What Linear’s timeline teaches about project dependencies

An independent study of high-level projects, milestones, and dependency lines in Linear’s timeline, with an original editable Initiative Rail template.

Independent Roadmapi study; not affiliated with Linear. Original source.

The useful pattern

A timeline becomes more useful when it shows which project unlocks another, rather than only placing bars next to dates.

What we observed

• Linear’s timeline focuses on projects rather than individual issues, and can show milestones, project status, and time at different resolutions.
• The documentation describes end-to-start project dependencies, with visual lines between projects and visible blocked relationships.

Adapt it for your roadmap

• Use one rail per outcome or team. Put only projects that change sequencing on the roadmap; leave granular task lists in their execution system.
• Connect a blocking project to the project it enables. The Initiative Rail template includes fictional workstreams, milestones, and explicit dependency paths that can be edited.

A dependency line should mean a real prerequisite. Decorative connections make the sequence harder to trust.