The short answer
A now, next, later roadmap groups work by how soon you'll act on it instead of by date: now is what's being built, next is what's being shaped, later is what you believe matters but haven't committed to. Items are problems or outcomes, not features. In Jira Product Discovery it's a board view of your ideas in three columns, each linked to its evidence and, once it's in now, to the Jira work that delivers it.
Why not a roadmap with dates?
Date-based roadmaps promise precision you don’t have for work that isn’t designed yet. They age fast, and every slip becomes a negotiation. Janna Bastow created the now, next, later format around 2012 for exactly this reason: priority talks kept turning into deadline talks.
Now, next, later keeps the commitment where it’s real (now) and keeps the rest honest. It isn’t “no dates ever”: time-bound items can still carry a deadline.
| Column | What’s in it | How detailed |
|---|---|---|
| Now | Being built, clearly defined | Delivery work linked in Jira, dates where planned |
| Next | Being shaped; may depend on what now teaches you | Problem, evidence, candidate ideas |
| Later | Bigger problems you believe matter | A problem statement and why it matters |
How do you run it in Jira Product Discovery?
- One roadmap field with three values: now, next, later.
- A board view of your ideas grouped by that field, filtered to the product area you’re sharing. Atlassian uses exactly this as its board example.
- Problems, not features, as items. Write each idea as the problem or outcome; attach candidate solutions underneath.
- Evidence on every idea: the insights and score that put it there.
- Delivery links for now. Each idea in now links to its epic in Jira, and the delivery progress field shows how far it’s got. Progress rolls up from the linked epic, one level deep.
- A regular review, for example monthly, where ideas move columns on purpose and the reasons are written down.
Who is it for?
Everyone outside the team: leadership, sales, support and, in a simpler version, customers. Share the view, not a copy, so it never goes stale.
Several product areas need one company roadmap? Jira Product Discovery Premium has Roadmaps, which combine ideas from several spaces in one view. For date-based delivery plans across teams, use Plans in Jira Premium or Enterprise, linked to the ideas.
The SaaS Discovery-to-Delivery Check: 18 questions, about six minutes, your score right away.
Questions people ask
Who invented the now, next, later roadmap?
Janna Bastow, co-founder of ProdPad and of Mind the Product, sketched it with her co-founder around 2012. Timeline roadmaps kept turning priority conversations into deadline arguments, so she grouped work by time horizon instead.
Don't customers and sales need dates?
They need confidence. Give dates for what's in now, where the work is planned and visible in Jira, and for anything genuinely time-bound, such as a regulatory deadline. For next and later, share the problem you're solving and why; committing dates there usually means breaking them.
Can we share a Jira Product Discovery roadmap with customers?
Inside the company, yes, cheaply: contributors are free, and people with Jira access are contributors by default. Sharing outside the company is more limited. A simple alternative is a customer version, written as problems, on your website or in a feedback portal.