# Roadmap presentation template > A roadmap presentation shows what a team will deliver over the next year, in what order and why, and asks for the decisions that keep the plan on track. This template has eight slides: the outcomes, a now-next-later view, a release timeline, a Gantt chart of the workstreams, the capacity behind it, the dependencies and the decisions needed. It commits to dates only where the team can keep them. - Source: https://ai-presentations.com/templates/roadmap/ - Updated: 21 October 2026 - Language: English - German version: https://ai-presentations.com/de/vorlagen/roadmap/ For product leads, CTOs, IT heads and project managers presenting a twelve-month plan to executives, a steering committee or their own team. ## Slide by slide ### 1. Title: product, horizon and number of outcomes A roadmap without a horizon invites every date to be read as a promise. The title fixes the period and tells the audience how much there is to take in. - Product or program and the exact period - The number of outcomes the plan serves - Owner, date and a confidentiality note if later items are not public ### 2. Outcomes Every item has to trace back to a result the business already measures. Without that link a roadmap is a feature list, and each stakeholder argues for their own item. - Two to four outcomes, each with today's value and a target - One sentence on how the roadmap moves each number - Only metrics that somebody already reports ### 3. Now, next, later Certainty falls with distance. Three horizons let you commit to the near term, plan the middle and show only a direction beyond it, so you never defend a date you cannot know. - Rows by outcome, columns by horizon - One line on what committed, planned and direction mean - A column for what is not on the roadmap, so declined requests are visible ### 4. Release timeline These are the dates leaders will quote back to you. Keep to the few that customers, sales or other teams plan around. - Four to seven milestones, each with a month (a quarter beyond the next two) and a short name - Finished milestones marked as done - One line on what each release changes for users ### 5. Gantt chart of the workstreams Shows how the work overlaps and who is busy when. This is where trade-offs become visible, because you can see what can only start when something else ends. - One bar per workstream, colored by outcome - Quarters or months on the axis, not weeks - A cap on how many items run at the same time ### 6. Capacity A roadmap that ignores capacity is a wish list. One chart that adds up to the team's real capacity answers “can you do all of this?” before anyone asks. - Capacity per quarter in person-weeks - Split by outcome, plus a reserve for support and unplanned work - The assumptions behind it, such as open roles or planned leave ### 7. Dependencies and risks Names what the dates rest on. A slip then becomes a known risk with an owner instead of a surprise in the next quarter. - Dependency, affected item, owner and status - Red and amber first, each with the next step - The one that needs a decision now, linked to the last slide ### 8. Decisions Ends on the asks, each tied to a date, so the meeting finishes with decisions and not with comments. - Each decision as a verb plus a scope - The date it is needed and what slips without it - Where to send questions before the meeting ## Example deck The example is about Tarnwick Software, an invented company. Every figure in it is invented too. 1. Tarnwick Shift roadmap: four quarters, three outcomes. What the product team will build from October 2026 to September 2027, and what it will not. Product team · Tarnwick Software · 21 October 2026 2. Every roadmap item serves one of three outcomes: Keep customers: Cut annual churn by giving the largest accounts what they ask for most: offline mode and shift swaps.; Grow accounts: Raise the share of customers on the Pro plan with skills-based scheduling and payroll export.; Onboard faster: Shorten the time from sign-up to the first published schedule with spreadsheet import and guided setup. 3. Now is committed, next is planned, later is only a direction: Outcome, Now: Q4 2026 to Q1 2027, Next: Q2 2027, Later: from Q3 2027, Not on the roadmap 4. Two dates are firm, three are planned quarters, and the first is already done: Oct 2026 Priorities agreed; Dec 2026 Offline beta; Feb 2027 Offline mode live; Q2 2027 Shift swaps live; Q2 2027 Skills-based scheduling; Q3 2027 Payroll export (direction) 5. No more than three items are in build at any time: Offline mode; Spreadsheet import; Pro plan packaging; Shift swaps; Skills-based scheduling; Guided setup; Payroll export; Time-off planning; Industry templates 6. One fifth of every quarter stays free for support and surprises. 120 person-weeks a quarter (10 engineers, 12 weeks, including the two from the Android prototype if approved). 24 of them, 20%, stay in reserve. 7. Four dependencies could move dates, and one needs a decision now: Dependency, Affects, Owner, Status 8. Three decisions by 6 November keep these dates. Approve the three outcomes and the 20% reserve. Confirm offline mode as the first release, with the beta in December. Stop the Android prototype and move its two engineers onto the roadmap ## Tips - **Commit to the near term only.** Use a horizon of about twelve months. Give exact months for the next one or two quarters and only quarters or “later” beyond that. A date on a slide turns into a promise in someone else's customer call. - **Anchor every item to an outcome.** If an item cannot be tied to a number the business already tracks, either it does not belong on the roadmap or the outcome list is incomplete. Settle that before the meeting, not in it. - **Show what is not on the roadmap.** A column of declined requests ends many debates. It shows that someone looked at the idea and decided, and it gives the next request an honest answer. - **Plan to about 80 percent of capacity.** Keep a fifth of every quarter for bugs, support and surprises. A roadmap planned to 100 percent has no room for the first surprise. - **Make one master and cut versions.** Executives need outcomes, capacity and decisions. Sales needs themes and months. Engineering needs the Gantt chart and the dependencies. Keep one master and hide slides for each audience instead of keeping three decks in step. ## Common mistakes - Exact dates on every item, which turns each date into a promise - Items that link to no outcome, so every request looks equally important - Capacity ignored: the plan needs 140 person-weeks in a quarter and the team has 100 - Dependencies hidden in a footnote or left out - One detailed version for every audience, too long for executives and too vague for engineers ## Brief for the AI A complete brief for the AI. Replace the [placeholders] with your facts. ```text Create an 8-slide product roadmap presentation for [our executive team]. Product: [Tarnwick Shift], period: [Q4 2026 to Q3 2027]. Slide 1: title with the period and the number of outcomes. Slide 2: three outcomes, each with today's value and the target: [churn 11% to 8%, Pro plan share 22% to 30%, time to first schedule 9 to 3 days]. Slide 3: now, next and later by outcome, plus a column for what is not on the roadmap. Slide 4: a timeline of six release milestones with months, the finished ones marked. Slide 5: a Gantt chart of the workstreams by quarter, colored by outcome, with never more than three in build at once. Slide 6: a stacked column chart of team capacity per quarter in person-weeks, split by outcome, with a 20% reserve. Slide 7: a table of dependencies with owner and a red, amber or green status. Slide 8: the decisions we need and the date for each. Use action titles and a dark, calm style. Mark anything you had to assume instead of inventing figures. ``` [Open this brief in the editor](https://app.slaide.de/registrieren?prompt=Create+an+8-slide+product+roadmap+presentation+for+%5Bour+executive+team%5D.+Product%3A+%5BTarnwick+Shift%5D%2C+period%3A+%5BQ4+2026+to+Q3+2027%5D.+Slide+1%3A+title+with+the+period+and+the+number+of+outcomes.+Slide+2%3A+three+outcomes%2C+each+with+today%27s+value+and+the+target%3A+%5Bchurn+11%25+to+8%25%2C+Pro+plan+share+22%25+to+30%25%2C+time+to+first+schedule+9+to+3+days%5D.+Slide+3%3A+now%2C+next+and+later+by+outcome%2C+plus+a+column+for+what+is+not+on+the+roadmap.+Slide+4%3A+a+timeline+of+six+release+milestones+with+months%2C+the+finished+ones+marked.+Slide+5%3A+a+Gantt+chart+of+the+workstreams+by+quarter%2C+colored+by+outcome%2C+with+never+more+than+three+in+build+at+once.+Slide+6%3A+a+stacked+column+chart+of+team+capacity+per+quarter+in+person-weeks%2C+split+by+outcome%2C+with+a+20%25+reserve.+Slide+7%3A+a+table+of+dependencies+with+owner+and+a+red%2C+amber+or+green+status.+Slide+8%3A+the+decisions+we+need+and+the+date+for+each.+Use+action+titles+and+a+dark%2C+calm+style.+Mark+anything+you+had+to+assume+instead+of+inventing+figures.&utm_source=ai-presentations.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=template%3Aroadmap&utm_content=markdown) ## Frequently asked questions ### What should be in a roadmap presentation? The outcomes the roadmap serves, what comes now, next and later, the key dates, the capacity behind the plan, the dependencies and risks, and the decisions you need. Eight slides are enough for a steering committee; item-level detail belongs in an appendix. ### Can ChatGPT create a roadmap? ChatGPT or any other AI assistant can draft the wording of a roadmap from your notes: themes, milestone names and a first sequence. It does not know your capacity, your dependencies or what leadership will accept, so those must come from you, and every date needs your check. The AI turns your brief into editable slides with a timeline and a Gantt chart; what goes on them stays your decision. ### Does PowerPoint have a roadmap template? Yes. As of October 2026 Microsoft offers roadmap and timeline templates for PowerPoint, and its SmartArt graphics include timelines. They give you a layout to fill. Whether the roadmap works depends on the content behind it: outcomes, dates you can keep and the capacity to deliver them, which this template structures slide by slide. ### What is the difference between a roadmap and a Gantt chart? A roadmap shows direction and outcomes over a long horizon, and its dates get firmer as they come closer. A Gantt chart shows workstreams with start and end dates and how they overlap. In a roadmap presentation the Gantt chart is one slide, the detail view, and not the whole story. ### Can I build this in my company's PowerPoint template? Yes. Upload your company's .pptx and the AI builds the roadmap slides, from the outcomes and the now-next-later table to the timeline, Gantt and capacity slides, in that file's fonts and colors. The result is an editable PowerPoint file made of ordinary text boxes, shapes and tables. ### Are the numbers in this template real? No. Tarnwick Software and all its figures are fictional. The arithmetic is consistent: the capacity per quarter adds up to 120 person-weeks and no more than three items are in build at once, so it works as a model for your own plan. ## Related pages - [Strategy presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/strategy-presentation/): A strategy presentation template with 9 slides: ambition, starting point, where to play, three moves, revenue path, what stops, roadmap and the decisions. - [Project kickoff](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-kickoff/): Open a project on 9 slides: goal, scope, success measures, timeline, team, ways of working, risks and the next 30 days. A kickoff template with an example. - [Steering committee](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/steering-committee/): A steering committee presentation template with 8 slides: status headline, key figures, schedule, budget bridge, workstreams, risks and the decisions you need. - [Project status report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/): Report overall status, progress KPIs, schedule, workstreams, budget and risks on 8 slides, and ask sponsors for the decisions you need. With an example deck. - [Budget presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/budget-presentation/): A budget presentation template with 8 slides: summary, assumptions, income statement, EBITDA bridge, capex, sensitivity and the decisions you need. --- ai-presentations.com is published by Slaide (https://www.slaide.de), a sole proprietorship run by Nathalie Scholl in Heilbronn, Germany. 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