Article

Why I Invented the Now-Next-Later Roadmap

Janna Bastow · prodpad.com Free Intermediate

This is the direct answer to the pressure problem in the question: if a public roadmap scares you because of dates you cannot hit, stop putting dates on it. Bastow invented the Now, Next, Later format precisely because fixed timelines create false promises, and she walks through how to communicate direction and confidence without committing to a calendar. It is the format most public roadmaps quietly adopt for exactly this reason.

• Drop dates and group work into Now, Next, and Later so the further out something is, the less certain you are seen to be about it.
• The format signals priority and direction without a deadline, which is what protects you from over-promising to early users.
• The roadmap's real value is the conversations it starts, not the artifact itself, so treat it as a way to talk with users, not a contract.