Create and edit roadmaps

Pendo Roadmaps is a communication tool that helps you visualize and share your product vision. For an overview of functionality, see Roadmaps in Pendo Free.

This article provides instructions for creating and editing roadmaps in Pendo Free.

The Roadmaps page is accessed from the left-side navigation. If you're on a smaller screen, the page can be found by choosing More in the left-side navigation and then selecting Roadmaps from the dropdown menu.

Create a roadmap

You create a roadmap in the Roadmaps page, which you can find in the left-side menu of your Pendo subscription. To create a roadmap:

1. Select + Create Roadmap in the top-right corner of the page. 

2. Enter a meaningful name.

3. Optionally, enter a description for your roadmap.

4. Add your first Swimlane. A roadmap must include at least one swimlane.

• • Choose a meaningful name.
  • Add a description (optional).
  • Choose a color for the Swimlane.

5. Select + Add New Swimlane and repeat step 4 until you’re ready to continue with your roadmap.

6. Select Create Roadmap in the bottom-right corner of the page.

Add swimlanes to your roadmap

Use swimlanes to group items on your roadmap. You can add new swimlanes in three ways:

• By selecting the Add Swimlane button at the bottom-left of your roadmap.
• By selecting the ellipses (...) on the right side of an existing swimlane, and then Add Swimlane.
• By editing the roadmap settings, which you access by selecting the ellipses (...) in the top-right of the roadmap's page, and then Settings.

The first two options for adding swimlanes open an Add Swimlane window. Enter a name, add a description (optional), and choose a color for your new swimlane.

Alternatively, open Settings from the ellipses (...) dropdown menu at the top of your roadmap. Here, you can edit several aspects of the roadmap, including swimlanes.

You can also reorder your swimlanes from here by dragging and dropping them up and down the Swimlanes list. When you're done adding and editing your swimlanes, select Save Changes in the bottom-right corner of the page.

Create items (initiatives and features)

You can add two types of item to your roadmaps:

• Initiatives: Larger projects or goals that line up to your departmental or company strategy. You can add measurable data to the initiative title or description, such as "Reduce churn by 10%", to show how your planned features have business impact.
• Features: Smaller pieces of work that you plan to explore or deliver. A feature can be a piece of research, an item that engineering plans to deliver, or marketing to support a launch. 

For more information about initiatives and features, see the Roadmaps for Pendo Free article, which provides an overview of the Roadmaps functionality.

To create an initiative or feature:

1. Select + Add to Roadmap in the top-right corner of the roadmap page.

2. Choose either Create Initiative or Create Feature. This opens the new item in a side panel on the right side of the page.

3. Enter a meaningful name for your item.

4. Optionally, add a description. 

5. Select either Save to Backlog to keep the item in the backlog or Save to Roadmap to place it directly on the roadmap.

Choosing Save to Backlog automatically opens the backlog in the right-side panel. From here, you can drag-and-drop your newly created item onto the roadmap. 

Add items from your backlog

To add initiatives and features from your backlog, you must first create them. If you don't yet have any items in your backlog, follow the instructions under Create items (initiative and features) before continuing.

Once you have initiatives and features in your backlog, you can drag-and-drop them onto your roadmap.

1. Select + Add to Roadmap in the top-right corner of the roadmap page.
2. Choose Add From Backlog. This opens the backlog in a side panel on the right side of the page.
3. Find and drag the item onto the appropriate location in your roadmap.

Create item hierarchies

Initiatives and features are hierarchical. An initiative can contain individual features within it. You can drag-and-drop individual features into an initiative, or drag one feature into another feature to create a new initiative. 

Dragging a feature into another feature creates an initiative consisting of these two features. You can add more features as required after creating the initiative. In the Create Initiative window that appears, add a title and then select Create Initiative.

You can see whether an initiative includes features within it based on whether there's a number and a dropdown arrow on the right side of the item in the roadmap. The number tells you how many features exist within the initiative.

You can expand an initiative to see what features it consists of by selecting the dropdown arrow on the right side of the item.

You can also see what features an initiative consists of by selecting the initiative to open it and then opening the Linked tab. For more information, see View item details, below.

View item details

Select the individual initiative or feature from the backlog or from the roadmap to view its details. Each item consists of two tabs. The Overview tab provides details, such as who the item was created by and when, and allows you to add additional notes in the Description. For instructions, see Edit item details, below. If the item is part of a nested hierarchy of items on the roadmap, the Linked tab shows you what other items the initiative or feature is linked to.

From the backlog

To view information about an initiative or feature in your backlog, navigate to + Add to Roadmap > Add From Backlog and then select View in the top-right of the item's card.

Select View in Backlog at the top of the item details to navigate back to the backlog of items.

From the roadmap

Select the item directly from its location on the roadmap to view its information in the right-side panel.

In the Linked tab of an initiative that's on your roadmap, you can see all the features nested in that initiative. The number next to the tab title indicates how many features are nested in that initiative. In the Linked tab of a feature that belongs to an initiative, you can see the name of the initiative that the feature belongs to. 

You can view the details of any linked items by selecting View next to that item. This opens the item's details in the right-side panel. 

Move and resize items

You can drag-and-drop items on your roadmap along the timeline and between swimlanes. You can also resize items on your roadmap, including any features that are nested within an initiative. Hover over the left or right side of an item to then change the span of the item.

Edit item details

To edit an individual item, select the item from the roadmap or in the backlog and then modify the name and the description as required. You can add links to the description of an item in the backlog using Markdown with the following format: [link name](http://urlexample.com).

Remove items from the roadmap

To move an item from your roadmap back into your backlog, open the item from the roadmap and then select the Move to Backlog button at the top of the panel.

Delete an item

You can delete individual initiatives and features from the backlog or from the roadmap.

1. Select the initiative or feature you want to delete.
2. Select the trash icon at the top of the panel.
3. Select Confirm Delete.

When you delete an item, you're asked to confirm the action because it can't be undone. Any items that are linked to the initiative or feature you're deleting will still exist in the backlog. You must delete features belonging to an initiative separately.

Edit an existing roadmap

You can edit the roadmap name, description, and swimlanes from within your roadmap in Settings.

1. Select your roadmap from the Roadmaps list. 
2. Select the ellipses (...) in the top-right corner of the roadmap.
3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

This opens the Settings window, where you can:

• Rename your roadmap.
• Edit the description.
• Change the names, descriptions, and colors of existing swimlanes.
• Remove, add, and reorder swimlanes.

After you’ve edited your roadmap, select Save Changes in the bottom-right corner of the page, or select Cancel to revert to the unedited roadmap.

Delete an existing roadmap

Find the roadmap you want to delete in the Roadmaps list, and select the trash icon on the right side of that roadmap row. This opens a window asking you to confirm or cancel the action. Select Confirm Delete to delete the roadmap. 

Caution: You can’t recover a roadmap after it’s been deleted. Your initiatives and features will be deleted along with your roadmap. In the future, initiatives and features will become roadmap-agnostic, and continue to exist in the backlog when a roadmap is deleted.