Swimlane View
Swimlanes allow you to organize items on a dynamic grid, enabling both horizontal and vertical pivots to customize the visualization based on context-relevant fields. This approach is great for both planning and presenting your roadmaps, while making it easy to adapt plans as priorities shift and helping teams respond to change without losing high-level alignment.
The other type of roadmap visualization in Strategic Roadmaps is a Timeline, which provides a more time-oriented visualization (see our overview on Timeline views).
Adding a Swimlane View
To set up a new Swimlane on your roadmap, start by creating a new roadmap view, applying filters to include specific items, and customizing the layout and colors.
When starting from a roadmap that doesn’t yet have views, or may require additional views to be created:
Click into the Viewfinder Panel, located directly beneath the roadmap name.
Once the panel is open, click on the Add New View button in the top-right.
In the New View setup window:
Add a Title for the view
Select Swimlane as the Visualization Type
If you have other views already built, you can copy the filters from them during this step.
Once ready, click the Create button to save the settings and navigate to the Swimlane.
If you’ve already created a Table View in your roadmap and have not yet visualized it:
From the view you wish to visualize, click into the Viewfinder Panel.
Click into the Visualize icon to the right of the view’s name.
In the New Visualization setup window
Select Swimlane as the Visualization Type
Once ready, click the Create button to save the changes and navigate to the Swimlane.
Once created, your Swimlane will display only the items that meet your chosen filter criteria. You can confirm which filters you have set up by clicking the Filter icon in the road mapping toolbar.
Note: Milestones are only visible in Timeline views and won’t appear in the Swimlane.
First Steps in the Swimlane
If you haven’t created any items on your roadmap yet, you’ll likely see the empty state helper for Swimlane views. From this helper, you’re provided with three options:
Create Your First Item: Opens the Item Card in the Create State.
Sync Your Data: Opens the Integrations Panel in the view.
Visit the Tempo Help Center: Opens the article you’re currently viewing.
Navigating the Swimlane
Exploring the Swimlane Visualization
The Swimlane can be customized to fit your needs, showing as much or as little data as necessary. Key areas in the visualization include:
Roadmapping Toolbar: Located at the top of the page, this collapsible toolbar allows users to quickly access key tools like their Filters, Integration, and Formatting Settings, and their Publishing Options.
Axis Labels: Axis labels provide users with a quick glimpse of the field(s) they’re currently using as column and/or row headers in their roadmap and can be clicked into to change or remove the fields used on the roadmap.
Column Headers: All Swimlane visualizations have column headers by default, and these headers cannot be removed. Column Headers are presented at the top of the screen.
Row Headers: Similar to the Column Headers, users have the option to further break down their data by configuring Row Headers and Row Groups. These are shown on the right side of the roadmap.
Items: Items are plotted in the Swimlane in alignment with the Column and Row Headers. They can be displayed in both Compact and Standard modes, depending on the amount of data required.
Legend: Located in the bottom-left corner, the Legend can appear when a user is working with custom and default color palettes. This tool does not appear when using the Base Color Palette.
Exploring the Standard Swimlane Cards
The Standard Mode of the Swimlane Card shows all available data on the Swimlane:
Item Name: The Item Name section acts as the card's title. Users can set the visible number of lines of the title from the Format Panel, with the single-line option (Show Less) offering a marquee on hover to improve the readability of longer titles.
Date/Bucket: The Date/Bucket section of the card displays either the item's date/date range or the Bucket value associated with it.
Description: The Description section shows a short preview of your roadmap item’s Description field. The description is displayed by default as a single line and can be expanded to three lines on hover.
Labels: Users can set any type of field as the Label on their roadmap items. In the case of Multi-Select or Team Member fields, multiple label chips are shown on the card.
Item Progress: If a roadmap item has a percentage field associated with it, it can be set to appear as the Item Progress. This field is automatically updated as the field value is changed elsewhere.
Item Details: A collection of small chips on the bottom of the card that shows the counts of important collaboration features. See Exploring the Item Details below for more details.
Sub-Items: Displays a count of all sub-items associated with the card and can be clicked into to show all sub-items. If none exist, the field displays a plus icon and allows users to add a sub-item.
Context Menu: Available by clicking the ellipsis menu in the top right, this menu provides a selection of additional item controls. See Exploring the Context Menu below for more details.
Exploring the Compact Swimlane Cards
The Compact Mode of the Swimlane Card shows a limited selection of data on the Swimlane:
Item Name: The Item Name section acts as the card's title. Users can set the visible number of lines of the title from the Format Panel, with the single-line option (Show Less) offering a marquee on hover to improve readability of longer titles.
Date/Bucket: The Date/Bucket section of the card displays either the item's date/date range or the Bucket value associated with it.
Description: The Description section shows a short preview of your roadmap item’s Description field. The description is displayed by default as a single line and can be expanded to three lines on hover.
Item Progress: If a roadmap item has a percentage field associated with it, it can be set to appear as the Item Progress. This field is automatically updated as the field value is changed elsewhere.
Sub-Items: Displays a count of all sub-items associated with the card and can be clicked into to show all sub-items. If none exist, the field displays a plus icon and allows users to add a sub-item.
Context Menu: Available by clicking the ellipsis menu in the top right, this menu provides a selection of additional item controls.
Exploring the Item Details
The Item Details section displays counts of commonly-used collaboration features - allowing users to get an at-a-glance look into the additional details of the item that are not often present in the visualization layer. The available counts for the Item Details section include:
Linked Items: Displays the total number of in-roadmap and cross-roadmap item links.
Key Dates: Displays the number of key dates associated with this item.
Comments: Displays the total number of comments made on the item.
Attachments: Displays the active number of file attachments on the item card.
Similar to the Linked Items Indicator in the Table View, users can quickly access any of these sections on their item card by clicking the provided chips.
Exploring the Context Menu
In the Swimlane View, users can quickly access a selection of quick actions on their roadmap by opening the Context Menu. This menu is accessible by clicking the three dots that appear on the top right of the Swimlane Card when you hover over them or by right-clicking on an item. The context menu only applies to the item you're clicking on, so even if you have multiple items selected you will only be able to complete an action in the Context Menu for that specific item.
From this menu, users are able to complete the following actions:
Open Item Card: Opens the full item card for the selected roadmap item.
Copy Item URL: Copies a direct link to the item to your clipboard.
Add Sub-Item: Opens the Sub-Items tab to create a new sub-item.
Add Linked Item: Opens the Linked Items tab to create a new link.
Rename Item: Opens the Item Card and targets the Item Name field at the top for editing.
Transfer Item: Allows you to transfer an item from the current roadmap to another roadmap.
Duplicate Item: Allows you to create a clone of the selected item in the roadmap.
Delete Item: Deletes the selected item from the roadmap. This action cannot be undone.
Adding Items in the Swimlane
Adding Items through the Empty State Helper
If you haven’t created any items on your roadmap yet, the first time you open the swimlane view, you’ll likely see the empty state helper. From this helper, you’re provided with three options (two of which allow you to create/add items to your roadmap):
Create Your First Item: Opens the Item Card in the Create State.
Sync Your Data: Opens the Integrations Panel in the view.
Visit the Tempo Help Center: Opens the article you’re currently viewing.
Once the first item has been created or synced with the roadmap, the empty state helper will no longer be visible and will remain hidden unless all items are removed from the roadmap.