Product Roadmap (Now, Next, Later, Trash) Template

A Product Roadmap Template is like a visual story that shows the evolution of your product over time. It's a living document that organizes all your ideas, features, and improvements into clear time horizons. The "Now, Next, Later, Trash" version simplifies this even further by sorting everything into just four categories: what you're working on right now, what's coming up soon, what's on the horizon, and what you've decided not to pursue.

Why use the Product Roadmap Template? 

Using a Product Roadmap Template is like having a compass that keeps everyone pointed in the same direction. Without it, product development can feel like a constant tug-of-war between competing priorities and shifting goals. The Product Roadmap template brings clarity to chaos by providing your team with a visual guide to what matters most right now and why.

Who is this template for? 

This template is perfect for anyone responsible for guiding a product's development and communicating its direction. Product managers use it as their go-to tool for prioritizing features and aligning teams. Startup founders rely on it to focus limited resources on the most impactful work.

Benefits of the Product Roadmap Template 

• Clearer prioritization: Make tough decisions about what deserves attention now versus later 
   
• Better stakeholder communication: Share your product direction in a format everyone understands 
   
• Reduced feature bloat: Prevent your product from becoming overly complex with unnecessary features 
   
• More focused teams: Keep everyone working on the highest-impact items first 
   
• Easier adaptability: Quickly adjust priorities when market conditions or user needs change 
   
• Improved resource allocation: Align your people and budget with your most important initiatives 
   
• Enhanced transparency: Make your decision-making process visible to reduce confusion 
   
• Better expectations management: Set realistic timelines without making overly specific promises 
   
• More strategic thinking: Connect feature decisions to larger business and user goals 
   
• Reduced wasted effort: Identify and eliminate low-value features before investing in them 
   

How to use the template?

1. Open it: Find the Product Roadmap Template in the library and open it with one click. 

2. Define your product vision: Write your product name and overall strategic direction in the central area. 

3. Work through the four categories: 

• Now: Add items you're actively working on or will start very soon (current sprint/month). 
   
• Next: Place features planned for the near future (next 2-3 months). 
   
• Later: Include initiatives you're considering for the longer term (3+ months out). 
   
• Trash: Document ideas you've decided not to pursue (with brief rationale). 

4. Add details: Include descriptions, user benefits, and business value for each roadmap item. 

5. Connect dependencies: Draw lines between related features that build on each other. 

6. Add notes: Attach comments about assumptions, risks, or market factors influencing priorities. 

7. Vote and prioritize: Use reaction tools to gather feedback on relative importance of items. 

8. Plan next steps: Create specific action items for "Now" features with owners and target dates. 

9. Save and share: Export your roadmap to share with team members and stakeholders. 

10. Review regularly: Return to your saved template monthly to reassess and update priorities. 

Summary 

The Product Roadmap Template transforms the complex challenge of product prioritization into a visual, collaborative process that brings clarity to everyone involved. This feature prioritization matrix helps you organize your product development initiatives into simple "Now, Next, Later, Trash" categories that create a shared understanding of priorities while maintaining flexibility to adapt as you learn.