Visual structure builder
Every course needs
a spine.
Outline turns the structure of any course, program, or content hierarchy into a clear visual tree. Add a root, branch into modules, build out lessons and objectives — the map draws itself as you type. No drag-and-drop, no formatting fights.
One-time purchase. Runs locally on your machine or on a server behind your firewall. Your content, your files. No subscription, no cloud, no IT ticket.
How it’s structured
A visual Hierarchy
That mirrors how courses work.
Outline uses a four-level visual language. Each level looks different so the structure is
immediately readable at a glance — no legend needed, no color coding to memorize.
L1 – Root
The top-level container. The course, program, or document name. Rendered as a colored rectangle — one per project. Everything else hangs from it.
L2 – Section
Modules, chapters, or major sections. Rendered as colored pills connected to the root by an org-chart rail. Each L2 becomes a column in the visual tree.
L3+ – content
Lessons, objectives, exercises, topics — all at L3 and deeper. Mark any node as an Objective to add the concentric-circle icon. Color individual nodes for visual grouping.
Floating – unplaced
Nodes captured but not yet assigned to a parent live in the staging area above the tree — dashed border, green tint. Drag or assign them when you’re ready. Nothing gets lost.
What’s Inside
Built for structure,
Not for fighting the tool.
Quick-Add bar
The quick-add bar sits at the top of the canvas — always visible, always ready on the click of a button. Type a node name, press Enter, and a new sibling of the selected node appears instantly. Capture 20 nodes in 30 seconds without touching the mouse.
Objective markers
Mark any node as a Learning Objective — it renders with the bullseye icon (three concentric circles) so objectives are visually distinct from content nodes. Objectives sort to the top within their parent, keeping the structure scan-able.
Node properties
Click any node to open its properties panel. Set the text, add a description, assign a color from the WYB palette, paste a URL link, and toggle objective status — all without leaving the canvas view.
Pan, Zoom, and fit
Navigate large trees by panning (drag on the background) and zooming (scroll or buttons). The Fit button auto-sizes the view to show the entire tree at once — useful when handing off a printout or presenting to stakeholders.
Templates
Start a new project from a template and the root node, sections, and common content nodes are already there. The training outline template ships with lessons, Introduction, Closing, and content placeholders pre-populated. Build your own templates in the admin panel.
Export & GIT backup
Export your outline as an image directly from the canvas — a clean screenshot of the visual tree, ready to drop into a presentation or share with a stakeholder. Every project is stored as plain JSON. Connect a Git repository for full version history.
What people use it for
Any hierarchy that benefits
from being visible.
The visual tree format works for any structured content — not just course design. Here’s
what BPM practitioners actually build in Outline.
Training Design
Active
Design the structure of a BPM course before writing a single slide. Root = course name, L2 = modules, L3 = lessons and objectives. When the structure is clear, content production becomes a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.
Program Design
Curriculum Hierarchies
Show how a multi-course curriculum fits together — which courses are prerequisites, which topics appear in multiple courses, which modules can be taken in any order. The visual tree makes dependencies obvious before they become problems.
Documentation
Document outlines
Structure a playbook, a process guide, or a methodology document before writing it. Build the hierarchy in Outline, export the image, review it with stakeholders — then open Playbook and write the content into pages that already have a clear home.
Consulting
Proposal structures
Structure a consulting proposal or a capability assessment framework visually before writing it. The tree shows the client the logic of your approach at a glance — before they have to read 40 pages to understand the structure.
Process work
Process decomposition
Break a complex process into its sub-processes, activities, and tasks — visually. The org-chart layout maps naturally to process hierarchies, and the objective marker works just as well for “decision point” or “critical step.”
Planning
Work Breakdown
Build a work breakdown structure for a BPM initiative. Root = project name, L2 = workstreams, L3 = deliverables and tasks. Cleaner than a spreadsheet, faster to build than a Gantt chart, more portable than a Miro board.
Who it’s for
anyone who builds
structured content
L&D / Training Teams
BPM / Process Managers
Consultants & Practitioners
Pricing
One Price.
No surprises.
Buy Outline on its own, or as part of a bundle with the other BPM OS tools.
Outline
Just the visual structure builder
$99
One-Time Purchase
most popular
Training Dev Bundle
Course Flow + Outline + Playbook
$199
One-Time Purchase
Save $98 vs. buying separately
Full BPM OS Stack
The complete stack – all apps
$299
One-Time Purchase
Save $225 – every current and future app in 2026 included
Using Outline across multiple client environments? A Consultant License is available. Get in touch.
Common Questions
Things people ask
Before they buy.
How is this different from a mind map tool?
Mind map tools use free-form radial layouts where every node is equal. Outline uses a strict top-down org-chart structure with visually distinct levels — the root, sections, and content nodes look different and behave differently. That makes it better for structured content hierarchies and worse for open-ended brainstorming (use Groundwork for that).
Can I build multi-level hierarchies deeper than three levels?
Yes. L3 and deeper all use the same text-row format with increasing indentation. You can go as deep as the content needs — L4, L5, L6 — and the tree reflows automatically to accommodate the depth. In practice, most training outlines need three or four levels.
Can I export the tree to share with stakeholders?
Yes. The export button in the sidebar footer captures the visible canvas as an image — a clean, printable view of the entire tree. You can also share the Outline URL with people who have the Viewer password, so they can pan and zoom the live tree in their browser.
How does Outline fit with the rest of the BPM OS?
In the learning workflow: Groundwork captures ideas, Atlas visualizes the learning paths, Outline structures each course, and CourseFlow manages the development project. In a documentation workflow: Outline gives you the structure, Playbook is where you write the content. The apps complement each other — you use them in sequence, not instead of each other.
Can I create my own templates?
Yes. Any project can be saved as a template from the admin panel. Templates appear in the new-project dialog and pre-populate the tree structure. If the built-in Training Outline template doesn’t fit your content type, build one that does and reuse it across every new project.
Do I need technical knowledge to set it up?
No. Setup is a double-click on a script for Mac, Windows, or Linux. Node.js installs automatically if needed. Once it’s running, you open your browser and start building. No command line involved in day-to-day use.
Ready to get structured?
Build the structure first.
Write the content second.
Every course, document, and program has a skeleton. Outline makes that skeleton visible — and once you can see the structure clearly, everything that follows gets easier.
Part of the BPM OS from What’s Your Baseline?