10 Best Project Roadmap Software For Project Strategy In 2023
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Project Roadmap Software Shortlist
Here’s the list of the best tools that I’ll cover in this article.
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1.
monday.com
— Custom status fields with background colors for more clarity.
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2.
Wrike
— Just enough functionality in this tool to handle your roadmaps in the same place where you have your project.
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3.
Height
— Best for businesses of all sizes and industries
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4.
Airtable
— Best for its robust database features
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5.
ProductPlan
— Roadmap tool that has templates for almost any project need.
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6.
Asana
— Prepare your project plan and project roadmap at the same time.
-
7.
ProjectManager.com
— Progress on bars allows your stakeholders to see where your project stands.
-
8.
Hive
— Extra creativity required, but able to handle your project roadmaps.
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9.
Roadmunk
— Open API for you to build your own integrations.
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10.
Kantree
— Best for a wide selection of customization options
Do you get impostor syndrome as a DPM? I know I had it for a while. It seemed like my only skill was that I was an organized person that knew a little bit about everything but not enough to be considered an expert. Anyone else could do my job if they tried, and it was non-strategic whatsoever.
If this resonates with you, you may want to give a thought to project roadmaps. Project roadmaps are the strategic foundation of our projects and programs. They allow us to communicate to stakeholders the big picture and how it impacts their goals. For example, you can use the now-next-later framework.
In this article I’ve selected project management tools that I believe you might be using at work. I decided on them because I want to find out if I can use some of their features to build a project roadmap instead of adding another tool to your collection.
Let’s see if I was able to do it! Stay with me.
Overview Of The 10 Best Project Roadmap Software
Here’s a brief description of each roadmap software to showcase each tool’s best use case, and noteworthy features. Feel free to read how I picked the software on this list at any moment.
1
monday.com
Custom status fields with background colors for more clarity.
Monday.com is a hyper-customizable project management tool that can help teams work through simple and complex projects. Although it needs time to get used to all that you can tailor, it makes it easy to have one tool that does multiple things.
In this case, that means it can handle your project roadmap creation! Yay! As you can see in the screenshot above, you can group the different items you’ll show your stakeholders. The client can see in one glance all the important dates, and if the project has any flags raised or dependencies.
Tip: start a blank project and add column fields as you see fit. Try to have your colored column separated to prevent confusion, you don’t want your board to look like the Cirque Du Soleil poster.
monday.com integrates with Roadmap, Infinity, and thousands of other apps through Zapier.
monday.com is free for up to 2 users and paid plans start at $8/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7
6745
14-day free trial + freemium plan available
From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
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2
Wrike
Just enough functionality in this tool to handle your roadmaps in the same place where you have your project.
Wrike is a collaborative work management platform that proved just enough to handle a roadmap. Since most of my intention with a roadmap is to let others know how tasks are progressing, if we have encountered problems or the impact on our goals, the project information window is key to communicate this.
This is one place where you can keep this valuable information. Wrike’s available editing tools should be enough to let you create headers, add images, link to external sources, and even attach files. Therefore, if you still want pretty visuals, you could prepare them in a Google doc, connect Wrike to it, and attach the file directly to this window.
Wrike offers 400+ pre-built native integrations, including integrations with the most popular file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox, along with sales and marketing software from Salesforce and Marketo.
Wrike is free for up to 5 users. Paid plans cost from $9.80/user/month and come with a 14-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2
2544
Free plan available
From $9.80/user/month
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Visit Website
3
Height
Best for businesses of all sizes and industries
Height is a SaaS product that helps businesses create and manage project roadmaps to track their progress and achieve their strategic goals. It’s designed to help teams stay on track and focus on the big picture rather than getting bogged down in the details.
Why I picked Height: I chose Height as one of the best project roadmap software for project strategy because it’s intuitive and easy to use, even for non-technical users. It’s also highly customizable, which makes it ideal for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Standout features:
One of the standout features of Height is its visual roadmap editor, which allows you to create custom roadmaps with milestones, tasks, and dependencies. It’s also easy to collaborate with your team, assign tasks, and track progress in real-time. Another great feature is its customizable project templates, which help you get started quickly and ensure you’re following best practices.
Integrations:
Height integrates with popular project management tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, and GitHub, making it easy to sync data between systems and avoid duplication of effort.
30-day free trial available
From $8.50/user/month
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4
Airtable
Best for its robust database features
Airtable is cloud-based project management software that offers a unique blend of database and spreadsheet features. Its core functionality is similar to a spreadsheet but has more advanced features. This database approach allows users to store large amounts of data, including text, links, and images. The platform enables users to create visualizations like charts, calendar views, and maps. Users can set up shared workspaces within the software and invite team members to collaborate on projects, allowing for accessible communication and sharing of progress reports and updates regarding project roadmaps. Users can receive real-time notifications via the platform or email, informing them of any updates or changes.
The software offers templates for project management, with customizable fields that allow users to tag progress, users, and assignments. The templates are ideal for teams working on similar projects that want to use a standardized platform. Users can rearrange data easily from spreadsheet-like tables to Kanban boards, calendars, or gallery views. This flexibility lets project managers get an overview of their project progress in the most visually compelling way that works for them. Tasks can also be prioritized as per their importance, giving teams the flexibility to focus on urgent concerns. It can also share data with different software, such as Gmail, Slack, and Trello, and it can automatically update and report on these systems through its API.
Airtable makes it easy to filter projects based on time frames, team members, or specific keywords. These filters can be saved and are readily available for future use. Its sorting options allow users to view data in ascending or descending order, helping them see what’s most important. Users can quickly identify trends or issues that must be addressed, making project strategy more effective. Airtable also has a mobile app that enables users to access their project strategies, tasks, and data on the go.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6
1339
Free forever plan available
From $10/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
5
ProductPlan
Roadmap tool that has templates for almost any project need.
ProductPlan is a roadmapping tool with everything you need to build the perfect roadmap. Whether it’s an internal roadmap, technology roadmap, agile roadmap, adding lanes, comments, or collaborating on live roadmaps, they got you covered.
First, there’s so many templates that you might find what you need to get started. If you want to build your own, you can also do that and then start dragging elements from the toolbox that will show on the right to your roadmap. You can also color-code your bars according to your project goals.
Even though it’s not a traditional project management tool, this can handle all your project, program, and product roadmaps. Want to add this tool to your collection?
ProductPlan integrates with Jira software, Azure DevOps, and thousands of other apps through Zapier.
Paid plans start at $49/editor/month and come with a 14-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4
145
14-day free trial
From $49/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
6
Asana
Prepare your project plan and project roadmap at the same time.
Asana has a robust Business plan that includes timeline and portfolio management features. Although the time at which we create a project roadmap varies, if you are a dpm who builds their project plan before the project roadmap, you’ll love Asana.
This software allows you to practically build your project plan and project roadmap at the same time! How, you ask? Well, they have a multiple nesting feature that allows you to create a task and assign it to multiple projects. This means that when you get to a task or milestone that should be included in the roadmap, simply assign it to that project within the task details.
Asana integrates with Airfocus, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Creative Cloud, JIRA Cloud, Salesforce, Tableau, Slack, Clockwise, MS Office 365, Google Calendar, Gmail, Power BI, Outlook, ServiceNow, JotForm, Google Drive, Looker, Vimeo, DropBox, Trello, GitLab, and a growing list of other apps. Plus, a plan with Zapier or Tray.io can let you access other apps to connect with Asana.
Asana is free for up to 15 users and 3 projects. Paid plans start at $10.99/user/month and offer a 30-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3
8324
Free plan available
From $10.99/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
7
ProjectManager.com
Progress on bars allows your stakeholders to see where your project stands.
ProjectManager is a powerful project and portfolio administration tool. Its interface is reminiscent of MS Project, but has interesting additions. One of them is how they calculate progress, which is based on 3 different completion stages and averaged with other subtasks to show overall progress.
Because of this visual progress bar, I had to stick with a timeline for this roadmap. I believe that the easier it is for clients to see the overall status, the less questions they have. Want to show them more or less information? You can toggle information display options in the Gantt settings.
ProjectManager integrates with MS Project, Excel, Office 365, Salesforce CRM, QuickBooks, Xero, Dropbox, Desk.com, JIRA, Hubspot, Slack,Zendesk, Evernote, OneLogin, OneDrive, and the complete Google Suite. They also have a powerful REST API to help you build against internal or external tools.
ProjectManager has a free plan for up to 3 users. Paid plans start at $11.50/user/month and have a 30-day trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4
76
30-day free trial
From $16/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
8
Hive
Extra creativity required, but able to handle your project roadmaps.
Hive is a visually friendly-looking tool that allows you to build timelines for your projects in minutes. I started building the roadmap in the Gantt view, setting milestones and project phases. Then, I finished adding my information in the table view.
The benefits of table view:
- Visually separated milestones
- Description field to add quick status updates
- Label field so you don’t miss which activities you need to be careful with
My only problem was adding the extra information. Where do I add my project scope, overview of goals, and details on risks? I decided to add an extra task at the top (no date so you don’t mess up your timeline) and dumped all that info in the description field.
Hive integrates with Google Drive, MS Teams, Slack, Salesforce, Jira, and many more via a paid plan through Zapier.
Hive is free for up to 2 users. Paid plans cost from $12/user/month and come with a 14-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6
417
14-day free trial
From $16/user/month
Visit Website
Visit Website
9
Roadmunk
Open API for you to build your own integrations.
Roadmunk is a roadmapping specialized tool that allows you to build roadmaps in minutes. Their templates, boardroom ready templates and drag-and-drop roadmap builder will help you get going faster than you can guess how any Irish Gaelic name is really pronounced.
I noticed that the color coding on the bars is tied to the item’s status, rather than its completion percentage. If you decide to go the drag-and-drop route, just know that you have to type the name of the task in the pop-up screen after you hit the ‘+item’ button, and then drag it to the board to make way for the new item (that means no ‘enter’, no closing windows, no ‘next button).
Roadmunk offers integrations with Jira and Azure DevOps. You can also use their GraphQL powered API which provides developers with an efficient, powerful and flexible approach to building custom integrations.
Paid plans start at $19/month (3 users) and offer a 14-day free trial.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4
66
14-day free trial
From $19/month (3 users)
Visit Website
Visit Website
10
Kantree
Best for a wide selection of customization options
Kantree is cloud-based project management software that enables teams to plan, collaborate, and execute projects efficiently. The software provides advanced reporting features, including real-time project tracking and analysis, to give teams a comprehensive view of their progress on a project’s roadmap. Teams can break down tasks into subtasks, define criteria for completion, and set deadlines for each project milestone. Kantree’s user-friendly interface makes project management more accessible and efficient. The platform is intuitive and provides many options for customization, from themes to agile methodologies, allowing teams to work with their preferred approach to project management.
The platform offers data visualization tools like Gantt charts and a KPI dashboard, enabling teams to view their project strategy differently. Gantt charts make tracking deadlines, dependencies, and milestones throughout a project’s lifecycle easy. Meanwhile, KPI dashboards display relevant metrics on a single, intuitive interface, making it easy to assess the overall progress of a project strategy. Users can create custom fields, establish relationships between cards, and track time spent on cards.
Kantree allows team members to discuss their projects, leave notes and comments on cards, mention other team members, and easily share files. Teams can ensure seamless communication and faster decision-making. It offers built-in integrations with popular project management tools like Jira and Trello and integrations with Microsoft Teams and Slack. These integrations make it easy for teams to collaborate across multiple platforms and ensure everyone is on the same page throughout the project. The software also offers an API for custom integrations, allowing teams to create custom workflows and automation.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4
14
15-day free trial available
From $9/month
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Other Options
Here are a few more that didn’t make the top list but are worth your consideration.
- Visor
Flexible project management platform with custom workflows & collaboration tools
- TeamGantt
Project settings window that can be used for a quick snapshot of your project roadmap.
- GanttPRO
A tool with roadmap templates to help beginners or give you a head start on your roadmap
- ClickUp
Docs with embedded timelines as widgets for a perfect roadmap document.
- airfocus
Task cards that will give you tons of information in just one view.
- Toggl Plan
Work management platform with a drag and drop timeline builder.
- Productboard
Product roadmap tool that allows you to share progress and receive feedback to inform iterations.
- Aha
Visual roadmap tool with centralized customer feedback and collaboration capabilities.
How I Picked The Best Project Roadmap Software
I evaluated and compared the most popular roadmap tools on the market, both for their reviews and user interface. Then I weighed factors that make software a good option for this level of project planning, and created an evaluation criteria list. This is how I evaluated the finalists:
- Platform familiarity: Since we are actively trying to reduce the amount of tools you use every day, I selected tools that you might already be using for your projects.
- User-friendliness: I want to evaluate if the project management tool in question has what it takes, visually, to communicate to stakeholders what the roadmap demands. Also, if I can come up with a workaround for those who don’t have it.
- Integrations: I will see which tools have integrations or power-ups that can help you work with a third-party app that has the potential to improve those roadmaps.
- Pricing: I look at the cost of these tools, and if they have a free version or free trial we can use to test your specific use case.
Project Roadmap Software FAQs
Find answers to common questions other people ask about this topic.
What Is A Project Roadmap?
A project roadmap is a summary of the context, impetus, and logic of your project in strategic terms. It focuses on the “why” more than the “how” or the “what”, and it keeps things at a level that anyone can understand. At a minimum, it includes goal information, milestones, timeline, risks, deliverables, and project scope.
Is A Project Roadmap A Gantt Chart?
No. A Gantt is a detailed view of project activities and dependencies. A project roadmap may include only a high-level timeline view or milestone view, and that view might not even be chronological.
How Do You Build A Roadmap?
If you are looking to build a roadmap, check out our How To Make A Project Roadmap (With Roadmap Template) article. It has details on the steps you should take, information you should know prior to starting, and nice visuals to help you better understand the concept.
What key features should I look for in project roadmap software?
- Phase progress: The software should give you the possibility to show the progress you’ve made in each phase of the project.
- Color coding: Although it may seem basic feature, I think colors help us visually separate information and allow our brains to process it with ease.
- Collaboration tools: Wherever you have your roadmap, should be a place where you can collect feedback from stakeholders. Therefore look for a tool that offers product features like chat, comments, notifications on progress, etcetera.
If you prefer to map out roadmap on a calendar, try one of these project management calendar tools.
What’s Next?
I would love to hear about the ways you are developing your project roadmaps! Please leave me some ideas in the comments section.
Related tool lists:
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