Build Custom Templates for Initiatives and Epics
Want to know a secret of highly productive product teams? Agreement on how work gets done. When you build repeatable and consistent workflows, it is easier for everyone to move plans forward with urgency. There is no guessing about the best way to approach the work — everyone can focus on delivering an exceptional experience to your customers. That is why we continue to invest in new ways to help you standardize major areas of work that inform your product roadmap.
You can now create custom templates for initiatives and epics in Aha! Roadmaps.
Of course, you could already define custom workflows for initiatives and epics in your account settings. These workflows are useful because you can break out each effort into steps and ensure a structured approach across your team. Now you can take that one step further and add templates too.
The new functionality works the same as templates for features and requirements. You can customize and use rich formatting options — such as bulleted lists, tables, and labels — to help important information stand out. Once added to a workflow, the template will automatically be applied each time a new record is created. You can share workflows and templates across multiple workspaces to ensure continuity across your organization.
Let's take a closer look:
Standardize strategic initiatives
Driving consistency across initiatives makes it easier for people to see the big picture. After all, initiatives are major areas of investment. So before you move the work forward, take time upfront to help the team understand how each one will help you reach your vision and goals. Create a custom template with the important information you want to capture — including objectives, scope, risks, and outcomes.
Create a template in the Initiative template section in your workflow settings.
Define epics with consistency
Many teams rely on epics to group related work across multiple products or teams. This can often lead to confusion or a steep onboarding curve. A standardized template for epics is a great way to reduce the disconnect. Display prioritized details the same way — every time. In the example below, we built a template based on the approach used by the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®).
Create a unique workflow for epics or use the same workflow as your features.
Templatize the way you define big areas of work — so everyone can move forward with confidence.
Ready to start creating your own templates? We would love to see what you come up with. And tell us if there are other templates that you would like to see. We always want to hear how we can help you better plan your work and improve cross-functional collaboration.
Sign up for a free trial of Aha! Roadmaps — plan the future
Aha! Roadmaps is the best way to set strategy, prioritize features, and share visual plans. It includes Aha! Ideas Essentials for crowdsourcing feedback. If you are not already an Aha! customer, sign up for a free 30-day trial or join a live demo to see why more than 500,000 users trust our cloud-based software to build lovable products.
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