One common mistake new Productboard users make is trying to do everything on a single board. Instead, it's best to string many boards together into a workflow—one you've just adopted, or one you're used to. This article contains a list of example grid boards to help you model different stages of your workflow.
In this article:
- Using these examples
- Example: Top requests
- Example: Discovery
- Example: Prioritization
- Example: GTM planning
- See also
Using these examples
These example grids are meant to provide inspiration and references to help you create similar boards in your own workspace. If you wish to copy them exactly, you may need to create new fields in your workspace.
Note: Most examples have multiple tabs corresponding to the Productboard plan level required to build that grid. Click each tab to view that plan's example layout.
If you are unfamiliar with the basic functions of the grid board, see Grid boards: Planning and prioritization management.
The feature statuses used in these example grids will likely differ from the ones in your workspace, so don't worry if they don't match exactly. If you'd prefer them to match, see Customize status values for features.
In addition to a description and image, each example grid includes a table that lists the items, filters, and columns you must set in order to reproduce that board. Click the toggle below to learn how to read these tables.
This is an example grid table:
Here's what each column means:
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Items: Refers to the Items section of the Board controls sidebar, which appears automatically when you create a new grid. You can also open an existing grid's Board controls using the button in the upper right corner.
The order of the items in the example table should match the order of the items in Productboard. For instance, if the example table lists "Feature" first, make sure "Feature" is the top item in your board's Items section.
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Filters: Refers to the grid's filters. You can edit these from the Filters section in Board controls, or from the Add filter button in the grid's header, just below its name.
In each example table, the parts of a filter are separated by ">" (for instance: "Status > is any of > New idea). Generally, these will be simple filters, unless they are specifically noted to be advanced filters. -
Columns: Refers to the data columns you must add to the grid using the Add columns button. In each example table, the navigation path is indicated by ">". For instance, "Default fields > Owner" means you should click Add columns, then Default fields, then toggle on the Owner field.
Some example tables may include a Notes section containing extra information or best practices related to that board.
Note: The demo workspace used to create these examples contains many product and teams, so many examples use a Product hierarchy or Teams filter to keep things legible for you. These filters are not included in the example tables, but if your workspace has multiple products or teams, you may wish to apply similar filters.
Example: Top requests
This simple board surfaces the most-requested ideas in your workspace. These ideas may be generated by you, or they may be requests from end users that you've created by processing insights. In any case, you'd use this board to help you decide which ideas are worth pursuing.
On higher plans, organizing your features by objective will help contextualize these requests within your business' strategic goals.
Example: Discovery
During the discovery phase, you determine (as quickly and cheaply as possible) which ideas are worth building and which aren't. This usually involves some combination of user research, prototyping, market analysis, and basic prioritization. Tasks and drivers will help you here.
Higher plans will benefit from in-line PRD links and formulas to make analysis easier.
Example: Prioritization
Once you've decided what to build, you have to figure out where to start. Usually, that will involve some kind of prioritization framework (like RICE, ICE, KANO, or WSJF) and setting a timeframe. It may also conclude with you sending ideas off to your delivery tracking tool of choice, like Jira or Azure DevOps.
On higher plans, you'll organize this board by objectives and initiatives to keep a broad view of the future, use custom fields instead of drivers to increase fidelity, and visualize dependencies to avoid future production delays.
Example: GTM planning
It's best to start planning for launch ahead of time. Make sure you know which features need release notes, marketing blasts, or beta periods. You can monitor the progress of the work on the same board to stay alert for changes or delays.