tech-radar-generator

A small, single-file Python tool that turns a YAML/JSON description of your organization's technology choices into a static, interactive HTML Technology Radar — the ThoughtWorks-style chart with four quadrants (Techniques / Tools / Platforms / Languages & Frameworks) and four rings (Adopt / Trial / Assess / Hold).

The output is a single self-contained radar.html file with no external runtime dependencies — drop it on any web server, Confluence page, or internal portal.

Why this exists

If you're a CIO, CTO, Head of IT, or platform engineering lead, a Tech Radar is one of the most useful artefacts you can publish:

• It makes the implicit "what do we use here?" knowledge explicit.
• It gives engineers a fast answer to "is X approved?".
• It signals strategy: what's coming, what's going, and what's stable.

Most existing tooling either depends on a Google Sheet, a heavy SPA build, or a SaaS account. This generator is one Python file plus a YAML config that anyone on the team can edit through a pull request.

Features

• Single-file Python CLI (tech_radar.py), no framework dependencies.
• Reads YAML or JSON — keep your radar in version control.
• Deterministic blip placement (same config → same layout, every run).
• Four status markers: No Change, New, Moved In, Moved Out.
• Interactive HTML output: click a blip or legend item to highlight it, double-click the radar to clear.
• Accessible: SVG role="img", focusable blips, keyboard-friendly legend.
• Validates the config before rendering; clear errors if a quadrant or ring name is wrong.
• Works offline: no CDNs, no fonts, no JS frameworks.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/intruderfr/tech-radar-generator.git
cd tech-radar-generator
pip install -r requirements.txt
python tech_radar.py example-radar.yaml -o radar.html
open radar.html  # or xdg-open / start

Configuring your radar

Edit example-radar.yaml (or copy it). The file has three sections: quadrants, rings, and entries.

title: "Acme Corp Technology Radar"
date: "2026-04-28"
organization: "CIO Office"

quadrants:
  - { id: techniques,  name: Techniques,                position: top-left }
  - { id: tools,       name: Tools,                     position: top-right }
  - { id: platforms,   name: Platforms,                 position: bottom-right }
  - { id: languages,   name: Languages & Frameworks,    position: bottom-left }

rings: [Adopt, Trial, Assess, Hold]

entries:
  - name: Kubernetes
    quadrant: platforms
    ring: Adopt
    status: no-change
    description: Container orchestration de facto standard.
  - name: Rust
    quadrant: languages
    ring: Assess
    status: new
    description: Pilot for hot-path services.

Allowed position values

top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right — exactly one quadrant must be assigned to each.

Allowed status values

Status	Meaning	Marker
no-change	Stayed in the same ring since last issue	filled circle
new	First appearance on the radar	upward triangle
moved-in	Moved closer to the centre	upward triangle
moved-out	Moved further from the centre	downward triangle

CLI usage

usage: tech_radar [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [--validate-only] config

Generate a static Technology Radar HTML from a YAML/JSON config.

positional arguments:
  config                Path to YAML or JSON config file.

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        Path to write the HTML output (default: radar.html).
  --validate-only       Only validate the config; do not render output.

Running tests

python test_tech_radar.py        # standalone (no pytest needed)
# or
python -m pytest test_tech_radar.py -v

The tests cover config validation, deterministic layout, blip-position geometry (every blip falls inside its expected ring and quadrant), HTML completeness, and YAML/JSON round-trips.

CI suggestion

Drop this snippet in .github/workflows/radar.yml to publish your radar to GitHub Pages on every push:

name: Publish radar
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with: { python-version: "3.12" }
      - run: pip install -r requirements.txt
      - run: python tech_radar.py example-radar.yaml -o site/index.html
      - uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with: { path: site }
  deploy:
    needs: build
    permissions: { pages: write, id-token: write }
    environment: github-pages
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4

Roadmap

• Diff mode: compare two radar configs and emit a "what changed" report.
• Theming: light/dark, custom palettes per quadrant.
• Export: PNG and PDF output for printing the quarterly readout.
• Hosted dashboards: optional small static site with multiple historical radars.

PRs welcome.

License

MIT.

Author

Aslam Ahamed — Head of IT @ Prestige One Developments, Dubai. LinkedIn · GitHub.