Working with a Roadmap Builder

The roadmap builder is a tool that allows you to edit a roadmap by adding epics to a schedule. In Deep Planner, the schedule dates for epics are not assigned directly but evaluated and assigned by the system based on several factors, such as a high-level estimate, teams’ capacity, and the desired sequence of execution inside the timebox. The existence of edit mode allows you to experiment with the parameters and scope in order to oversee the impact of the results before saving.

Adding a Timebox

A timebox defines the calendar boundaries for planning. A timebox can be a month, a quarter, or just a particular milestone period. Multiple timeboxes can be added to a single roadmap, but their dates must not overlap.

To add a timebox, click the “Add a Timebox” button inside the editor. Specify the following information:

1. Name: Specify the timebox name, such as “Q1 2026” or “MVP 1”
2. Start Date: The start date of the target planning period
3. End Date: The end date of the target planning period
4. Custom Dates: Optional. Select or unselect particular dates inside the period, such as weekends or holidays
5. Teams: Specify the particular teams that will be working in that timebox

The new timebox will appear in the list of timeboxes for that roadmap and include its name, start date, and end date. You can always navigate between timeboxes by selecting a different one from the list.

Scheduling an Epic

To schedule an epic drag it from the “Backlog” table and drop to the timebox “Epics” table inside the editor. This will trigger automated scheduling. Epic will be added to the end of the list and scheduled last. To change the priority of the epic and schedule it prior to the other epics, drag the epic to the top of the list or at the desired position.  The scheduler will schedule in the order specified.

When scheduling an epic, the system takes as a main factor the epic high-level estimate, or the remaining estimate if work was marked as partially completed. The system finds the team assigned to a timebox that matches the epic by its capacity and responsibilities available under team resources. If certain team resources are already occupied or unavailable, then the system may attempt to schedule it to another team or share it between multiple teams.

The system uses Today’s Date as a baseline and then calculates the amount of calendar days for epic completion based on the number of days required for the team to implement that epic. If the team is scarce of a particular resource, more calendar days will be assigned in order to implement the epic

Example. 

Epic Secure Notepad has a high-level estimate record, including development (10 man-days) and testing (10 man-days). Team Lion has a resource “Developers” available in 2 man-days daily capacity. Team Eagle has a resource “Testing” available in 1 man-days capacity. 

Given that Team Lion needs 5 calendar days to complete their part and Team Eagle needs 10 calendar days to complete their part, the system will assign 10 calendar days to both teams in order to implement the epic Secure Notepad. The system assigns the longest time span.  Team Lion however will still hold 50% of their capacity that could be allocated to other epics.

Unscheduling an Epic

To unschedule an epic, click on the “Trash” button in its row in the Epics table. This will trigger an automatic unscheduling of the epic and regeneration of schedules.

Rescheduling Delayed Epics or Epics in Progress

The system doesn’t reschedule any epics automatically that are delayed or were started and are still in progress. Schedules will remain consistent, even if they are re-estimated or moved higher in the priority order.  However, it is possible to force rescheduling of these epics manually. 

In order to do so, click on the epic and navigate to the right sidebar. Open the “Calendar” tab and find the “Replan” button. Clicking “Replan” will trigger re-including  the epic to the schedule from today’s baseline based on the remaining estimate, priority, and dependencies of the epic. 

It is also possible to reschedule all delayed epics in a timebox. In order to do that, click on “Actions” by the timebox and click “Replan All Delayed Epics” in the dropdown menu.

Updating Epics and Teams with new Data

Data, such as high-level estimates and team capacities, need to be changed outside of the roadmap editor in Space. In that case, the roadmap editor will be updated automatically with new estimates, team capacities, and backlog data every time the user reopens or returns to it from a different browser screen. The system automatically applies the updates and rebuilds schedules to accommodate the changes. It will show a notification if any updates are applied to the schedule. 

In some browsers, updates may not trigger automatically after returning from other screens. In that case, they can be triggered manually by clicking on the “Refresh” button inside the editor. 

Fine-tuning the Epic Plan

Defining Preferred Teams

It is possible to assign desired teams to a particular epic. In order to do that, click on the epic and navigate to the right sidebar. Open the “Schedule” tab. Click “Add a Preferred Team.” The teams added in this setting will be prioritized in the schedule. However, if they are not available or lack resources, the epic can be scheduled to other teams.

Defining the Earliest Start Date

If an epic has an external dependency, its plan can be adjusted by specifying the earliest start date. The system will not schedule the epic to dates prior to that date. In order to do that, click on the epic and navigate to the right sidebar. Open the “Schedule” tab. Select the date from the dropdown, “Start no earlier than.”

Excluding Nice to Have User Stories

Sometimes it’s useful to experiment with epic scope while working on a schedule. Deep Planner enables that through the ability to exclude user stories that are marked as “Nice to Have” in the epic details. In order to do that, click on the epic and navigate to the right sidebar. Open the “Information” tab. Select “Exclude Nice To Have User Stories” checkbox. Upon selection, the system will update the estimate and will exclude any work items that explicitly relate to the user stories that are marked as “Nice to Have” in the epic details.

Manual Schedule Mode

Although Deep Planner is an automated scheduler, it is possible in exceptional situations to manually assign start dates, end dates, and teams to an epic. In order to do that, click on the epic and navigate to the right sidebar. Open the “Schedule” tab. Shift the “Schedule Mode” toggle to “Manual.” Then specify the start date, end date, and teams. Team resources will be assigned at full capacity for the selected time range.

Previewing changes

To preview the changes, click on the “Preview” button in the left sidebar. The system will display the schedule in the Dashboard view. To learn more about Dashboard, navigate to the “Using the Dashboard” documentation page.