Aha! Roadmaps | Releases overview

Releases are containers for smaller elements of work—including phases, milestones, epics, and features. This video shows you how to plan your releases in Aha! Roadmaps and align them with your strategy. You will also learn how to customize the Gantt view to visualize cross-functional plans.

Note: This video refers to releases and features. Depending on your workspace type, you may see "schedules" and “activities" in your workspace.

Click below to watch the video, or scroll down to follow along with a transcript!

Transcript

Hi, this is Claire from Aha! Today, we're going to talk about planning in Aha!

Depending on your workspace type, you'll either see a releases or schedules tab in your navigation. This is where you define your plans. The basic functionality is the same across workspaces and you can always customize the terminology to match how your organization works too.

Think of releases as containers for your work, the features and epics you'll deliver. Ultimately, you will link whatever you are planning to goals and initiatives to show how your work will support your strategy. For this video, we're going to take you through an example of planning a release.

Gantt charts overview

Let's get started. Releases represent the delivery of a new customer experience. This might be a product launch, IT solution, or marketing campaign. Delivering any new experience requires cross-functional collaboration. That is why many teams use the Gantt chart in Aha! to coordinate all those details.

To create a new release, navigate to Releases, then Gantt, and click Add release. Give your new release a name, select which product it belongs to, and choose a target release date. To further streamline your planning, use a release template with prebuilt phases and milestones.

You can manually adjust the timing by dragging the release bar directly on the Gantt. This will automatically update your release start and end dates. To visualize how your new release fits in with the rest of your team's plans, use the filters to add more releases to the Gantt view. You can even do this across multiple workspaces.

Organize your Gantt chart

Are you ready to organize the features that you have planned for this new release? Quickly add new or existing features by clicking the + icon. Then drag and drop features in order within each phase. Just like with the release bars, you can move phases, features, and milestones across the Gantt to change the dates. Or open up each record individually to refine the details.

Dates and dependencies

You can set dates for each record independently, as well as align the release or the phase with its visible children.

You can also have dependencies to keep track of what happens if dates shift. Hover over any record, then click and drag the gray ball that appears to create a dependency. The dependency line will turn red if the dates on dependent records are in the past, giving you a visual cue on the impact when dates slip.

Release details view

Once you are comfortable with your timelines, you can then dive into the details view. Here, you can set the status of the release and link to your strategic goals and initiatives.

Use the Theme field to enter a description of your release so others can understand the high-level plan. You can also rename and change the dates for your phases and milestones.

Planning board

Let's move over to the planning board. Add the release you just created. Then organize, prioritize, and update your features for all your in-progress work. As work gets underway, you can visualize progress directly on the Gantt.

Once everything is done, ship it. Mark the release as Completed and automatically notify your team. All of the data will stay in Aha!, so you can always revisit the details. If you need help, use the question mark in your account.

Get started today with a free 30-day trial or join one of our live weekly demos. Our Customer Success teammates are all former product managers and Aha experts. We are here to help you plan with confidence and deliver your best work.