When to use it
The "technical approach" figure in an engineering master's thesis, a project proposal or feasibility study, and the technical section of a bid. Unlike an academic research roadmap it is built around delivering something that works: specifications are fixed first, the concept passes a review, hardware (or structure) and software (or control) are developed in parallel and integrated into a prototype, and field trials are measured against the specifications. One figure explains how the project will proceed.
Making it yours
- Phase names sit in the square brackets after each
subgraph. For a pure software project delete the "Hardware / structural design" box and keep one chain inE3. - The parallel build works because both chains point at the same
I[Prototype integration]; add a third stream (for example "Process design") as another lineP[Process design] --> I. - "Design review" is a rounded node
( ), the convention here for reviews and milestones; deliverables such as "Design specification" can use the same shape at the end of a chain. - Connect phases by group id (
E1 --> E2); linking nodes across phases breaks the left-to-right layout inside them. - If there are many specifications, list them in a table in the text and keep a single box in the figure.
Mermaid code
flowchart TB
subgraph E1[Requirements and survey]
direction LR
A[Requirements analysis] --> B[State of the art survey] --> C[Technical specifications]
end
subgraph E2[Concept design]
direction LR
D[Overall concept] --> E[Key technology studies] --> F(Design review)
end
subgraph E3[Detailed design and build]
direction LR
G[Hardware / structural design] --> I[Prototype integration]
H[Software / control design] --> I
end
subgraph E4[Testing and validation]
direction LR
J[Unit tests] --> K[System integration tests] --> L[Field trials against specifications]
end
subgraph E5[Delivery and wrap-up]
direction LR
M[Refinement] --> N[Delivery] --> O[Technical report]
end
E1 --> E2 --> E3 --> E4 --> E5Ask an AI for one with this structure
Send the prompt below to ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the whole reply into the editor; the code inside is detected automatically.
Draw an engineering project roadmap in Mermaid flowchart TB syntax for the project [project name]. Five subgraph phases with the phase name in square brackets and direction LR inside: Requirements and survey (requirements analysis → state of the art survey → technical specifications); Concept design (overall concept → key technology studies → design review, rounded node); Detailed design and build (two parallel chains, [hardware / structural design] and [software / control design], both leading to prototype integration); Testing and validation (unit tests → system integration tests → field trials against specifications); Delivery and wrap-up (refinement → delivery → technical report). Connect the phases by their subgraph ids (E1 --> E2). Output only the mermaid code block.
FAQ
- How does an engineering roadmap differ from an academic one?
An academic roadmap runs "pose the problem, design the method, validate, conclude" and ends in findings and contributions. An engineering roadmap runs "fix specifications, design, build, test against specifications" and ends in deliverables and trial data. Both use phased subgraphs; only the phase names and node contents differ.
- How do I keep the two parallel streams aligned?
Write both chains inside the same subgraph and point them at one merge node (
I[Prototype integration]here); the layout engine stacks the chains and brings them together at the merge. To make the parallelism more visible, increase node spacing under "Layout" in the editor.- Can I show the timing of each phase?
Put it in the phase name, for example
E1[Requirements and survey · months 1-2]. For week-level detail draw a separate project schedule Gantt chart and keep the roadmap clean.
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Updated 2026-09-22