Now Next Later roadmap: timeframes and disclaimer examples

You

The themes went down well. Ian says the board member liked getting an answer in customers' words. Now for the second half of the question.

Ian

He wants a short follow-up by Friday: roughly when will customers see these changes? I don't need a month for every feature anymore. I need something I won't have to take back in March.

Alex Tutor

Fair request. Before answering, check your units. Are Now, Next and Later still right for CatChow? The unit should match how fast your plans change.

You

There are other options?

Alex Tutor

Months suit a young product that changes direction every few weeks. Quarters or halves suit businesses tied to a calendar, or to partners who plan ahead. Years suit hardware or regulated products with long cycles.

Now / Next / Later suits teams that learn fast and can't honestly see far ahead. Many teams mix: three columns, each with its calendar meaning written on it.

You

We're a bit of everything: the subscription is mature, the clinic channel is still learning, and the board thinks in quarters.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Which timeframe format fits CatChow's roadmap best right now?

Choose one answerTwelve monthly columns, so the board sees exactly when each theme landsNow / Next / Later, with each column's calendar meaning written on the pageYearly columns, because the subscription is a mature businessNo timeframes at all, because the clinic channel is still learning

Alex Tutor

Then keep the three columns and write on the page what each one means, in the calendar and in commitment. Now is this quarter, to the end of December: the team is on it and fairly sure.

Next is January to June: the problem is clear, the solution is still open. Later is beyond June: a direction we believe in, without detail.

Lucy

And please: Now has to fit what my team can actually do by December. Not everything that feels urgent.

You

So Now is a capacity decision, not a wish list.

Alex Tutor

Yes. Order inside Next matters too: when a Now theme is done, the top of Next moves first.

You

And Later? People will read it as “yes, eventually”.

Alex Tutor

Some will. That's why Later holds directions, not promises. Let's check that nobody on the team reads it the other way.

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Items in Later are commitments like those in Now, only with a later delivery date.

TrueFalse

You

Still, what do I tell the board member? “Now, Next, Later” alone won't answer “roughly when”.

Alex Tutor

Start with what the date is for. The board doesn't need ship dates; it wants to know when the money turns into results. So give dates for evidence.

You

Like when we'll know the clinic theme works?

Alex Tutor

Exactly. The pilot in two PurrPoint clinics starts in November, so the first stock-out figures arrive in early December. That's a date you can keep.

You

And the rollout to all 14 clinics?

Alex Tutor

Say what it depends on: the pilot results and the new warehouse system. Order and dependencies answer “when” more honestly than a guessed month.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

A board member asks when clinics will stop running out of prescription diets. Which answer is best?

Choose one answer“The clinic ordering portal ships in March.”“We don't put dates on the roadmap, so we can't say.”“At some point next year.”“It's in Now. A pilot in two PurrPoint clinics starts in November, and the first stock-out figures arrive in early December. The rollout to all 14 clinics depends on those results and on the new warehouse system.”

Brandon

If I can't have dates, can we at least put all twelve things from my sales list in Later? Then I can tell clients they're on the roadmap.

You

That's exactly the worry: Later as “yes, eventually”.

Alex Tutor

It's the most common complaint about this format: Later becomes a dumping ground. Clients hear a promise, the team inherits a pile nobody chose, and the column outgrows Now and Next together.

You

So what gets into Later?

Alex Tutor

Themes linked to an objective, and only as many as the team could plausibly reach within a year. Everything else goes on a separate “not now” list, each item with a one-line reason.

Then prune it at every monthly review: whatever hasn't moved in three reviews gets promoted, merged or dropped. Brandon gets something better than Later: a clear answer for each client.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

Which rules keep Later from becoming a dumping ground? Select all that apply.

Choose all that applyAdd every request to Later so nobody feels ignoredEvery item in Later is linked to an objectiveKeep a separate “not now” list with a one-line reason for each itemGive each Later item a rough month so people stop askingPrune Later at every review: promote, merge or drop what hasn't movedWrite Later items as features, so clients recognize them

Brandon

One date isn't up to us: the national veterinary conference on 23 May. Our stand is booked. Could we launch the clinic portal there?

Alex Tutor

The conference belongs on the roadmap: it's a hard external date, set by the organizers, not by us. Put it on the page as an event.

You

But not the portal launch next to it?

Alex Tutor

Not yet. The pilot hasn't even chosen a solution. A launch pinned to the conference is a promise, and if it slips, it slips on stage.

You

So we decide what to show there nearer the time?

Alex Tutor

Decide it at a set moment, say after the pilot review, together with Lucy. If a launch there really matters, make it an explicit trade-off, not a quiet assumption.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

What should CatChow's roadmap show for the national veterinary conference on 23 May?

Choose one answerThe clinic portal launch, dated 23 MayNothing: an outcome-based roadmap has no dates at allThe conference as a fixed event, with what CatChow will show there decided after the pilot reviewThe clinic theme moved to Later, so nobody expects anything at the conference

You

Brandon wants to show PurrPoint what's planned around the pilot. And Ian once mentioned a roadmap page on our website. Does our disclaimer work for all of them?

Alex Tutor

No. We'll build the partner version itself in module 5, but its disclaimer can be settled now, because each audience reads one differently.

For our own people, a date, one honest sentence and the review rhythm are enough. A partner like PurrPoint needs firmer wording: no commitment to features or dates, the commitments live in the contract, and we review it together.

You

And the public page?

Alex Tutor

Shortest and most careful: direction only, no dates, and a plain request not to base a purchase on it. Announce too much too early, and new clinics may wait for the portal instead of signing now: that's the Osborne effect.

Lucy

Whichever version: put it at the top, where people actually read it.

Alex Tutor

Agreed. And one for our own sales team: don't forward the page or quote Next and Later to clients; check with the product team first.

Alex Tutor

Question 6

Match each disclaimer to the audience it was written for.

Tap an answer, then tap the row it belongs to. You can also drag.

“Updated 20 October. This is our plan based on what we know today. We review it every month; Next and Later will change.”
“For internal use only. Don't forward this page or quote Next and Later to clients; check with the product team before promising anything.”
“This overview shows the problems we're working on with you and in what order. It isn't a commitment to features or dates: what we've agreed is in our contract. We review it with you every month.”
“This page shows the direction we're taking. Plans change as we learn, so please don't base a purchase on anything listed here.”

Answers left to place

Ian

So what do I send the board member? Three or four sentences, please. And nothing I'll regret in March.

You

What each column means in the calendar, what's in Now and when the first numbers arrive, and what comes first in Next?

Alex Tutor

Yes, plus what the bigger steps depend on. And a date only for evidence: when the board will see whether it works.

You

And no month for anything in Later.

Alex Tutor

None. Certainty grows at every monthly review, and the detail can grow with it. Write it for him.

Alex Tutor

Question 7Short answer · AI-checked task

Write the note Ian can send the board member (3–4 sentences): roughly when will customers see the changes? Don't invent dates.

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Alex Tutor

Now the PurrPoint version. When Brandon shows them the pilot plan, the disclaimer has to hold up in their procurement manager's hands.

You

Firmer than ours, but still human?

Alex Tutor

Yes. She needs something she can rely on. The contract gives her that; the roadmap gives her direction. Say which is which.

You

What it is, what it isn't, where the commitments live and when we review it together.

Alex Tutor

That's the recipe. Two to four sentences, and no legalese.

Alex Tutor

Question 8Short answer · AI-checked task

Write the disclaimer for the version of the roadmap Brandon will show PurrPoint (2–4 sentences).

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Alex Tutor

The online bookstore is back. Its head of e-commerce took the vision work to heart and now wants to publish a roadmap.

You

With dates, I'm guessing.

Alex Tutor

Twelve monthly columns, a Later box with seventeen items and “Subject to change” in grey at the bottom. He wants it on the website and in publishers' inboxes.

You

Format, columns, Later, hard dates, disclaimers. Everything from today.

Alex Tutor

One hint: a bookstore has real calendar dates. Find them before you choose the format.

Alex Tutor

Question 9Case · AI-checked task

Fix the timeframes and disclaimers of Chapterly's roadmap.

Chapterly, a Ukrainian online bookstore, has a new vision: every reader always knows what to read next. Its head of e-commerce has drafted next year's roadmap and wants to publish it on the website and send it to the publishers Chapterly works with.

His draft

Twelve columns, January to December, each with one or two features: a new cart page in January, parcel lockers in March, a mobile app in April, a reading-club newsletter in June, an order-tracking page in September, and so on.
A “Later” box with 17 items, from audiobooks to animated 3D covers.
At the bottom, in small grey text: “Subject to change.”

What else you know

The web team ships every week and changed its plan twice this year after reader interviews.
The owners set budgets every quarter.
The parcel-locker company's contract says the lockers go live on 1 March.
Back-to-school in August is the second-biggest season; the year-end holidays are the biggest.
The team agreed on four themes: readers always know what to read next (repeat purchases); buyers know where their order is without asking (fewer “where is my order?” messages); delivery options don't stop people at checkout (fewer abandoned carts); parents quickly find books that suit their child's age. The first three rest on strong evidence; the parents theme rests on a handful of support requests.

Write a critique and a fix (200–350 words):

The timeframe format you'd use and why, with each column's meaning in calendar terms.
Where the four themes go, and how the fixed dates appear.
What to do with the 17 items in Later.
Two disclaimers: one for the public website, one for publishers.

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You

So Ian gets dates he can keep: when the evidence arrives. Brandon gets clear answers instead of a crowded Later. And every reader gets a disclaimer written for them.

Alex Tutor

Timing on a roadmap is a promise about order and certainty, not about days. Date only what you can keep.

Alex Tutor

Next time: Lucy's engineers want more on the page. We'll add features, stage of development and confidence without burying the themes.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: Going deeper: features, stage of development, confidence