Product Development Timeline in PowerPoint

Thinking about whipping up a product development timeline in PowerPoint? Let's break it down for you. But first, what is a product development timeline anyway? You can see a sample timeline created using PowerPoint in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Timeline created in PowerPoint

Imagine it as a visual map that lays out the journey of your product from the initial spark of an idea all the way to its big debut in the market. This isn't just a straight, point-to-point line, though. Along the way, you'll spot all sorts of pit stops for research, various tests, and the creation of prototypes. It's your product's story, with all the twists and turns, presented in a neat, easy-to-follow PowerPoint slide. Trust us, it’s worth the effort!

Most of these terms: concept, prototype, and launch, are classified as tasks. Each task needs to be represented within a timeline.

Ever noticed how some tasks feel like déjà vu? Well, when mapping out a product development timeline in PowerPoint, you'll find:

1. Tasks can be repetitive,
2. Stack up one after the other, or
3. Even happens all at once.

But there's more to it than just task management. Real-world scenarios throw in their own twists—like shifting time schedules and reshuffling responsibilities. That's why any PowerPoint slide you create for your product development needs to be flexible. It should be simple to update, tweak, and expand whenever necessary.

Hey there, design enthusiasts! Ever heard someone call a timeline an "infographic"? Well, they're not wrong! Crafting a slick timeline for a presentation might seem a bit intimidating at first, but fear not—it's totally doable. In this handy dandy guide, we're going to walk you through the ins and outs of creating a product-development timeline. We’ll use a make-believe scenario with Comitu Inc., a fictional pharmaceutical company. They're all geared up to develop and launch their latest wonder drug, SunZome. So, grab your designer hats, and let's dive into making a timeline that not only informs but impresses!

To follow the techniques explained here, you can download the sample PowerPoint presentation here. You will need an unzipping utility such as WinZip or Stuff it to extract the archive file.

The Time-bar

We begin our creation with a simple, uncluttered PowerPoint template that uses the company's corporate color scheme, based on green. The company logo is also incorporated into the slide, as shown in Figure 2, below.

Figure 2: Starting with a clean background is important

The first thing you need to create is a sense of time. This can be achieved by placing a time bar on the top portion of the slide. To create the time bar, draw a narrow, ruler-style rectangle from edge to edge on the slide. Within this rectangle, draw four vertical lines to create five equal sections. Then, type a number, centered in each of these sections, as shown in Figure 3, below.

Figure 3: The segmented bar at the top of the slide represents time

Dashed, vertical lines emanate from this time bar to visually divide the onscreen area, as shown in Figure 3, above.

If you want to use a nice graduated color fill within the time bar, select the rectangle, and from the Format menu, choose AutoShape. In the Format AutoShape dialog box, go to the Colors and Lines tab, click the dropdown menu next to the Color choices and select Fill Effects.

In the Fill Effects dialog box, choose the Gradient tab and opt for a two-color fill. Choose your colors (our sample has chrome yellow with sap green) and select a diagonal shading style, as shown in Figure 4, below. Click OK when you are satisfied.

Figure 4: The Fill Effects window

From within the Format AutoShape window, return to the Colors and Lines tab, and from the Lines submenu, click the Color dropdown menu. Choose the No Line option for the outlines and click OK.

The Lines

Just below the time bar and perpendicular to it, create four dashed lines that span most of the slide from top to bottom. From the Draw toolbar, under AutoShapes, choose Lines, then draw your first line. Then under the Format menu choose AutoShape. This returns you to the Format AutoShape window. Go to the line area to adjust color, dash, style, and weight to your liking. Be sure to choose a color that's visible on top of the background, yet not too bright. Once satisfied, click the OK button.

Adding Shapes

Now, you need to create shapes that will represent the actual tasks within the timeline. Use a regular AutoShape for this purpose. For our example, we'll use the Pentagon shape within the Block Arrows section of the AutoShapes menu. Simply choose it and draw a long arrow onscreen. Next, use the arrow's resize handles to size and shape it (look for the white dots). Change the tapered end of the arrow by locating and adjusting the image's diamond-shaped handle, as shown in Figure 5, below.

Figure 5: Change shape size as required

Once you draw a basic AutoShape, you can use the resize handles to adjust its shape and size as needed.

Once the arrow is properly sized, choose a graduated shaded fill that complements the slide's colors. Use the same techniques and menus you used to create color in your time bar, even repeating the color options. Be sure to choose the No Line option from the Colors and Lines submenu before clicking the OK button.

To save time creating and coloring individual AutoShapes, duplicate this first shape (Ctrl + D) as often as necessary and place the copies where they're needed, as shown in Figure 6, below.

Figure 6: More shapes added

By duplicating the original AutoShape multiple times, it's easy to create various parts of the timeline quickly. You may need to rescale some shapes after placing them.

Use the Text tool to label each AutoShape. Keep in mind while labeling the shapes that some may require additional scaling. Be sure to scale width-wise, and never height-wise, to maintain design consistency.

As you create the AutoShapes (and their text labels) for the timeline, you may wish to identify several as a group using a larger block. This can be accomplished by adding another AutoShape. In our example, a long, narrow bar visually groups the task arrows above it, as shown in Figure 7, below.

Figure 7: The longer rectangles below task shapes

The longer rectangles provide another layer of grouping, by task, within the timeline.

These rectangles are created the same way you made the pentagon shaped arrows. To save time, create and format the shape you need, then duplicate it, placing each copy so that it roughly creates other groupings.

Once all the elements have been put into place, you can rearrange them to achieve their relative position under the time bar according to the product's development schedule, as shown in Figure 8, below.

Figure 8: All elements within the finished timeline

Adding Animation

The final steps will create and place custom animation on the slide. Usually, it is a good idea to use a simple wipe animation that moves from left to right (the direction of the arrows) in sequence. Using a complex animation (in PowerPoint 97, 98, 2000, and 2001) or an entry-exit animation (in PowerPoint 2002/XP) may spoil the simplicity of the timeline as well as distract your audience. For this example, we have used wipes only. Each AutoShape appears, animated, in sequence. The time bar is animated to appear first, followed by the vertical dashed lines. Finally, all the tasks and their grouping rectangles complete the animation sequence.

And remember, this isn't the only way to use a timeline. It is possible to adapt this method for historical timelines, progressive project status, event planning, training, and any other concept that can evolve within a timeline frame.