Complete Roadmap Planner Documentation

Getting Started

Roadmap Planner is a free, browser-based tool designed to help product managers, development teams, and founders create quarterly roadmaps and Gantt charts without the complexity of enterprise project management software.

What You Need

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)
• No account registration required
• No software installation needed
• Works offline after initial page load

Quick Start in 60 Seconds

1. Visit my.roadmapplanner.app
2. Click "Add Project" and name your first project (e.g., "Mobile App Development")
3. Click "Add Subproject" to create logical groupings (e.g., "User Interface")
4. Click "Add Feature" to add specific deliverables with priorities and effort estimates
5. View your automatically generated Gantt chart showing quarterly distribution
6. Export to CSV to save your work

Understanding the Project Structure

Roadmap Planner uses a three-level hierarchy to organize your work. This structure helps you see both the big picture and the granular details.

The Three Levels

1. Projects (Strategic Level)

Projects represent major strategic initiatives or pillars of your roadmap. These are the highest-level containers.

Examples:

• "AI Copilot Development"
• "Mobile App Launch"
• "Enterprise Features"
• "Infrastructure Modernization"
• "Customer Success Platform"

2. Subprojects (Tactical Level)

Subprojects are logical groupings within projects. They help organize related features and make the roadmap easier to navigate.

Examples within "Mobile App Launch":

• "iOS Development"
• "Android Development"
• "Backend API"
• "UI/UX Design"
• "Testing and QA"

3. Features (Execution Level)

Features are individual deliverables that your team will actually build. Each feature has:

• Name: What you're building
• Priority: How important it is (1-5 scale)
• Effort: How much work it requires (story points)
• Quarter: When it will be delivered (Q1-Q4 or ranges like "Q1-Q2")

Creating Projects

How to Create a Project

1. Click the "Add Project" button in the top control panel
2. Enter a descriptive project name in the popup dialog
3. Set the project priority (1 = highest priority, 5 = lowest priority)
4. Click "Add" to create the project

Project Priority Guidelines

Project priority affects the automatic quarterly distribution of features. Use this scale:

• Priority 1: Mission-critical projects that directly impact revenue or customer commitments
• Priority 2: Important strategic initiatives with clear business value
• Priority 3: Valuable improvements that should be done this year
• Priority 4: Nice-to-have projects that can be delayed if needed
• Priority 5: Exploratory or research projects with uncertain outcomes

Editing Projects

To edit a project, click the edit icon (pencil) next to the project name in the table. You can modify the project name and priority at any time.

Deleting Projects

To delete a project, click the delete icon (trash can) next to the project name and confirm the deletion.

Best Practices for Projects

• Limit yourself to 5-10 projects per year to maintain focus
• Use names that executives and stakeholders will understand
• Align projects with company OKRs or strategic goals
• Review project priorities quarterly as business needs change
• Consider using a naming convention like "2026: [Project Name]"

Adding Subprojects

How to Create a Subproject

1. Click the "Add Subproject" button in the control panel
2. Select the parent project from the dropdown
3. Enter a descriptive subproject name
4. Set the subproject priority (1-5 scale)
5. Click "Add" to create the subproject

When to Use Subprojects

Subprojects are useful for:

• Team Organization: "Frontend Team," "Backend Team," "Mobile Team"
• Technology Stacks: "iOS App," "Android App," "Web App"
• Workstreams: "Research Phase," "Development Phase," "Launch Phase"
• Product Areas: "Authentication," "Payment Processing," "Reporting"
• User Journeys: "Onboarding," "Core Experience," "Retention Features"

Subproject Priority

Subproject priority works together with project priority to determine feature ranking. Features in higher-priority subprojects within higher-priority projects will automatically be scheduled earlier in the year.

Managing Subprojects

Like projects, you can edit or delete subprojects using the icons in the table. Deleting a subproject will delete all features within it.

Managing Features

Creating Features

1. Click "Add Feature" in the control panel
2. Select the parent project and subproject from the dropdowns
3. Enter a clear, specific feature name
4. Set the feature priority (1-5 scale)
5. Estimate the effort in story points
6. Choose the target quarter (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, or ranges like "Q1-Q2")
7. Click "Add" to create the feature

Writing Good Feature Names

Feature names should be clear and actionable. Compare these examples:

Feature Fields Explained

Feature Name

A concise description of what will be delivered. Should be understandable by both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Feature Priority

How important this specific feature is within its subproject. Use the same 1-5 scale as projects and subprojects.

Effort Points

A relative estimate of how much work the feature requires. See the Effort Estimation section for detailed guidance.

Quarter Assignment

When the feature should be delivered. Options include:

• Q1: January - March
• Q2: April - June
• Q3: July - September
• Q4: October - December
• Q1-Q2, Q2-Q3, Q3-Q4: Features spanning multiple quarters

Editing and Deleting Features

Use the edit icon to modify feature details at any time. Click the delete icon to remove a feature from the roadmap.

Understanding the Priority System

How Priority Affects Scheduling

Roadmap Planner uses a composite scoring system to automatically rank features. The score combines:

• Project Priority (1-5)
• Subproject Priority (1-5)
• Feature Priority (1-5)
• Effort Weight (calculated from effort points)

Lower scores rank higher (priority 1 is more important than priority 5). Features with lower composite scores are automatically assigned to earlier quarters.

The Composite Score Formula

Effort Weight = Math.ceil(Effort Points / 10), which means:

• 1-10 effort points = weight of 1
• 11-20 effort points = weight of 2
• 21-30 effort points = weight of 3
• And so on...

Priority Assignment Strategy

When Everything is Priority 1

If you mark everything as priority 1, you lose the ability to differentiate. Use the full 1-5 scale to create meaningful prioritization.

Recommended Distribution

• Priority 1: 10-20% of features (must-haves)
• Priority 2: 20-30% of features (should-haves)
• Priority 3: 30-40% of features (nice-to-haves)
• Priority 4-5: 20-30% of features (future considerations)

Overriding Automatic Scheduling

While the tool assigns quarters automatically based on priority scores, you can manually specify quarters for any feature. This is useful when:

• A low-priority feature must be delivered early due to a customer commitment
• A high-priority feature must wait for technical dependencies
• You want to spread work evenly across quarters for resource management

Effort Estimation Best Practices

Why Effort Points, Not Hours?

Time-based estimates (hours, days, weeks) are notoriously inaccurate for knowledge work. Effort points allow you to compare relative complexity without pretending to know exact timelines.

Suggested Effort Point Scale

• 5 points: Trivial change, less than 1 week
• 10 points: Small feature, 1-2 weeks
• 20 points: Medium feature, 3-4 weeks
• 40 points: Large feature, 1-2 months
• 80 points: Epic feature, 2-3 months
• 100+ points: Should be broken down into smaller features

Calibration Technique

1. Pick a recent feature your team completed and assign it a baseline score (e.g., 20 points)
2. For each new feature, ask: "Is this bigger or smaller than the baseline?"
3. Adjust up or down accordingly
4. Over time, your team will develop a shared understanding of the scale

Team Estimation Sessions

Don't estimate in isolation. Run quick estimation sessions with your team:

• Present the feature and acceptance criteria
• Each team member suggests an effort estimate
• Discuss outliers (why did one person say 10 and another say 40?)
• Converge on a consensus estimate

Accounting for Uncertainty

When in doubt, round up. It's better to under-promise and over-deliver than the opposite. For high-uncertainty features, add a buffer:

• Low uncertainty (well-understood work): Use base estimate
• Medium uncertainty (some unknowns): Add 25-50%
• High uncertainty (research spike needed): Add 100% or more

Quarterly Planning

Why Quarterly Planning?

Quarterly planning strikes the right balance:

• Long enough: To absorb unexpected issues and changes
• Short enough: To maintain focus and accountability
• Aligned with business cycles: Matches financial reporting and board meetings
• Realistic scope: Teams can commit to deliverables without overpromising

Automatic Quarter Distribution

If you don't manually assign quarters, the tool automatically distributes features based on their composite priority score:

• Top 25%: Assigned to Q1
• 25-50%: Assigned to Q2
• 50-75%: Assigned to Q3
• Bottom 25%: Assigned to Q4

Multi-Quarter Features

Some features span multiple quarters. Use the quarter range options:

• Q1-Q2: Starts in Q1, completes in Q2
• Q2-Q3: Starts in Q2, completes in Q3
• Q3-Q4: Starts in Q3, completes in Q4

In the Gantt chart, multi-quarter features appear as bars spanning both quarters.

Quarterly Planning Workflow

1. Start with strategic goals for the year
2. Create projects that align with these goals
3. Break projects into subprojects and features
4. Prioritize everything using the 1-5 scale
5. Estimate effort for each feature
6. Review the automatically assigned quarters
7. Manually adjust quarters if needed for dependencies or resource constraints
8. Check the Gantt chart to visualize the quarterly distribution
9. Iterate until you have a balanced, achievable roadmap

Balancing Quarters

Use the "View by Subprojects" or "View by Projects" modes to see aggregated effort per quarter. Look for:

• Overloaded quarters: One quarter has 3x the effort of others
• Empty quarters: Q4 has almost nothing scheduled
• Team dependencies: Frontend features in Q1 but backend APIs in Q3

Working with Gantt Charts

What is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart is a visual timeline that shows when different features, subprojects, or projects will be delivered across the year. Each row represents an item, and bars show the quarters when work will happen.

Viewing the Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart appears in two places:

• Mini preview: Below the main table in the application
• Full-screen mode: Click "Open Gantt in New Window" for a presentation-ready view

Understanding the Gantt Visualization

Each bar in the Gantt chart represents:

• Row label: The name of the feature, subproject, or project
• Bar position: Which quarter(s) the work occurs in
• Bar length: How many quarters the work spans
• Bar color: The parent project (each project has a unique color)

Gantt Chart View Modes

Use the view mode selector to change what appears in the Gantt chart:

Features View

Shows every individual feature as a separate row. Best for detailed planning and seeing exactly what will be delivered each quarter.

Subprojects View

Aggregates features into subproject rows. Shows the earliest and latest quarters for features within each subproject. Best for mid-level planning and team coordination.

Projects View

Aggregates features into project rows. Shows the overall timeline for strategic initiatives. Best for executive presentations and high-level roadmap reviews.

Using Gantt Charts in Presentations

1. Switch to "Projects" or "Subprojects" view for executive audiences
2. Click "Open Gantt in New Window"
3. Use your OS screen sharing or presentation mode
4. The full-screen Gantt removes UI clutter for a clean presentation
5. Export to PNG if you need to embed in slides

Importing and Exporting Data

Why CSV Format?

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a universal format that works with:

• Microsoft Excel
• Google Sheets
• JIRA, Linear, Asana (via import)
• Python, R, and data analysis tools
• Version control systems (Git)

Exporting Your Roadmap

1. Click the "Export CSV" button in the control panel
2. Your browser will download a file named "roadmap-export.csv"
3. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets to review
4. Save this file as your backup

CSV Export Format

The exported CSV contains these columns:

Importing a CSV File

1. Click "Import CSV" in the control panel
2. Select your previously exported CSV file
3. The tool will parse the file and load all projects, subprojects, and features
4. Review the imported data in the table

Creating a CSV from Scratch

You can create a CSV file in Excel or Google Sheets and import it. Use this template structure:

Editing in Excel

Many teams prefer to edit roadmaps in Excel for bulk operations:

• Export from Roadmap Planner
• Open in Excel
• Use formulas, sorting, and filtering
• Make bulk changes (e.g., shift all Q1 features to Q2)
• Save as CSV
• Import back into Roadmap Planner

Sharing with Stakeholders

Export to CSV and share via email or Slack. Recipients can open in Excel without needing access to any planning tool.

Drag and Drop Reordering

How It Works

In "Features" view mode, you can drag rows to reorder features manually. This overrides the automatic priority-based ranking.

Using Drag and Drop

1. Ensure you're in "Features" view mode
2. Click and hold on any row in the table
3. Drag the row up or down to the desired position
4. Release the mouse button to drop the row
5. The feature's priority will update based on its new position

Priority Recalculation

When you drop a feature in a new position:

• The tool recalculates priorities for all features based on their visual order
• Top 20% of features get priority 1
• Next 20% get priority 2
• And so on...

When to Use Drag and Drop

Drag and drop is useful for:

• Quick reordering during planning meetings
• Visual prioritization exercises
• Fine-tuning the order of similarly-important features

Limitations

• Only works in "Features" view (not in Subprojects or Projects views)
• Doesn't change the quarter assignments
• Resets if you re-sort the table by clicking column headers

Filtering and Sorting

Filtering by Project

Use the project filter dropdown to show only features from a specific project. This is useful when working on one strategic initiative at a time.

Filtering by Subproject

After selecting a project, you can further filter by subproject. This helps you focus on a specific team or workstream.

Text Search

Use the search box to filter features by name. The search is case-insensitive and matches partial text.

Example: Searching for "auth" will show "User Authentication," "OAuth Integration," and "Authorization API."

Sorting the Table

Click any column header to sort the table by that column:

• Project: Alphabetical
• Subproject: Alphabetical
• Feature: Alphabetical
• Priority: Numerical (1-5)
• Effort: Numerical (low to high)
• Quarter: Chronological (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
• Score: Numerical (low to high)

Click the same column header again to reverse the sort order.

Clearing Filters

Select "All Projects" in the project filter dropdown to remove filters and see all features.

Keyboard Shortcuts

While Roadmap Planner is primarily mouse-driven, here are some browser shortcuts that can speed up your workflow:

General Shortcuts

• Ctrl+F / Cmd+F: Search the page (use browser find to locate specific features)
• Ctrl+S / Cmd+S: Save (though this won't work as expected - use Export CSV instead)
• Tab: Navigate between form fields when adding projects/features
• Enter: Submit dialogs when adding or editing items
• Esc: Close dialogs without saving

Browser Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Shift+T / Cmd+Shift+T: Reopen closed tab (if you accidentally close the planner)
• F11: Full-screen mode (useful for presentations)
• Ctrl+Plus/Minus: Zoom in/out if text is too small

Data Privacy and Storage

Where Your Data Lives

Roadmap Planner is a privacy-first tool. Your data is stored exclusively in your browser's memory (RAM) while you're using the application. It is never sent to any server.

What This Means

• No one (including us) can see your roadmap data
• Your roadmap is not shared with third parties
• No login means no account database with your information
• Data disappears completely when you close the browser tab

Data Persistence

The tool intentionally does not use localStorage or cookies to save your data. This is a deliberate privacy design choice. To save your work:

1. Export to CSV before closing the tab
2. Save the CSV file to your computer or cloud storage
3. Import the CSV when you return to continue working

Working with Sensitive Data

Because data never leaves your browser, Roadmap Planner is safe to use for:

• Confidential product roadmaps
• Pre-announcement features
• Competitive strategy planning
• Sensitive customer commitments

Analytics

The website uses Google Analytics to track page views and usage patterns, but no roadmap data is included in analytics. We see that you visited the page, but we don't see what you're planning.

Troubleshooting

I Lost My Data After Closing the Browser

Unfortunately, if you didn't export to CSV before closing, the data is gone. The tool does not auto-save. Moving forward:

• Export to CSV frequently (every 15-30 minutes while working)
• The tool warns you before closing if unsaved data exists
• Consider keeping your exported CSV open in Excel as a backup while working

CSV Import Fails

If your CSV import doesn't work:

• Ensure the file is in CSV format, not XLSX
• Check that column headers match the expected format
• Open the CSV in a text editor to check for special characters or formatting issues
• Verify that all required columns are present
• Try exporting an example from the tool, then modifying it

Gantt Chart Doesn't Show Features

If the Gantt chart is empty:

• Make sure you've added at least one feature with a quarter assignment
• Check that you're in the correct view mode (Features, Subprojects, or Projects)
• Verify that filters aren't hiding all your data

Full-Screen Gantt Window is Blocked

Some browsers block popup windows. If clicking "Open Gantt in New Window" doesn't work:

• Check for a popup blocker notification in your browser's address bar
• Allow popups for roadmapplanner.app
• Try using the mini Gantt preview instead

Drag and Drop Doesn't Work

If you can't drag rows:

• Ensure you're in "Features" view mode (not Subprojects or Projects)
• Try clicking and holding for a moment before dragging
• Check that your browser supports drag and drop (all modern browsers do)

Browser Compatibility Issues

Roadmap Planner requires a modern browser. If you experience issues:

• Update to the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge
• Avoid Internet Explorer (no longer supported)
• Clear your browser cache if the page looks broken

Performance with Large Roadmaps

If the tool feels slow with many features:

• Use filters to show only relevant projects
• Switch to Subprojects or Projects view to reduce row count
• Consider splitting very large roadmaps into multiple CSV files (e.g., one per team)

Still Need Help?

Contact us at roadmapplannerapp@gmail.com or join our Discord community for support.