
Any project needs both a project roadmap and a project plan. They’re equally important and serve different purposes.
A project roadmap provides a strategic overview of the project and high-level goals within a specified timeframe. The roadmap is visual, so everyone can easily see what content, features, or functionality will be delivered and when. This roadmap is also used for project stakeholder buy-in.
A project plan focuses on how project deliverables will be completed. This is a granular, tactical document that breaks the overarching project down into specific tasks with timelines, resources, dependencies, and budgets assigned to each stage or deliverable.
Project roadmap vs. product roadmap
These strategic roadmaps may sound similar, but they are both different and complementary.
A project roadmap focuses on a single project with clear start and end dates. It provides a visual outline of what will be delivered within the defined time frame. For example, the project roadmap might outline deliverables to support a quarterly product launch.
A product roadmap, by contrast, is a living document that shows the evolution of a product over time. It documents planned features and enhancements, although the deadlines are typically estimated and subject to change or re-prioritization.
Project roadmap vs. Gantt chart
There are various recognized methodologies and tools within the discipline of project management. A Gantt chart, for example, is one type of project visualization tool that displays specific tasks and their durations, dependencies, and scheduling—all on a horizontal timeline. It’s a detailed and technical tool for execution planning primarily used by project teams or project managers.
A project roadmap, however, is more of a strategic communication tool, accessible to all stakeholders and project contributors. The project roadmap communicates the big picture so that everyone is clear on the project’s goals, deliverables, and timeline.
Why teams need a project roadmap
Project roadmaps are a crucial component to help teams stay aligned and on track. They outline the project objectives and project scope, resources, and progress. Here are four key benefits:
Alignment: Project roadmaps are designed to support broad organizational goals, so that the work contributes to your company’s overall success. The high-level plan helps ensure that resources aren’t wasted on misaligned initiatives.
Transparency: Roadmaps help manage project stakeholder expectations by clearly communicating what will be delivered and when. Roadmaps are high-level, so they help build trust without requiring executives or customers to get lost in the details.
Resource planning: By visualizing major project milestones, project managers can streamline the process and begin to anticipate resource needs and identify risks and dependencies throughout the project lifecycle.
Agility: Teams can adjust a roadmap quickly throughout project phases when presented with challenges or changing business conditions. (A project plan, by comparison, often requires significant rework when circumstances change—which can slow progress or leave contributors in the dark as project managers work through the changes).
Project roadmap examples (with templates)
Typically, roadmaps are created using project management tools or purpose-built project management software. A great platform will allow for flexibility, as roadmaps can take different formats depending on the type of project or team(s) you’re working with. Here we’ll look at a few examples.
Project roadmap example on a Gantt chart
The Gantt block keeps related tasks in order, and automatically updates them when you change a crucial deadline. Just drag and drop to adjust timelines—then group and color-code your Gantt chart by task owner, category, or status to see your project at a high level.
Project roadmap example with AI
An AI project management template enhances standard project management capabilities by integrating artificial intelligence into your workflow. This includes features like AI-driven project status summaries, linked records to related project components, and intelligent categorization of record types. This is an ideal solution for teams seeking a streamlined approach to managing projects and using real-time AI insights.
Project roadmap example for marketing
A marketing content calendar template is a key tool for marketing project management—it helps you plan, organize, and execute your marketing strategy and deliverables. The entire team can use this calendar to see what’s planned, track progress, and monitor key performance indicators. You’ll also find a Kanban board view in the left panel to manage workflows visually.
3 essential project management roadmap tips
Here are three tips for producing an effective project roadmap and ensuring a successful project:
1. Keep it visual and accessible
A well-designed roadmap uses simple visual elements that instantly communicate timelines, dependencies, and milestones. The best visual roadmaps balance detail with clarity, easily referenced by both stakeholders and team members.
2. Focus on outcomes, not outputs
A project roadmap should emphasize the business objectives and customer value each phase will deliver, not just a list of features or tasks. Connecting roadmap items to strategic goals helps teams understand the "why" behind their work and stay aligned as they execute against deliverables.
3. Plan for flexibility from the start
Your roadmap is a living document that will evolve as your project progresses and new insights emerge. Build in regular review cycles to reassess priorities and adjust timelines based on feedback, changing requirements, or unexpected challenges.
How to create a project roadmap
Roadmap planning sets the foundation for the more detailed project charter or project tracker. Here’s how you can get started:
1. Define the vision and objectives
Begin by clearly articulating what success looks like for your project, including specific, measurable outcomes. These come from gathering input from key stakeholders, which ensures alignment on priorities, constraints, and success before diving into details. Document how this project supports broader organizational goals to provide context for future decision-making should trade-offs become necessary.
2. Identify key milestones and deliverables
Break your project down into concrete deliverables. For each milestone, determine what specific outcomes need to be achieved and what task dependencies exist between workstreams. Prioritize these milestones based on business value, technical dependencies, and resource availability to create a logical sequence of work.
3. Establish a realistic timeline
Milestones have to be realistic and account for team capacity, and any potential risks and external dependencies. You might be tempted to model the best case scenario, but it’s generally a good idea to build in some buffer time for unexpected challenges. It’s important to talk to everyone involved to understand how long a milestone should take and how many resources are available to work toward it. Also, if teams have competing priorities, you’ll want to catch and address this early.
4. Allocate resources
Determine what resources (people, budget, tools) are required for each phase of the roadmap and confirm their availability against your proposed timeline. Designate owners for each major milestone or workstream to track progress and escalate any issues. Also, document assumptions about resource allocation that might affect the roadmap's feasibility, such as whether the project needs dedicated team members or specialized skills.
5. Communicate and iterate
Share your roadmap with stakeholders. The visual format should make the roadmap easy to access and understand. Establish a regular cadence for reviewing the roadmap with the team and stakeholders to discuss progress, emerging risks, and potential adjustments.
Create project roadmaps with Airtable
The great news is that there are roadmap tools available to help define your project, assist with resource management, and keep to your project schedule. Airtable project management software makes it easy to incorporate into all areas of your business and to create project roadmaps for all types of projects, whether you’re a project manager using a project portfolio management tracking template across teams or managing a single project within your team. That’s because the Airtable platform is flexible and built to adapt to the way you work. Even better, choose a project roadmap template from our library to get started.
Create your next project roadmap with our free templates
FAQ
Project roadmap: Frequently asked questions
Not every project requires a detailed roadmap, but most benefit from having one—especially complex, cross-functional, or long-term initiatives. A roadmap aligns stakeholders around shared goals, timelines, and priorities, helping keep the project on track from start to finish.
Common challenges include unclear objectives, shifting priorities, and disconnected data across tools or teams. Without a flexible, up-to-date roadmap, it’s easy for miscommunication and delays to derail project progress.
A project roadmap typically includes key milestones, deadlines, goals, dependencies, and assigned owners. It provides a high-level overview of what’s happening, when, and who’s responsible—making it easier to track progress and adjust plans when needed.
About the author
Airtableis the AI-native platform that is the easiest way for teams to build trusted AI apps to accelerate business operations and deploy embedded AI agents at enterprise scale. Across every industry, leading enterprises trust Airtable to power workflows and transform their most critical business processes in product operations, marketing operations, and more – all with the power of AI built-in. More than 500,000 organizations, including 80% of the Fortune 100, rely on Airtable's AI-native platform to accelerate work, automate complex workflows, and turn the power of AI into measurable business impact.
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