Now-Next-Later Roadmap
By Yuki Tanaka · Published · Updated
Sorts initiatives into Now, Next and Later columns and gives the reason each one sits there, so the roadmap states priorities without promising dates.
Prompt template
## Now-Next-Later Roadmap Sort these initiatives into a Now-Next-Later roadmap. - Product and strategy: [textarea: What you are building and the goals this period] - Initiatives: [textarea: One per line with a short description] - Team capacity: [text: Two squads or four engineers] - Constraints: [textarea: Deadlines or dependencies or commitments to customers] - Evidence: [textarea: Customer requests or data or research supporting each initiative] - Audience: [dropdown: Internal team, Leadership, Customers] Rank initiatives by the evidence and the goals given, not by who asked loudest. Put in Now only what the team can finish with current capacity and that has clear scope; keep it to what fits, even if that means saying no. Next holds initiatives that are validated but waiting for capacity or a dependency. Later holds ideas worth exploring but not committed, and may be vague. For each initiative write the problem it solves, the outcome it should move, and a one-sentence reason for its column. Call out dependencies, and what must be true before an item moves forward, such as a research result or a launch. Avoid dates; use time horizons as rough guidance and say so. For the stated audience, adjust the language: customers see problems and benefits, leadership sees goals and trade-offs. End with what was cut and why, and the review cadence for moving items between columns.