The Now/Next/Later roadmap organises work into three time horizons without committing to specific dates. It communicates direction and priorities without the false precision of a Gantt chart.
When stakeholders want a roadmap but dates are genuinely uncertain. Avoids committing to feature-date pairs that become wrong within weeks.
- NOW: What is the team currently building? Should have clear scope.
- NEXT: What comes after Now? Should have feasibility clarity.
- LATER: What's on the horizon but not yet committed? Deliberately vague.
- Organise by themes or outcomes, not feature lists
- Review and update monthly — items graduate from Later → Next → Now
- Always communicate the 'why' behind each horizon item
NOW: Improve podcast resume functionality and fix episode ordering. NEXT: Personalised podcast recommendations based on music taste. LATER: Live audio rooms, interactive podcast formats, creator monetisation. This communicates strategic direction — audio depth — without committing to dates or specifications that would constrain the team.
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- Letting stakeholders convert Later items into commitments with dates
- Filling Later with everything on the wishlist — curate to communicate real direction
- Not connecting items to outcomes — always explain why each item is on the roadmap
- Product Roadmaps Relaunched — Lombardo et al.