Promoting Posts to the Roadmap

Learn how to move feature requests and feedback from your voting board to your public roadmap, keeping users informed about what you're planning to build.

What is Roadmap Promotion?

Roadmap promotion is the process of moving posts from your feedback board to your roadmap. When you decide to work on a feature request, you change its status to indicate it's planned, in progress, or completed. This keeps users who voted or submitted feedback informed about progress.

Benefits:

  • Close the feedback loop with your users
  • Show what you're working on transparently
  • Automatically notify voters of status changes
  • Build trust through visible progress

Understanding Status Flow

Posts move through statuses as they progress from idea to completion:

Feedback Board           Roadmap                    Changelog
─────────────           ───────                    ─────────
New → Under Review → Planned → In Progress → Released
                              └──────────────────────────┘
                                     Roadmap statuses

Typical Status Flow:

  1. New: Fresh submissions on feedback board
  2. Under Review: Being evaluated by your team
  3. Planned: Accepted and scheduled for development
  4. In Progress: Currently being built
  5. Released: Completed and available to users

Promoting via Status Change

Single Post Promotion

From the Post Detail View:

  1. Open the post you want to promote
  2. Click the Status dropdown
  3. Select a roadmap status (e.g., "Planned", "In Progress")
  4. The post appears on your roadmap

[Screenshot: Post detail view with status dropdown showing roadmap statuses]

From the List View:

  1. Navigate to your feedback board
  2. Click the status badge on a post
  3. Select a new status from the dropdown
  4. Post moves to the appropriate board/roadmap

Bulk Status Changes

For multiple posts at once:

  1. Go to your feedback board or moderation view
  2. Select multiple posts using checkboxes
  3. Click "Bulk Actions"
  4. Choose "Change Status"
  5. Select the target status
  6. Confirm the change

Promoting via Kanban Board

The Kanban board provides a visual way to manage status changes.

Drag and Drop Promotion

  1. Navigate to your Kanban board view
  2. Posts are organized in columns by status
  3. Drag a post from one column to another
  4. The status changes automatically

Example:
Drag a post from "Under Review" to "Planned" to promote it to your roadmap.

[Screenshot: Kanban board with post being dragged between columns]

Kanban Column Setup

Ensure your Kanban includes roadmap statuses:

  • Add roadmap statuses as columns
  • Order columns by typical workflow
  • Use clear status names

See Kanban Board Management for detailed setup.

Voter Notifications

When you change a post's status, followers and voters can be notified.

Automatic Notifications

Users receive notifications when:

  • A post they voted on changes status
  • A post they submitted changes status
  • A post they're following changes status

Notification Channels

  • In-app notifications: Shown in the notification bell
  • Email notifications: Sent based on user preferences
  • Activity digest: Included in periodic email summaries

Custom Status Update Message

When changing status, you can include a custom message:

  1. Change the post status
  2. A message field appears
  3. Enter context about the update
  4. The message is included in notifications

Example Messages:

"We're starting development on this feature next sprint!"

"This is now live! Check out the new export options in Settings."

"Moving to Planned - this will be part of our Q2 release."

Best Practices

Clear Status Names

Use status names that communicate clearly:

Good:

  • "Planned" (we're going to build this)
  • "In Progress" (we're actively working on this)
  • "Released" (it's done and available)

Unclear:

  • "Accepted" (accepted for what?)
  • "Backlog" (when will this happen?)
  • "Done" (done reviewing or done building?)

Regular Updates

  • Update statuses as work progresses
  • Don't leave posts in limbo for months
  • Include messages with context when appropriate
  • Consider marking stale items as "Won't Do" with explanation

Manage Expectations

  • Be honest about timelines (avoid specific dates)
  • Use "Planned" only when you're committed
  • Explain "Won't Do" decisions respectfully
  • Celebrate releases to close the loop

Status Messages

Good status update messages:

  • Explain why the decision was made
  • Provide timeline context (without specific dates)
  • Thank users for their input
  • Point to relevant documentation or changelog

Webhooks and Automation

When a post status changes, webhooks can be triggered for:

  • External notifications (Slack, Teams)
  • Task creation in project management tools
  • CRM updates
  • Custom workflows

See Setting Up Webhooks for configuration.