Template · Projects
Free product roadmap template: now, next and later
Share where your product is going without promising dates you cannot keep: a now, next and later board, a feature table with theme, impact and effort, and a chart of features by quarter.
Roadmap · 2026
Vision
Where the product is going this year, in two sentences.
Now 1
Next 2
Later 1
Done 0
Features
Features
| Feature | Theme | Impact | Effort | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faster sign-up | Growth | High | Small | Q1 |
| Offline mode | Quality | High | Large | Q2 |
| Team billing | Growth | Medium | Medium | Q2 |
| Public API | Platform | Medium | Large | Q3 |
How we decide
High impact and small effort first
Say what we will not do
Free. Barside asks before it adds the template, then makes a new note from it. Needs Barside 1.50 or newer.
Nothing opened? Barside may not be installed yet. Download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
A roadmap is a plan for decisions, not a list of dates. The now, next, later format keeps it honest: the closer something is, the more certain it is.
Who it is for
It is for product managers, founders and small teams who share plans with customers or colleagues. It keeps roadmaps honest and easy to update, and it pairs well with an OKR planner that says why the work matters.
What is in the product roadmap template
- Vision: where the product is going this year.
- Now, Next, Later and Done: a board of features.
- Features: a table with Theme, Impact, Effort and Quarter.
- Features by quarter: a bar chart drawn from the table.
- How we decide: the rules for what comes first.
An example
A two-person startup lists four features. Faster sign-up has high impact and small effort, so it goes in Now for the first quarter. Offline mode is high impact but large, so it goes in Next. A public API waits in Later. When a big customer asks for team billing, the founders add it, rate it medium impact, and the chart shows the second quarter is now the busiest.
How to use the product roadmap template
- Choose Open in Barside above. Barside opens and asks before it adds anything.
- Pick the workspace for the note, and leave Keep it in my templates ticked to use the template again.
- Choose Create note. A new note called "Roadmap · 2026" opens, ready to fill in.
- Next time, start one from New note from a template, or let Barside make it on a schedule as a repeating note.
No Barside yet? It is free for Windows, Linux and Mac: download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
How to build a roadmap people trust
- Keep Now small: what the team is building this month.
- Do high-impact, small-effort features first.
- Say what you will not do. It is as useful as what you will.
- Update the roadmap at the same time each month.
Make it yours
- Change the themes to your product's areas.
- Add a Requested by column to see who asked for what.
- Link each feature card to its own note with [[ for the details.
FAQ
Questions and answers
Should a roadmap have dates?
Only for what is certain. Quarters work well for planning; exact dates belong to the project plan of each feature.
Is the product roadmap template free?
Yes. The template and Barside are both free. Barside Plus is optional and adds cloud backup and sync between computers; templates do not need it.
Do I need an account to use it?
No. Barside runs on your computer without an account, and the notes you make from the template stay in your library on your computer.
Can I change the product roadmap template?
Yes. Edit the note it makes like any other note: rename columns, add rows, delete sections. To keep your version, open the note and choose Save as template in its options.