Practical Product Management Templates

What is a product management template?

A product management template is a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or text file that can be reused for more than one task, milestone, or project.

By using product management templates, teams can complete project tasks and standardize workflows faster. They don’t need to start from scratch for every activity or milestone.

Product management templates can come in multiple formats, such as:

• Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
• Microsoft Word files
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
• Google Slides
• Online template software

Deploying a product management use case template aligns your team with project goals, delivers visibility into work progress, and speeds up project execution.

Why use product management templates?

Every product manager has a multitude of tasks to accomplish. Managing it all perfectly requires a significant amount of time, effort, resources, and teamwork.

When you have strict timelines for creating and launching products, having customizable product management templates can be beneficial. Product tasks and milestones can start immediately and be completed sooner.

For example, if you need to create a product management use case template, it will come with the basic structure and layout. The team can use this as a starting point and add their specific needs and preferences to the document to make it their own.

If the product management team is new or still learning the ropes, using product management software, tools, templates, and processes can be a great support for them. These templates guide the newbie product management team and allow them to express their thoughts in a comprehensive manner.

Product management templates help the team navigate their way from ideation to design to development to launch.

Five benefits of using product management templates

You can manage complex and cross-functional product processes better by using product management templates.

These templates allow for easier movement across the product life cycle, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery.

Considering using PM templates? Check out the top six benefits of using product management templates:

Saves time

Eliminate the additional stress and extra work. Quit reinventing the wheel every time you work on a project. Even a simple project management template can save you hours of deliberation.

The template gives a clear direction of the details required so your team is not in the dark. They can start with the basic framework and make the necessary modifications.

Establishes standardized processes

Using a template reinforces a workflow or process.

When one team starts using a template, it acts as a pointer to other teams. All product stakeholders become aware of using templates to ensure on-time deliveries within budget.

Improves planning

Putting a product management plan into action helps teams plan for the contingencies. Since the complete information is available in the template, it becomes a useful tool for planning specific project tasks and milestones.

Reduces team miscommunication and mitigates risks

Risks are mitigated when planning becomes more robust. Teams can identify potential issues in their area of expertise, but identifying possible problems before they even occur can be quite challenging.

Product management templates contain unified data that is valid across departments. It serves as a hub of relevant product information that reduces miscommunication and reduces risk.

Sets up a safe and secure database 

The presence of safe, secure, and relevant data is a prerequisite for exceptional product management performance.

A product management template stores relevant information and serves as a source of valid data points to the product stakeholders.

What are the different kinds of product management templates?

Product management templates come in multiple different formats organized for specific use cases.

Product teams in different phases of a life cycle will have varying needs. Take a look at some of the product management use case templates that are available:

Business plan templates

Every product begins with a business idea. Use a simple business plan template to get started. It lets your team make decisions and provides clarity on the business model.

These templates are a broad framework that you can customize for your specific needs. Use these editable versions to review the market and business factors affecting your product plans.

Competitor benchmarking templates

You must evaluate your competitors in detail to know how they are resolving the customer’s problems.

During this process, teams gain an understanding of competitor intelligence and how the market landscape affects them.

These templates allow you to review and analyze customers’ needs to get a fair understanding of the modifications required to achieve peak performance.

User story mapping templates

User stories are primarily used and created in Agile software development. They describe product features from the end-users' perspective and consider the software specs template.

User story mapping templates give a broad outline of what needs to be included in the user stories. When they have a clear guideline, teams can create user stories more effectively.

Product backlog template

Product backlogs are an essential feature in the Agile development process. 

However, starting a product backlog from scratch may take more time and effort than estimated. Additionally, product backlogs are also repeatable activities that need to be done multiple times.

Product backlog templates organize, track, and prioritize product features. Use these templates to record stakeholder requests, understand product progress, and assign priority levels.

These templates also enable you to record multiple sprints and calculate story points based on the points assigned to specific tasks.

Software product requirements document template

Excited about rolling out a new product feature? 

To ensure a successful product launch, every product should have a clear use case. Outline the software product requirements document template in collaboration with your product designers and software development team. Follow these steps to put this in action:

1. Fill out the basics, including planned date of release, core team members, and current project status
2. Summarize the project’s key success metrics and how they are connected to the broader organizational goals
3. Mention existing assumptions and solutions about users, business goals, and technical content
4. Consolidate relevant documentation such as visual designs, mockups, and diagrams in one unified hub
5. Address scope creep by proactively noting potential scenarios and how they should be handled if they occur

Gantt chart templates

Gantt chart templates are customizable documents to help teams schedule tasks and track product progress.

Gantt charts have a simple, visual layout to communicate the work-in-progress status to product stakeholders regularly.

Product roadmap templates

Product stakeholders need roadmaps to visualize progress and track achievement of defined goals. They may have questions such as:

• Where is the product headed?
• How much work is required to reach the estimated goal?

Utilizing a product roadmap template is beneficial as it highlights product direction and keeps the team members aware of progress. Communicate the product roadmap to all internal and external stakeholders.

SWOT analysis templates

Doing an in-depth SWOT analysis can be valuable for every company. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Having a SWOT analysis template makes this job easier for both new and experienced product teams. They can identify:

• Potential strengths of their product compared to its competitors in the market
• Any potential weaknesses of their product design, delivery, or marketing
• Estimation of the opportunities available in the market to satisfy customer needs
• Threats existent in the market from competitors, regulators, and government policies

Put the SWOT analysis template into action to understand the product in its competitive business landscape.

Get started with Wrike’s product management templates

Your organization wants to create even more products that your customers love to use. Use Wrike’s product management templates to shorten the time from vision to market for all your products.

Quit using static presentations, documents, and time-consuming spreadsheets that need to be manually updated. Standardize repeatable workflows and reinforce team processes to empower your team to deliver results.

Maximize team productivity and accelerate product launches with pre-made product management templates. Get a free Wrike trial to simplify your journey from idea to market for product management success.