PowerPoint Tutorial #10- How to Create a Professional Roadmap Template for Your Business Slides

Here we are again with our next PowerPoint Tutorial. There are many Professional PowerPoint slides which are must for any business presentation, such as slides to show business goals, vision and mission of an organization.  Also a slide which can best portray the achievements and accomplishments of your business. A perfect PowerPoint slide to highlight the journey of your organization. Unfortunately, you end up adding boring and dull graphics in your presentation which your audience may or may not like. However, if you add an interesting, attractive and visually appealing PowerPoint slide in your presentation, it could be a game changer for you.

Waited long enough for that ideal slide for your presentation?

Try out a Roadmap PowerPoint slide this time which is apt for just any business presentation. Roadmap does not only look attractive, it makes things easier for the presenter as well. You can visually explain the business aims to your colleagues without any hassle. Highlight the path you propose to take for your organization. Discuss strategic planning using Roadmap templates.  Focus on your achievements. Show your success in style.

What You’ll Learn to Create in this Tutorial:

You do not need a graphic designer’s help in creating the above. Follow simple steps and create a customized Roadmap PowerPoint template to strengthen your business presentation.

Steps to Create a Roadmap PowerPoint Template:

1. Insert a Trapezoid from the Basic Shapes menu (Shapes menu is available both under the Home tab and the Insert tab).

We are halfway there. A road-like structure has been created. Now is the time to create signboards to show the goals, journey and milestones of your organization. Do not disturb the road structure you have created. Follow these steps to create the signboards.

6. Insert a rectangle from the Basic Shapes menu.

7. Right click on the rectangle. Remove the outline and fill it with the light grey color.

9. Right click on the rectangle again. Go to Format Shape. Choose Effects from the Shape Options. Select Shadow. Increase the Distance by 4 Point.

Note: Duplicate the original rectangle and get two rectangles.

10. Insert the Rounded Rectangle from the Basic Shapes menu. Place it above the two rectangles as shown below.

11. Duplicate the original rounded rectangle and place the 2nd rectangle inside the 1ST rounded rectangle as shown in the image below. Right click on the inner rectangle and fill it with white color.

14. Now your signboard is ready too. To change the color of the signboard, ungroup the shape by pressing Ctrl + Shift + G or simply double click on that shape.  Right click on the shape, remove the Outline and fill it with the color of your choice.

Write your content.  The Roadmap template is ready to be served in your presentation.

You can use a roadmap for several other business aspects like stages of a process, key projects to be completed, last year roadmap, etc. Here’s an example:

These creative Roadmap PowerPoint templates not only look attractive but are also easy to interpret.

We have also shortlisted some amazing Roadmap PowerPoint Templates for you to set the right impression on your audience.

Professionally Designed Roadmap Templates

Professional Roadmap Template #1

Capture and communicate your product plans with this creative visual set. This roadmap template provides a quick visualization of goals, initiatives, supporting strategies, and a timeline of the work. Presented in an easy to browse through and interpret format, this roadmap slide is all you need to optimize your high-level business goals. Not only that, it is easily shareable and highly adaptable as per your needs. 

Click here to download this awesome diagram.

Professional PowerPoint Roadmap Template #2

If you want to display product deliverables using a high-quality visualization tool then this design is for you. Provide status updates of your product strategy with this design. You can use it to present and explain the big-picture context that the internal teams need to accomplish. It is an ideal set that can be shared with a large audience because of its high impact and visibility. Not only that, the colors of the bars can be changed to add personality and uniqueness to this design. 

Grab this amazing Roadmap PowerPoint Template.

Professional Roadmap Template #3

Present a high-level overview of your product strategy using this roadmap design. Demonstrate how your strategies fit your business visual by deploying this slide that comes with editable features. Everything can be personalized in this design which makes it unique every time you add it to your presentations. The color, design, font, etc, everything is adjustable. So, download it now to add the much-needed flair to your presentation design. 

Download this innovatively designed Roadmap PowerPoint Template by clicking here.

Professional Roadmap Template #4

Present a strategic view of your product timeline with this roadmap template. Use it to display high-level efforts that are needed to achieve targets and goals. This is a great template to demonstrate planned initiatives and show their progress over time- all in a single layout! The high-quality graphics and images added to this template also make it a great contributor to the overall business strategy, driving it forward towards success. 

Grab this eye-catching PowerPoint Template by clicking here.

Professional Roadmap Slide #5

Showcase the planning and milestones of your product using this template. It is a convenient set to display key deliverables of the product, such as tasks, phases, activities, and many more that help a product release. This is also an excellent collaborative tool that marketing and sales teams can take advantage of. All you have to do is click on the download button and make your desired changes! 

Feel free to download this unique diagram.

Professional PowerPoint Template #6

Communicate key focus areas and milestones of a product by deploying this set. Share important functionalities and insights with your stakeholders. This is a great tool to show incremental shifts in a product. Not only that, it helps present the big-picture of futuristic goals and targets with high-quality visuals and graphics. Since the color, font style, or any other component of this design can be altered, it will fit all presentation needs and requirements.  

Click here to download this creative diagram.

Professional Roadmap Template #7

Present a timeline highlighting all the new features and milestones of a product using this template. It is great for displaying futuristic goals and their completion with utmost efficiency. Therefore it is a very useful bundle for marketing, sales, and customer support, representatives. Not only that, it acts as a great follow-up tool to track the progress of the product. Induced with high-resolution elements, this template will be a game-changer for your presentations, so download it now! 

Grab this creative template by clicking here.

 

Professional PowerPoint Template #8

Agile teams can take advantage of this template to streamline and present a high-level overview of their strategies. Display how your strategic themes align well with the direction of the product with this design. This layout also works well for other teams to understand their daily work plans with a single glance. Therefore, use it as per your business demands and requirements. 

Download this amazing template to stun your audience.

Professional PowerPoint Template #9

This stand-alone template is a great tool to start your optimizing journey. It is a great starting point for your team to evolve and grow in product management endeavors. Use it to highlight and present different deliverables and the time taken to implement them. Since this template is adaptable, it works well with all the presentations on various platforms. 

Grab this amazing template to impress your audience.

Professional PowerPoint Template #10

Get access to this flexible and collaborative tool with great design and visuals. Use it to share an overview of your strategic goals using a single layout and visual. This template is highly equipped with the latest images, icons, etc, thus making it highly adaptive to your business needs. The color, design, and all other components can be altered to deliver personalized presentations on the go! 

Download this template to make a good impression

Share your feedback with us and stay tuned for more awesome PowerPoint Tutorials.

Give your next best presentation with the help of custom PowerPoint designs. Get in touch with our Presentation Designers now.


— Update: 17-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article How to make a roadmap in PowerPoint from the website www.officetimeline.com for the keyword how to create a roadmap powerpoint.

This step-by-step PowerPoint roadmap tutorial explains how to create professional-looking roadmaps both manually and automatically using the popular presentation tool.

Options for making a PowerPoint roadmap

Roadmaps are visuals that summarize a strategic plan of action, offering a concise view on the evolution of a business objective. From simple project overviews with milestones and tasks to unique, stylish charts, roadmaps have one mission: to show all the info you need at a glance.

We are here to offer you the best solutions to making efficient, professional-looking roadmap PowerPoint slides so often required in executive presentations. If you want to learn how to make roadmaps using other office tools, be sure to explore our roadmap tutorials page.

Which tutorial would you like to see?

How to make a roadmap in PowerPoint manually

First of all, let’s assess what we need. We want our roadmap to be a visual that correlates specific time references with a project and its components. And we want to be able to add some tasks and milestones on the way.

Thus, if we want to have a time reference on our roadmap, we’ll need a timescale. Also, to be able to visually group projects and project components, some guiding sections or swimlanes would be nice.

In PowerPoint, the first impulse would be to draw boxes for each of these items and then customize them, but this would take a lot of time. Instead, we found that it would be easier and would take less time to organize all the info in a table.

So, let’s see where this takes us.

1. Insert a table.

  1. To insert a table, go to the Insert tab, click on Table, and then select as many rows and columns as you need. Don’t worry too much about the size of your table now, you’ll be able to add or delete rows and columns later, as needed.

2. Define the timescale.

Now we need to customize our table to make a timescale for our roadmap.

3. Define swimlanes for each project.

  1. Enter the project names – main and secondary – in the first two columns. Set different colors to better highlight them and make it easier to group the associated component items that you want to add.

4. Customize the roadmap.

At this point, you can customize project items, change color and size, and add text labels to the tasks and milestones on the roadmap.

  1. After labelling project phases and milestones and applying some other minor edits and tweaks, here is how our manually created PowerPoint roadmap looks like. Below, you can also find a version of it saved as a .ppt file that you can download, edit, and use as a roadmap template for free.

How to make a roadmap in PowerPoint automatically

As shown above, manually creating a roadmap in PowerPoint is possible but takes a lot of time and customization effort. The hours spent to do this can be turned into mere minutes with the intuitive add-in for PowerPoint called Office Timeline. The tool comes with an extensive library of pre-built roadmap templates. The tool comes with an extensive library of pre-built

Below, we will describe every step in the process of automatically making a roadmap using Office Timeline. To get started, install the free trial of the Office Timeline Pro+ add-in, which will add a roadmap maker tab to the PowerPoint ribbon.

1. Create a new file with Office Timeline Pro+.

  1. After installing the add-in, you’ll find the Office Timeline Pro+ tab on the PowerPoint ribbon. Click on New.

    This will open a template gallery where you can choose a style to use for your roadmap.

  2. Double-click on the template you prefer to select it and click Use Template in the preview window. For our example, we will use Product Strategy&Vision.

2. Enter your data into the Office Timeline Pro+ wizard.

In the Data Entry wizard that opens, you can either enter your data manually, or you can copy-paste it from an existing Excel file. While here, you can also change shapes or colors of tasks and milestones, but more customizations can be done later as well.

When ready, click the Create button. A new roadmap slide will be instantly generated in PowerPoint.

3. Customize your roadmap.

Once your roadmap has been generated, you can customize it or update it automatically using Office Timeline Pro+ Edition. You can add, remove, or edit all data, format fonts and shapes of tasks or milestones, and include extra details such as Task Duration, Percent Complete or Today’s Marker, among others.

In our example, we’ve changed colors, simplified the timeband and removed a few items that were overcrowding the graphic. To improve the overall layout and enhance the clarity of our roadmap, we’ve also repositioned some of the task-associated shapes, entered a couple of milestones and added % complete indicators to our tasks.

FAQs about making roadmaps in PowerPoint


— Update: 18-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article How to Create a Professional Roadmap in PowerPoint from the website www.makeuseof.com for the keyword how to create a roadmap powerpoint.

A professional roadmap is an indispensable project management tool that helps you to create a visual timeline for projects, goals, or assignments. It helps to track progress and ensure that all project participants are on the same page at every stage.

You can create a professional roadmap using different tools. However, today we'll show you how to create a professional roadmap in PowerPoint. It's free, simple, and easy to do once you follow all the steps. And once finished, you can easily share it with other team members or showcase it in your weekly meetings.

Creating a Professional Roadmap in PowerPoint

There are two major ways to create a professional roadmap in PowerPoint. You can either use ready-to-use templates or create one from scratch. If you want to use a template, you can check out this list of sites where you can get free animated PowerPoint templates.

The beauty of using templates is that it saves you time and contemplation, so you can hit the ground running. All you have to do is simply edit as you see fit by removing or adding stuff.

Starting afresh, on the other hand, gives you creative freedom and complete control. This is great if you're already experienced with creating roadmaps or skilled at creating engaging PowerPoint presentations.

At the end of the day, whichever path you choose, you'll still end up with a professional roadmap. Let's now go over both methods.

How to Create a Professional Roadmap in PowerPoint Using Templates

To create a professional roadmap using PowerPoint-provided templates:

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  1. Launch PowerPoint on your desktop.
  2. On the start screen, go to the left sidebar and click on New, just below the Home button.
  3. Go to the search box, enter Roadmap, and hit the search button. After a few seconds, the PowerPoint templates library will populate.
  4. Select a template from the library and click on Create. You can try different templates until you find one that suits your needs. You can even select dark-themed templates.
  5. Once the roadmap is loaded onto the work area, you can start customizing it to your taste by adding text and other media.

When done, you can easily share your professional roadmap with other team members either as a PowerPoint presentation or as a PDF attachment.

How to Create a Professional Roadmap in PowerPoint From Scratch Using SmartArt

You can create a professional roadmap in PowerPoint from scratch using SmartArt. Here's how it's done.

  1. Open a new PowerPoint document on your desktop.
  2. Click on the Insert tab, followed by SmartArt. There are hundreds of SmartArt graphics to choose from.
  3. To narrow down your search, go to the left panel of the SmartArt dialog box and click on Process. If you don't see what you like, you can click on Office.com at the bottom of the dialog box. This will allow you to explore even more template options.
  4. When you select a particular SmartArt graphic, a preview will be shown in the right pane.
  5. Click OK to confirm your selection.
  6. With the SmartArt graphic added, it's now up to you to create a professional roadmap. You can enrich your roadmap by adding relevant text, images, infographics, audio clips, and even videos.

Start Creating Professional Roadmaps in PowerPoint

Creating a professional roadmap in PowerPoint is so easy that it will only take you minutes to get started. How long you spend creating yours will depend on your project's complexity and skill level.

Another cool benefit of creating roadmaps in PowerPoint instead of paper is that you can always return to the drawing board and make edits as new information becomes available.

Also, creating and distributing digital copies of your roadmap with PowerPoint will ensure that all team members get updates whenever changes are made to the original document. This way, no one is left behind.


— Update: 19-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article How to Create a Roadmap in PowerPoint from the website smallbiztrends.com for the keyword how to create a roadmap powerpoint.

MS PowerPoint is a great tool. And its usages go beyond just making beautiful PowerPoint presentations. From creating a poster to turning your presentation ideas into a video, you can do a lot more with this tool. In this tutorial, we will discuss how to create a roadmap in PowerPoint.

Let’s dive in:



What Is a Roadmap?

A roadmap is a high-level overview of a project vision and direction over time. A typical roadmap includes:

  • Objectives
  • Milestones
  • Key deliverables

Though roadmaps visually show the overall strategy and work required to reach certain milestones, roadmaps are sometimes also used to present timelines of how companies have grown over time.

Can You Add a Roadmap to a PowerPoint Presentation?

Yes, you can add a roadmap to a PowerPoint presentation. Microsoft has a rich library of timeline templates, including product roadmap timeline template, growth timeline, and more.

However, you may require a subscription to Microsoft 365 to download a premium template.

How to Create a Roadmap on PowerPoint

There are multiple design elements you can play with when creating a roadmap in PowerPoint. Depending on the theme of the presentation, you can incorporate different icons, shapes, and other elements in your roadmap presentation.

The following is a step-by-step process to make a roadmap in PowerPoint:

Step. 1

Click on the New tab and then select Blank Presentation to open the blank PowerPoint presentation slide.

Step. 2

After opening the blank slide, you will see two text boxes where you can add the title and subtitle of a presentation. Remove both text boxes to have a clear blank white presentation slide.

Step. 3

Click on the Insert tab and go to the Shapes menu. Insert the line shape in your slide. Adjust it to place it horizontally.

Step. 4

Select the line and click on the Shape Format tab. Go to the Shape Outline menu to change the color of the line. You can also increase the weight of the line and make it thicker by selecting the Weight option from the same drop-down section.

Step. 5

Click on the Insert menu again and pick the oval shape. Holding the ctrl and shift button together, make a small circle and place it at the one end of the line.

Step. 6

Select the circle and Go to Shape Format. Click on the Shape Fill tab and change the color of the circle as you want.

Step. 7

Go to the Shape menu again and insert the hollow circle. Make the hollow circle thinner and place it around the circle you just made. After selecting the hollow circle, you can change the color of the hollow circle from the Shape Fill tab.

Select the hollow circle and make a duplicate of it (by clicking ctrl+D). Change its color and place it over the previously created hollow circle design. Holding the ctrl and shift keys together, make the second hollow circle slightly bigger.

Step. 8

Select the straight line and make a duplicate of it. Go to the Shape Format tab and click on Rotate. Select Rotate Right 90°. Place the vertical line in the exact middle of the hollow circle. Holding the shift key, you can resize the line.

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Step. 9

Pick the arc shape from the Shapes menu under the Insert tab. Moving the yellow dot, make it a circle shape and place it around the hollow circle design we made so far.

Drag the yellow dot and change the direction of the arc so that it fits this roadmap design presented below. You can change the outline color and weight of the arc shape from the Shape Format menu.

Step. 10

Select the oval circle. Holding ctrl and shift, drag it to the other end of vertical line as shown in the picture.

Click on the Text Box tab from the Insert menu to add a text box. You can add as many text boxes as your roadmap template design demands.

Once text boxes are added to the roadmap, you can change the size, color, and type of fonts.

Step. 11

Select the whole design. Holding ctrl and shift drag the entire thing to the right and it will be duplicated. Adjust the text boxes and horizontal line as per the design requirement.

Step. 12

Once you are done with duplicating and adjusting all elements, change the color of the lines and shapes. Click on the Shape Format menu. Go to Shape Fill, choose the appropriate color, and fill the shapes with that. Change the color of the lines from the Shape Outline tab.

Your roadmap template design will look like the below:

Step. 13

Once your roadmap is ready, create a file name and save it for future use. There are multiple options to save the file.

Choose .pptm format to save the file so that you can easily edit it in the future.

To print the file, save it in .jpg or .pdf format.

How to Create a Curved Roadmap on PowerPoint

Here is an easy-to-follow process to create curved roadmaps in PowerPoint:

Step. 1 – Create a New Blank Presentation Slide

Click on the New tab and select the Blank Presentation to open a new blank slide.

Step. 2 – Create the Shape of a Road

Go to the Insert menu and click on the Shapes tab. Select the Block Arc shape and add it to the slide.

Once you are done adjusting the shape of the block arc, select the arc shape from the Shapes menu.

Place the arc over the block arc shape and create a semicircle. Select both the arc and block arc, click on the Arrange menu, and select Align center. Then again go to the Arrange menu and select Align Middle.

Select the arc shape and go to the Shape Format menu. Click on the Shape Outline tab and choose a color of the arc from the Theme Colors option. You can change the weight of the arc from the Weight menu. From the Dashes menu, change the nature of the arc by choosing the square dot option.

Select the entire diagram, press ctrl+G to group, and then ctrl+D to duplicate it. Go to Arrange tab, click on Rotate and then choose the Flip Vertical option. Place the flipped road shape right next to the previous one.

Make adjustments to keep the curvature properly aligned. After that, make a copy of it and place the copied one right next to the previous one.

Step. 3 – Add Shape Elements

Pick a line shape from the Shapes menu under the Insert tab and draw a straight line.

Then from the same Shapes menu, pick the Flowchart: Punched Tape shape. Place it next to the straight line and create a flag shape. Select both the shapes and click ctrl+G to group the shapes together. Your flag is ready.

Step. 4 – Insert Icon

Add an icon from the Insert menu.

We have made three copies of the icon and the flag here to give a complete look to the roadmap.

Step. 5 – Add Text Elements

Click on the Text Box tab from the Insert menu to add a text box.

You can add as many text boxes as your roadmap requires. Once all the required text boxes are added, you can add text and change the font type, size, and color.


Your final roadmap in PowerPoint will look like as below:

Step. 6 – Save Your Final Curved Roadmap Design

Don’t forget to save the roadmap in .pptm to easily edit the file in the future. To print the file, save it in .pdf or .jpg format.

Roadmap Design

Roadmaps are not just timeline presentations, including graphics, icons, shapes, etc. They represent your business as well. Using random fonts, colors, and graphics in your roadmap diagram will not create a lasting impression on your audience.

Whether you are using a roadmap slide for your employees or customers, make sure that design elements are in line with your brand. Doing so will help them connect with your brand.

PowerPoint Roadmap Templates

If you don’t have time to create a roadmap from scratch using this tutorial, you can use a roadmap template to save time. A good template comes with a beautiful design that you can easily customize.

From creating a simple timeline of progress to showing different phases of complex project management, you can use a fully editable roadmap PowerPoint template design in multiple ways.

You can download popular templates here, here, and here for free.

Project Roadmap Uses in Business

Here are the key benefits of using a project roadmap in your business:

  • You can present your vision and goals for a product/overall business in a visually appealing way
  • You can document how you are going to deliver against your vision and goals
  • A roadmap helps you convey all the necessary information to stakeholders
  • It can help you set priorities to keep your focus on key tasks

Also, a roadmap can help you keep everyone on the same page when launching a new product or implementing a new process.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know how to create a roadmap in PowerPoint from scratch. It is time to explore other uses of PowerPoint, such as how to make a PowerPoint into a video, how to embed a video in PowerPoint, how to make a Venn diagram in PowerPoint, and how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint. And if you want to shine your presentation skills, avoiding these PowerPoint mistakes can help.

Image: Envato Elements


Source: https://www.slideteam.net/blog/powerpoint-tutorial-roadmap-template-business-slides

Article post on: us.suanoncolosence.com

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