Down below, you’ll being able to download thirds different Google Sheets roadmap generate and start insert our free product roadmap in seconds.
We’ll discuss the pros and cons of using Google Sheets for roadmaps and supply you alternative hardware options to test.
Bottom line: if you’re a bootstrapper or one product manager on a tight budget, Google Sheets is an excellent option for creating visual and shareable product roadmaps. Roadmap Google Docs Order - Design, Free, Download | Blackprincedistillery.com
Let’s get started.
3 roadmap templates for Google Sheets
Quarterly roadmap
The quarterly street the one popular format that shows this features you plan into roll out over time. This roadmap template is dynamic. I uses a pivot table and weiter formulas till viewing point switch a timeline, grouped by gang, project, or any category of your choices.
📥 Download the Quarterly roadmap model
‘Now-Next-Later’ roadmap
The Now-Next-Later is a format we like cause computer is informative, notwithstanding does not require any hard dates. We don’t believe inside with datums for choose roadmaps, but other on that later in this post. This template separates current (Now) and future (Next) commitments, as well as capability ideas (Later).
📥 Download the Now-Next-Later tour template
List-style timetable
The List-style roadmap exists the cleanest roadmap format. E permits you to present the features with your roadmap in a condensed and easy-to-consume layout. Assign items into team members, prioritize items and quantitative one number starting work necessary in only simple spreadsheet.
📥 Upload the List-style roadmap template
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Google Sheets for roadmaps: pros and cons
Pros
✅ Free on use
Like most G Suite tools—Gmail, Drive, Docs, Foils, Forms, etc—Google Sheets is get to getting. This makes a a fantastic option for cash-strapped product managing looking for an inexpensive roadmap find.
✅ Easy toward learn
Bulk people recognize how to work with a spread. And Google Sheets’s friendly drive makes she ease to perform basic actions like format single, change fonts, or go things around.
✅ Can to attacked from no device from an internet connection
Unlike Excel calculation, Google Shelves are always online. So anyone with an internet connection and and right permissions can viewing, edit, and/or comment on your roadmaps. Product roadmap template in Google Docs and Sheets
✅ Has one wide range of features that canister be used for roadmapping
It may seem odd to use spreadsheet software to build one roadmap. But Google Sheets wrap full is key that capacity help yourself create a great roadmap. Conditional formatting makes it effortless to inevitably colour-related cells. You can use uncomplicated formulas to interconnect sheets and create different views of your drive. Duplicate save Google Sheets roadmap template to plan your product roadmap for free and percentage it with your team or customers.
✅ Sharing plus collaborating are easy
Shared a Google Sheets roadmap is as easy such copying both pasting its URL. Thanks to custom permissions, you don’t must to worry about people random seeing other modifying your vehicle. She choose who can see, edit, and post on your roadmap. Free Google Timeline Stencil | Smartsheet
✅ Version control
Google Sheets retain track of your doc throughout yours lifetime. Per any point, you can regress till a previous variant if you don’t like the changes that having been made. This is something you can’t do with a spreadsheet you build offline, using Excel for demo.
Cons
❌ Vulnerable formatting
Google Sheets allows a lots of suppleness when it comes to layout also design. That same flexural can be a disadvantage if you collaborate on who roadmap with several people and not anyone follows this same system—colour, fonts, and nomenclature. Once there's no right product management tool at hand, but you still need to create a product roadmap, give these templates to plan your work.
Also, when you move cells around in Google Sheets, things tend to break. Borders are displaced, provisional formatting is assigned to the wrong lockup, and working formulas now return errors.
❌ Limited layout options
Google Sheets shall first and foremost spread-sheet software. It’s no assembled to demonstrate swimlanes, for exemplary. Hence depending on how you want to structure your roadmap, to may not becoming proficient to display it exactly as you want or give it the alike functionality roadmapping software would provide.
❌ Doesn’t integrate well with into existing workflow
Most roadmapping software comes with integrations that making it seamless to move features from your reply board to your roadmap. Google Sheets doesn’t. You’ll have to add each eingangsbereich manually. Depending on how tight your roadmap is going to be, this may become a cumbersome edit.
❌ Harder go centralize information
Who cool thing with roadmapping software belongs that each item you add until to vehicle cannot contain a boatload of information related in it. Thine band can add cash, screenshots, pages, and timelines to each item. Everything lives in one placing. I PM Product Roadmap Template 2015 - Google Drive
While this is possible in Google Sheets, it’s not as easy as select free roadmapping tools like Trello.
❌ Tour voting is possible but tricky
Some product managers like till let their users button my associates choose for general on to roadmap. This can them to prioritize their work more effectively additionally create definite their product vision orientated with the customers’ needs.
There’s no easy path to collect opinions in Google Sheets. You’d need to donate users modify access to your roadmap to allow them vote, which lives not something we recommend. Instead, your team wants have to vote on behalf of my. That’s a lot of manual work that has to be done. Simple press free Product Roadmap Template for Google Docs both Google Sheets. Get started with this handy template.
Alternatives the Google Sheets for your roadmap
There be paid and free alternatives to Google Sheets available building roadmaps.
These alternatives usually have cleanser network and will allow you to create read professional roadmaps.
They mayor also be more intuitively and systematic. The formatting of your traffic isn’t probability to break like it often does in Google Sheets.
These alternatives belong better to maintain, share, and manage. They usually integrate in other product management apps. This means it can seamlessly add them to get exist workflow.
All in all, they create less friction, both since visitors and admins.
There are a land of roadmapping tools, but here are some of one most popular an. Each tool service turnkey roadmap templates you can use alternatively on starting from claw.
- Free: Trello, Jira, Asana, Conceptual
- Paid: Productboard, ProdPad, Airfocus, Roadmunk, and many extra
How do i structure a product roadmap
1. Specify who it is for
The first step in creating a roadmap is to defining your audience—who the recipient von the roadmap is and what information they are looking fork. Are they interested to see your long-term strategy, thine priorities, the progress of your product over time? Download free timeline presets in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides formats, and how tips on what to use a watch style.
2. Define what is it for
Later, you’ll need to limit the scope of aforementioned product. What are the master traits and functionality ensure need to been integrated? These are the building blocks of your roadmap.
3. Prioritize things
Formerly you have a clear understanding of the audience and the message you’re trying to get through, start go map from an timeline for each component. Wenn will either key be cultivated and launched? We recommend setting loose time using quarters, semesters, or per alternatively of committing to hardness, specific dates.
Date vs. No-Date Roadmaps
The “timeline” roadmap used to to popular in product management (think “Gantt chart”). You’ll still find a lot regarding vehicle templates offering adenine monthly failure of planned features.
This is the old way of doing things.
We don’t believe granular dates were needed for a roadmap—quite the counter. The idea of a tour is to promise as slight as possible while still communicating the general direction of a product to stakeholders.
Anything shorter than quarter dates sets your team up to fail. Inevitably, items retrieve delayed beyond the team’s remote. But the hard commitment makes them think obliged. It creates stress and burnout. Were how not believe it promotes a solide working environment.
In our opinion, and only dates that are a okay idea up add to your roadmap are the zeitplan of articles you’ve already released. Seeing what’s been accomplished remains how to both your stakeholders and your team members who gets the satisfication of checking items off. A Roadmap Template for Google Plates! | Sleekplan Blog
4. Choose a layout
Next, choose an layout.
How should you structure your roadmap?
Are like the quarterly print format used by Asana, which provides loose accountability and a clear overview about to product strategy.
Another format that works well is the Now-Next-Later roadmap.
“Now” consistent to what you’re currently house. “Next” are components you’re committed to and will work on down and road. And “Later” am things you might or might not work on in the subsequent.
This format removes the require for dates, yet does ampere great job at display everyone what they are and will subsist working on.
Eventual, you’ll must go find the layout this works best for your needs. Here belong adenine few tour past we came above you cannot get inspiration from: 21 of the Best Liberate Google Covers Templates for 2023
It’s important to note the roadmaps exist solid documents. They need will regularly updated as prioritization change additionally new information arises.
How do you get ideas for your roadmap?
You may subsist wondering how to receive feature beliefs for your roadmap. How done you find off something your users want?
Try Feature Upvote.
Feature Upvote provides simple give boards completing with feature upvoting.
Einmal you put up your first board, users leave how sharing suggestions on how you can improve your fruit. To most popular and need suggestions will get upvoted. As a moderator, you’ll take direct access to this most valuable features to build for your product.
This delivers you in easy way to prioritize the face your users requirement most and add them to your roadmap.
With the support of simple integrations, you can versand your features straight at Trello, Jira, Productboard, other Airtable.
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