About the MoSCoW model template
Every feature can feel urgent when requests start piling up. Product backlogs often grow faster than teams can ship, leaving people frustrated with the pace of progress.
The MoSCoW model brings order by sorting features into four categories: Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have. That last category changes everything — once you are clear on what the product will not include, you can focus on delivering the features that matter most to customers and the business.
Included in the MoSCoW model template
This MoSCoW model template includes built-in capabilities such as:
A menu of classic whiteboard features (including shapes, sticky notes, grids, and emojis)
A pre-built MoSCoW framework with examples for each category
Inline comments to capture the reasoning behind tough prioritization calls
Presentation frames to explain your decisions to skeptical stakeholders
How to use the MoSCoW model template
Drop all your feature requests onto the whiteboard as sticky notes before you start categorizing. This prevents the bias of mentally pre-sorting as you add items.
Start with the Won't have category instead of Must have. Counterintuitive? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely. When you identify what you are definitely not building, the remaining features become much easier to categorize honestly.
Work backwards through Could have and Should have, then tackle Must have last. This forces you to be brutally honest about what is actually nonnegotiable versus what just feels important because a sales executive mentioned it once.
Invite stakeholders to review the board, but do not let them rearrange items across categories during the meeting. Instead, ask them to comment on specific placements. This keeps the session focused on understanding their perspectives rather than relitigating your strategic decisions.
Best practices
Turn the pressure to do everything into focus on what is most impactful.
Cap Must haves: If half of your list falls under Must have, you are not prioritizing — you are just reshuffling
Make Won't haves visible: Put these items in a prominent section rather than hiding them. Transparency about what you are not building prevents abandoned features from resurfacing later.
Set category quotas: Decide upfront how many features each category can hold, then use your product strategy to stay within those limits
Test your Must haves: Ask, "Would we launch without this?" If the answer is not an immediate yes, your item is probably a Should have wearing a Must have hat.
FAQs about the MoSCoW model template
Who should use this MoSCoW model template?
This one is for product managers who are tired of defending why everything cannot be priority one, engineering managers who want clarity on what to build first, and anyone whose backlog has become a graveyard of "great ideas" that never ship. It is especially helpful when you are dealing with stakeholders who think prioritization means doing everything faster.
How do you navigate pushes to prioritize one Must have over others?
Create subcategories within the Must have category if you need to rank items, but resist the urge to make everything granular. The whole point is to force choices. If someone insists their feature is more critical, ask them which current Must have they would swap it with. Suddenly, things become less urgent.
What's the biggest MoSCoW model mistake that even experienced PMs make?
Using Won't have as a parking lot for features you are afraid to say no to. True Won't have items are ones you would decline — even if someone offered to build them for free. If you are just pushing features to future sprints, be honest and put them in Could have.
Is this template free to use?
Yes. To use this product updates template, sign up for a free 30-day trial of Aha! Whiteboards. (You can also try this template in Aha! Roadmaps if you need a complete product management solution.) Easily customize the template to suit your needs, then share it with as many people as you want (for free) to streamline collaboration.
