Shorter Loop Roadmap — Help Centre articles
Every article was written from the live product: each screen was opened, each
workflow performed, and every quoted message and number was taken from the app
rather than assumed.
https://cache.shorterloop.com/roadmaps/ — captured from app.shorterloop.com at 2× forlegibility, using a purpose-built demo workspace (two products, real
objectives, epics, features, opportunities and solutions).
(
https://cache.shorterloop.com/roadmaps/…), so the folder can be published as-is.Start here
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| What is the Shorter Loop roadmap? | What the board shows and how it relates to your other work |
| What is on the roadmap board? | Every part of the screen, named |
| Where do I find my roadmaps? | The roadmap list |
| How do I create a roadmap? | Creating your first board |
| Which roadmap type should I pick? | Now · Next · Later vs Fixed Time Boxes |
| Why can’t I change the type? | And what to do instead |
| What is the guided tour? | The six in-app steps |
Time boxes (columns)
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| How do I add a time box? | Adding a column |
| How do I rename a time box? | Renaming without moving work |
| How do I change its dates? | Start and end dates on a timeline |
| Why won’t my time box save? | Both validation messages |
| How do I delete a time box? | And what happens to the work in it |
Bands, lanes and objectives
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| How do I add a band? | Swimlanes and how they differ from lanes |
| How do I add an objective lane? | Placing one vs creating one |
| How do I rename a band or lane? | Inline editing, and what it renames |
| How do I collapse a band? | And why the board then looks empty |
| What does the % on a lane mean? | Progress and item counts |
| How do I colour cards, bands and lanes? | Where each colour is set |
Putting work on the board
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| How do I put work on the roadmap? | The core drag-and-drop workflow |
| Where is the backlog panel? | Opening, expanding, moving it |
| How do I search and sort the pool? | Finding one specific item |
| Why can’t I find an item? | Six reasons, in order |
| How do I move a card? | Between time boxes and lanes |
| How do I nest a feature under an epic? | Parent/child on the board |
| What happens when I place a parent? | Children come along |
| What are Independent items? | The UNALIGNED row |
| How do I take a card off? | Removing without deleting |
| How do I move work between roadmaps? | One item, one roadmap |
Spanning a card across time boxes
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| How do I span a card? | Dragging the right edge |
| Which items can span? | Epics, opportunities, solutions — not features |
| How do I shrink one back? | Collapsing a span |
| Why can’t I stretch this card? | Four causes |
| How does spanning affect exports? | Counted once per box |
Reading the board
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| What do the colours and badges mean? | Keys, types, statuses, stripes |
| What is All / Strategy / Build? | The audience filter |
| What is the dates warning? | When item dates disagree with the box |
Organization roadmap
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| What is an organization roadmap? | And when you need one |
| Why can’t I see it? | The single-product rule |
| How do I create org themes? | Themes are organization-level |
| How do I create one? | Creating the board |
| How does work roll up? | Aligning objectives to themes |
| What does SHOWING mean? | Product scope |
| What is the All products view? | The read-only roll-up |
| How do I see one theme across products? | The drill-down |
| How do I leave the drill-down? | Clearing the chip |
| Why can’t I edit org time boxes? | Where they can be changed |
Sharing, exporting and housekeeping
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| How do I share a roadmap? | Links and what they carry |
| What’s in the PDF export? | The four-page board pack |
| What’s in the Excel export? | Every column |
| How do I rename a roadmap? | Links survive renames |
| How do I delete a roadmap? | What goes and what stays |
| Roadmap keys and links | URL shapes, key rules |
When something looks wrong
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| Why is my board empty? | Seven causes, most common first |
| Why did my card disappear? | Where to look for it |
| Why can’t I drag anything? | Read-only situations |
| What if I delete an item on a roadmap? | Delete vs remove |
| Roadmap FAQ | Short answers with links |
Worked examples
| Article | Answers |
|---|---|
| Planning a quarter | End to end on a new timeline board |
| Preparing an organization review | Several products into one view |
Reference
Modified at 2026-09-12 07:24:38