Manage items in your roadmap

You can add three types of item to your roadmaps: initiatives, features, and ideas. For information about these item types, see Roadmaps in Listen and Create and edit roadmaps.

This article provides instructions for:

• Viewing the details of items in your backlog or on your roadmap.
• Creating and adding initiatives and features to your roadmap. For instructions on how to add ideas to your roadmap, see Add, promote, and remove ideas in your roadmaps.
• Link items by nesting features and ideas within an initiative on your roadmap.
• Moving and resizing items on your roadmap.
• Editing items on your roadmap.
• Removing items from your roadmap.

View initiative details

You can view the details of an individual initiative:

• From the roadmap. Select the initiative directly from its location on the roadmap to view its information in the right-side panel.
• From the backlog. Open the backlog and then select View in the top-right of the item's card. Select View in backlog at the top of the item's details to go back to the backlog of items.

Initiatives have two tabs: Overview and Roadmap links.

Overview tab

The Overview tab provides details, such as who the item was created by and what the status of the initiative is, and allows you to add notes in the Description. For instructions, see Edit item details.

Roadmap links tab

If the initiative has items nested within it, the Roadmap links tab shows you what features and ideas are included within it. The number next to the tab title indicates how many items are nested in that initiative. 

From here, you can:

• Expand the item. See basic information about the linked item by selecting the down arrow on the right side of the item's card to expand the view. Information includes who created the item, when the item was created, and the status of the item.
• View the item's details. View all the details of a linked item by hovering over the item's card and selecting View. This opens the item's full details in the right-side panel. 

 

View feature details

You can view the details of an individual features:

• From the roadmap. Select the feature directly from its location on the roadmap to view its information in the right-side panel.
• From the backlog. Open the backlog and then select View in the top-right of the item's card. Select View in backlog at the top of the item's details to go back to the backlog of items.

Features have three tabs: Overview, Roadmap links, and other links.

Overview tab

The Overview tab provides details, such as who the item was created by and what the status of the feature is, and allows you to add notes in the Description. For instructions, see Edit item details

Roadmap links tab

If the feature is part of a nested hierarchy of items on the roadmap, the Roadmap links tab shows you the name of the initiative that the feature belongs to and any other items nested in the same initiative. A feature can only belong to one initiative at a time.

The number next to the Roadmap links tab shows you if and how many other items the feature is linked to. You can view the details of linked items by hovering over an item in the Roadmap links tab and selecting View next to that item. This opens the item's details in the right-side panel. 

From here, you can:

• Expand the item. See basic information about the linked item by selecting the down arrow on the right side of the item's card to expand the view. Information includes who created the item, when the item was created, and the status of the item.
• View the item's details. View all the details of a linked item by hovering over the item's card and selecting View. This opens the item's full details in the right-side panel. 

 

Other links tab

If the feature was created from an idea, the Other links tab shows you what idea the feature was based on. Hover over the idea and select View in the top-right corner of the idea's card to view its details. For instructions on creating a feature from an idea, see Add, promote, and remove ideas in your roadmaps.

View idea details

You can view the details of an idea:

• From the roadmap. Select the idea directly from its location on the roadmap to view its information in the right-side panel.
• When you add the idea to your roadmap. Selecting Add idea from your roadmap opens a list of existing ideas in the panel on the right side of the screen. Select View from the top-right corner of an idea's card to view its details.
• From the Validate page in Listen. Go to Listen > Validate, and then find and open the idea. This opens the idea in a panel on the right side of the screen. For more information, see Create and manage ideas.

An idea's details consists of three tabs: Overview, Votes, and Linked. For information about these tabs, see View and edit idea details in Create and manage ideas.

Add initiatives and features from your backlog

For initiatives and features, you can:

• Add existing initiatives and features to your roadmap from your backlog.
• Add initiatives and features to your roadmap when you create them.

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 initiatives and features before continuing. 

If, instead of an initiative or feature, you want to add ideas to your roadmap, follow the instructions in Add, promote, and remove ideas in your roadmaps.

After you have initiatives and features in your backlog, you can drag-and-drop them onto your roadmap from the panel that opens on the right side of your screen. There are two ways to open the backlog:

• From within a swimlane in the roadmap. Hover over an empty space in one of the swimlanes and select + Add to roadmap, then choose Add from backlog.
  
  
  
  
• From the Backlog button in the top-right corner of the roadmap. In the panel that opens on the right side of the screen, drag-and-drop an item into your roadmap.
  
  

Create initiatives and features

You can create an initiative or feature in the following ways:

• From the + Add to roadmap button in the top-right corner of the roadmap.
• From within a swimlane in the roadmap.

With the button at the top of the roadmap

1. Select + Add to roadmap in the top-right corner of the roadmap.
2. Choose either Create initiative or Create feature. This opens the new item in a panel on the right side of the roadmap.
   
   
   
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. For instructions, see Add initiatives and features from your backlog.

From a swimlane in the roadmap

1. Hover over an empty space in one of the swimlanes in your roadmap and select + Add to roadmap.
2. Choose either Create initiative or Create feature.
3. Enter a name for your new roadmap item.

You can then edit the item's details by opening it, which opens a panel on the right side of the roadmap, and move the item to your backlog from there.

Link and nest items

Roadmap items are hierarchical. An initiative can contain individual features and ideas within it. You can:

• Drag-and-drop individual features and ideas into an initiative.
• Drag a feature onto another feature to create a new initiative. 
• Drag an idea onto another idea to create a new initiative.
• Drag a feature onto an idea or an idea onto a feature to create a new initiative.

Dragging a feature or idea onto another feature or idea creates an initiative consisting of these two items. You can add more features and ideas 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 and ideas 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 items exist within the initiative.

You can expand an initiative to see what features and ideas it includes by selecting the dropdown arrow on the right side of the item. You can resize the items within this initiative. For instructions, see Move and resize items.

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

The relationship between initiatives and features persists if you remove an initiative from the roadmap. If you drag the initiative back into the roadmap from the backlog, the initiative includes all features that were initially nested within it. If you try to add a feature that's linked to an initiative in the backlog onto the roadmap, you must choose to either add the feature as part of its initial nested hierarchy or to unlink the feature from the initiative to place it separately on your roadmap.

Move and resize items

Both roadmap templates have drag-and-drop functionality, though this differs depending on whether you choose a Timeline template or the Now, Next, Later template.

Timeline template

If you're using the timeline template, you can drag-and-drop items on your roadmap along the timeline between swimlanes, and above or below each other. You can also resize items on your roadmap, including any features and ideas that are nested within an initiative. Hover over the left or right side of an item to then change the span of the item.

Now, Next, Later template

If you're using the Now, Next, Later template, you can drag-and-drop items on your roadmap between swimlanes and columns, and above or below each other.

Edit item details

To edit an initiative or feature, select the item from the roadmap or from the backlog and then modify the name, status, and description as required. Roadmap editors can change the status of individual initiatives and features from the dropdown menu in the Overview tab.

To edit an idea, see View and edit idea details in Create and manage ideas.

Remove items from the roadmap

To move an initiative or feature from your roadmap back into your backlog, open the item from its location the roadmap and then select the back arrow (Move to backlog) button at the top of the panel, next to the trash icon.

To move an idea from your roadmap, open the idea from its location in the roadmap and then select the back arrow (Remove idea) button at the top of the panel, next to the bell icon. This doesn't delete the idea from Listen. It only removes the idea from your roadmap. For more information, see Add, promote, and remove ideas in your roadmaps.

Delete an item

Ideas are deleted from the Validate page in Listen. For instructions, see Create and manage ideas.

Initiatives and features are deleted 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 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 still exist in the backlog. You must delete features and initiatives belonging to an initiative separately.