Roadmap

In databases, you can store entries with various property types, then view those entries in filtered and sorted views. That makes Notion a widely versatile tool for managing complex endeavors where multiple initiatives contain multiple projects, and those projects contain multiple tasks.

Flex the power of Notion databases to keep your team in sync and execute your endeavors efficiently and effectively. Let's construct a sophisticated roadmap with initiatives, projects and tasks.

In this guide, you will:

1. Create a new database 2. Describe your terminology 3. Configure properties Add or edit properties Define property values as you go 4. Create a task template 5. Add contents to your database Add epics Add tasks and bugs 6. Customize views Create a status board Create an epic calendar Create a bug list 7. Share your roadmap

1. Create a new database

Add a new page to your workspace, and select Table from the grayscale menu.

Name your database. Hover over the title to add an icon if you'd like.

2. Describe your terminology

You can add helpful context to the description section of any Notion database:

Hover over the title and click Add Description. For our roadmap, we define some terminology that you'll find useful for this guide:

⛰ Epics are large overarching initiatives. 🏃‍♂️ Sprints are time-bounded pushes to complete a set of tasks. 🔨 Tasks are the actions that make up epics. 🐞 Bugs are tasks to fix things.

3. Configure properties

Add properties that will help track your epics, tasks, bugs and sprints. Consider how you'll want to sort and filter them. Our example includes these properties:

Projects (Title)

Timeline (Date)

Product Manager (Person)

Engineers (Person)

Tasks (Relation)

Priority (Select)

Sprint (Multi-Select)

Epic (Relation)

Type (Select)

Created (Created Time)

Status (Select)

Add or edit properties

Click Properties at the top of your table.

Click the name of an existing property to edit it or + Add a property to create a new one.

Name your property.

Under Property Type, select the type of information you want it to contain.

Repeat for each property.

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Note: Epics contain tasks, and conversely, each task is assigned to an epic. Therefore, we use the Relation property type to connect them. When creating your Tasks property, choose the same database and select the option to Create a new property. This will automatically create the reciprocal property, which you may rename Epic.

Define property values as you go

For Select and Multi-Select properties, such as Priority and Sprint in our example, you'll create dropdown options when creating templates and adding contents. Simply type the value and hit enter. If you'd like, choose a color that corresponds with each option's meaning, like green for Complete.

For Person properties, you can choose among the members of your workspace. They'll be notified each time you include them.

Created Time, Created By, Last Edited By and Last Edited Time are generated automatically.

Relation properties, as noted above, connect entries to one another. In our roadmap, we tie epics to tasks.

4. Create a task template

Your tasks likely share features like headings and perhaps a table of contents. Rather than creating each task from scratch, you can establish a template to serve as a pre-populated outline.

At the top right of your database, click the down arrow within the blue New button. Select + New Template and enter a title for the template, like Task.

Enter property values that apply to all tasks. For our roadmap, all tasks will contain Task in the Type property.

In the body of the template page, add the content you want to appear every time you create a new task, such as headings that indicate recurring sections.

Click ← Back to save and return to your database.

You may also consider a template for bugs, with placeholders for the problem, location and other shared sections.

5. Add contents to your database

Add epics

As your overarching initiatives, epics will be fewer in number and added and edited less frequently. Unlike tasks, they contain values for the Timeline property, while the Sprint and Priority properties are reserved for tasks.

If your database contains no blank rows, select + New at the bottom to create one.

Click into the Projects property and type a name for your epic.

Add a value for each additional property, leaving Sprint and Priority blank.

You may wish to add an icon to your epics so they stand out from tasks:

Hover your cursor over the title and click OPEN to open preview mode.

Hover your cursor over the title and choose Add Icon.

Click the icon and choose an alternative that suits your epic.

Add tasks and bugs

Add a task from your template

At the top right of your database, click the down arrow within the blue New button and choose your template.

Your new task will automatically contain the properties and content you established for the template.

Enter the unique properties and content for the new task.

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Note: In the Epic (Relation) field, you'll choose an existing epic or create a new one. This will automatically populate the reciprocal field for the selected epic.

Create a task or bug from scratch

Click the New button at the top right of your table to open a blank page in Preview Mode.

Edit it in preview mode or expand it by clicking Open as Page at the top left or typing cmd/ctrl + enter.

Fill in the properties and body with a clean slate.

6. Customize views

Notion allows you to view the same data many different ways — however is most useful. In addition to the default table, you can see your entries in a list, on a board, within a calendar and more. Views also allow you to filter and sort your items.

Create a status board

In Notion, boards allow you to group entries by a specified property. Groups are displayed in columns. Items can be dragged easily from one group to another.

Create a board view

Click + Add a View at the top left of your database.

Type a name for your view that indicates how you'll group your entries. We group by the Status property, so we name it By Status.

Select Board as your database format, then click Create.

Define your groupings

Click Group by at the top of your board.

Choose a property for grouping your items. For By Status, we group by Status.

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Tip: Your board will include a column for items without the grouping property. To hide that column, click ••• and choose Hide.

Create an epic calendar

Viewing your Notion database as a calendar gives you a quick, visual sense of dates. For our roadmap, we can easily see the timespan of each epic.

Create a calendar view

Click the dropdown menu at the top left of your database.

Choose + Add a View.

Enter a name for your calendar view corresponding with the Date property it will display. For our epics, we chose Epic Calendar.

Select Calendar and click Create.

Filter the displayed items

In our roadmap, epics contain timelines; tasks and bugs do not. Therefore, we want our calendar to display only epics.

Click Filter at the top of your calendar, then + Add a Filter.

Choose a property to filter by and which entries to show and hide. For our Epic Calendar, we filter for Type Is Epic.

Choose your date property

By default, your calendar will show an existing Date property; in our case, that's Timeline. If your database contains multiple Date properties, you can select an alternative by clicking By [property name] at the top of your database.

Create a bug list

Notion's list format for databases gives your data a clean, minimal look that's easy to interact with. You can filter and sort your entries, and display or hide any properties. For our roadmap, we create a list of bugs.

Create a list view

Click the dropdown menu at the top left of your database.

Choose + Add a View.

Type a name for your list that indicates how you'll filter it. In our example, we filter the Type property for Bug, so we name the list Bugs.

Choose List and click Create.

Filter your list

Click Filter at the top of your list, then + Add a Filter.

Choose a property to filter by and which entries to show and hide. For our bug list, we filter for Type Is Bug.

Hide and display properties

Click Properties at the top of your list.

Toggle on and off the properties you'd like to display and hide. You can also drag the visible properties to modify their position.

Sort your bugs

Click Sort at the top of your list, then + Add a Sort.

Choose a property to sort by and whether you'd like to display your items in Ascending or Descending order. For our bug list, we sort by Priority in Ascending order.

7. Share your roadmap

To make your roadmap accessible to all members of your workspace, click Share at the top right of the page and toggle on Workspace Access.

If you prefer to limit access to particular team members, click Share at the top right of the page, then Invite a Person. Add collaborators using their email addresses. Choose an access level for each of them (i.e. Can Read, Can Comment).

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Note: Invitees without an existing Notion account will receive an email with a link to create one. Learn more about sharing →

Something we didn't cover? Message us in the app by clicking ? at the bottom right on desktop (or in your sidebar on mobile). Or email us at team@makenotion.com ✌️