Quick Answer (TL;DR)
This free PowerPoint product launch roadmap template coordinates launch activities across four teams. Product, Marketing, Sales, and Support. On a countdown timeline from T-8 weeks to Launch Day and through T+4 weeks of post-launch. Each team has a swim lane with milestone cards, dependency arrows, and go/no-go checkpoints. Download the .pptx, set your launch date, and align every function around the same timeline so nothing falls through the cracks.
What This Template Includes
- Cover slide. Product or feature name, launch date, launch tier (Major / Minor / Maintenance), and executive sponsor.
- Instructions slide. How to set team lanes, define milestones, and run go/no-go reviews. Remove before presenting.
- Blank template slide. Countdown timeline (T-8 to T+4 weeks) with four team swim lanes and placeholder milestone cards at key checkpoints.
- Filled example slide. A working launch roadmap for a major SaaS feature release with 20 milestone cards across all four lanes, including three go/no-go gates at T-6, T-2, and T-1 weeks.
Why Launches Fail Without a Roadmap
Building the product is the easy part. Coordinating the launch across every team that needs to be ready on the same day is where things break.
Here is the pattern: Engineering finishes on time. Marketing materials are drafted but not reviewed. Sales has not been trained on the new feature. Support docs are half-written. The launch happens anyway because the date was announced. Customers encounter a feature that marketing oversells, sales cannot demo, and support cannot troubleshoot. The result is a product that works technically but fails commercially.
A launch roadmap prevents this by making every team's preparation visible on a shared timeline. Three principles make it work.
First, countdown milestones create urgency. Instead of vague deadlines, each team has specific deliverables at T-8, T-6, T-4, T-2, and T-1 weeks. If marketing materials are not ready at T-4, it is not a surprise at T-1. It is flagged six weeks before launch.
Second, go/no-go gates force honest assessment. At T-6, T-2, and T-1, the launch team reviews readiness across all four lanes. If any lane is red, the launch team makes an explicit decision: fix it, descope it, or delay. For a deeper treatment of release planning, see the glossary entry.
Third, post-launch is on the roadmap. The T+1 to T+4 weeks include monitoring metrics, collecting feedback, running the retrospective, and iterating based on early adoption data. The launch is not done when the feature ships. It is done when the feature adoption rate hits its target.
Template Structure
Countdown Timeline
The horizontal axis runs from T-8 weeks to T+4 weeks, centered on Launch Day:
- T-8 to T-6. Planning phase. All teams define their deliverables, assign owners, and identify blockers.
- T-6 to T-4. Build phase. Marketing creates assets. Sales prepares enablement. Support writes documentation. Product finalizes release scope.
- T-4 to T-2. Review phase. Assets are reviewed and approved. Beta users provide feedback. Demos are rehearsed.
- T-2 to Launch. Final prep. Everything is staged. Go/no-go decision is made. Launch communications are queued.
- Launch to T+4. Post-launch. Monitor metrics, respond to feedback, iterate on messaging, run retrospective.
Four Team Swim Lanes
Each lane represents a function with distinct launch responsibilities:
- Product. Feature freeze, beta program, release notes, known issues list, success metrics definition.
- Marketing. Launch announcement, blog post, email campaigns, social content, website updates, press outreach.
- Sales. Feature demo scripts, objection handling, pricing updates, competitive positioning, account-based launch plans.
- Support. Help center articles, internal FAQ, escalation procedures, first-response templates, training sessions.
Milestone Cards
Each card displays:
- Milestone name. Specific deliverable (e.g., "Sales demo script reviewed and approved").
- Owner. Single person responsible for completion.
- Due date. Expressed as countdown week (e.g., "T-4").
- Status. Green (done), amber (in progress), red (blocked or overdue), grey (not started).
- Dependency. Arrow to any prerequisite milestone in another lane.
Go/No-Go Gates
Three diamond-shaped checkpoints span all four lanes:
- T-6 Gate. Scope locked? All teams staffed and planning complete?
- T-2 Gate. All assets created? Beta feedback incorporated? Blocking issues resolved?
- T-1 Gate. Final go/no-go. Everything staged? Support trained? Launch comms queued?
Each gate has explicit pass/fail criteria. A single red lane triggers a launch team discussion, not an automatic delay.
How to Use This Template
1. Set the launch date and tier
Determine the launch date and classify the launch tier. Major launches (new product, platform capability) get the full T-8 timeline. Minor launches (feature additions, significant updates) can compress to T-4. Maintenance releases (bug fixes, performance improvements) may not need this template at all.
2. Assign lane owners
Each swim lane needs one person who owns the lane's deliverables end to end. This is not the person who does all the work. It is the person who ensures every milestone in that lane has an owner and is tracking to schedule. For guidance on managing these cross-functional relationships, see the stakeholder management guide.
3. Define milestones per lane
Work backward from Launch Day. What must be true at T-1 for the launch to succeed? What must be true at T-2 for T-1 deliverables to be achievable? This backward planning exposes dependencies early. Place 4-6 milestones per lane. More than 8 milestones per lane makes the roadmap unreadable.
4. Map cross-lane dependencies
Draw dependency arrows between milestones that have hard sequencing requirements. Common dependencies: Sales demo scripts depend on Product release notes. Support articles depend on Marketing positioning. Marketing screenshots depend on Product feature freeze. Keep cross-lane dependencies to 3-5 total. More than that signals the scope is too large for one launch.
5. Run go/no-go reviews
At each gate, the lane owners report status. Green means the lane is on track. Amber means there is risk but a mitigation plan exists. Red means the lane cannot meet the launch date without intervention. The launch owner (usually the PM) makes the call: proceed, adjust scope, or delay. Document the decision and rationale.
When to Use This Template
A product launch roadmap PowerPoint template is the right choice when:
- Multiple teams (product, marketing, sales, support) must be ready on the same date
- The launch has external visibility. Customer announcements, press coverage, or conference timing
- Cross-functional dependencies create risk that one team's delay blocks another's readiness
- Executive stakeholders need a single view of launch preparation across all functions
- Post-launch monitoring needs to be planned proactively, not improvised after ship day
If your launch is primarily an engineering release with minimal GTM activity, the Release Plan Roadmap PowerPoint template focuses on the technical delivery side. For launches that are part of a broader market entry, the Go-to-Market Roadmap PowerPoint template covers strategic positioning and channel planning in more depth.
For a complete process guide on running launches, see the product launch guide.
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Key Takeaways
- Product launches fail when cross-functional readiness is assumed instead of tracked.
- Countdown timelines (T-8 to T+4) create urgency and make gaps visible weeks before launch day.
- Four team lanes (Product, Marketing, Sales, Support) ensure no function is forgotten.
- Go/no-go gates at T-6, T-2, and T-1 force honest readiness assessment and explicit delay decisions.
- PowerPoint format makes the launch plan presentable in every forum from exec reviews to cross-functional standups.
- Compatible with Google Slides, Keynote, and LibreOffice Impress. Upload the
.pptxto Google Drive to edit collaboratively in your browser.