How to Use ClickUp as a Productboard Alternative

ClickUp can replace Productboard and other product management tools when you set it up correctly for product discovery, planning, and delivery. This guide walks you step by step through configuring workspaces, tasks, views, and templates so your team can manage the entire product lifecycle in one place.

The instructions below are based on the capabilities highlighted in the Productboard alternatives guide, adapted into a practical, how-to workflow.

Step 1: Plan Your Product Structure in ClickUp

Before building anything, decide how you want to organize your product work inside ClickUp. A clear hierarchy keeps features, feedback, and releases easy to find.

Choose the Right ClickUp Hierarchy

Use the core hierarchy levels to map product areas:

• Workspace: Your entire organization or company.
• Space: Product department or individual products.
• Folder: Product lines, themes, or major initiatives.
• List: Epics, feature sets, or product roadmaps.
• Task: Individual features, user stories, or experiments.
• Subtask: Technical tasks or smaller implementation steps.

For a typical product team, set up:

• One Space for your product or suite
• Folders for Discovery, Roadmap, and Delivery
• Lists for specific goals, sprints, or releases

Define Custom Fields for Product Work

ClickUp custom fields let you capture data that Productboard usually tracks, like impact or effort. Add these at the Space or Folder level so every feature uses the same structure.

Helpful custom fields include:

• Impact (Dropdown): Low, Medium, High
• Effort (Dropdown or Number): Story points or t-shirt sizing
• Customer Segment (Dropdown): Enterprise, SMB, Self-serve
• Status (Dropdown): Idea, Validating, Planned, In Progress, Released
• Source (Text or Dropdown): Support, Sales, Analytics, Research

Step 2: Capture Feedback and Ideas in ClickUp

To replace feedback and idea boards, configure one centralized intake process in ClickUp. This keeps insights structured and searchable across teams.

Create a ClickUp Feedback Inbox

In your product Space, add a Folder called Feedback and a List called Feedback Inbox. Every new idea or request becomes a task in this list.

Each task should include:

• Customer or team member name
• Problem statement or request
• Use case and frequency
• Linked account or opportunity (if applicable)

Use custom fields like Source and Customer Segment so you can later filter and group feedback by origin and impact.

Connect ClickUp Forms to Collect Requests

Build a Form view on the Feedback Inbox List. This lets stakeholders submit ideas directly into ClickUp without needing full access to the app.

1. Open the Feedback Inbox List.
2. Click the + View button and choose Form.
3. Add fields for title, description, source, and segment.
4. Map each Form field to task fields or custom fields.
5. Share the public Form link with teams like Sales, Support, and Customer Success.

Every submission creates a new task in the Inbox, using the same structured data you defined earlier.

Step 3: Turn Ideas into a ClickUp Product Roadmap

Once feedback is centralized, you can prioritize and plan features directly in ClickUp using Lists, task statuses, and roadmap views like Gantt and Timeline.

Build a ClickUp Roadmap List

Create a new Folder called Roadmap and add one or more Lists such as:

• Now / Next / Later
• Quarterly Roadmap (Q1, Q2, etc.)
• Product Themes or Objectives

Move or copy vetted ideas from the Feedback Inbox into the appropriate Roadmap List. Each roadmap task becomes a feature or epic with clear priority and target release period.

Use ClickUp Views for Visual Roadmaps

ClickUp offers multiple views to visualize your roadmap from different perspectives.

• Board View: Create columns like Idea, Validated, Planned, In Progress, Released. Drag cards to track lifecycle stage.
• List View: Sort and filter by custom fields such as Impact, Effort, or Segment.
• Gantt View: Display features on a timeline with dependencies and milestones for realistic planning.
• Timeline View: Show high-level features by month or quarter for executive and stakeholder reviews.

Add these as separate views on your Roadmap Folder or Lists so everyone can switch between detailed and executive-friendly layouts.

Step 4: Prioritize Features Inside ClickUp

To mirror prioritization workflows from Productboard, rely on scoring fields, filters, and saved views in ClickUp.

Set Up ClickUp Scoring Fields

Create a numeric or dropdown custom field called Priority Score or use a formula field that combines Impact and Effort. For example:

• Assign values to Impact (High = 3, Medium = 2, Low = 1)
• Assign values to Effort (Low = 3, Medium = 2, High = 1)
• Use a formula to calculate a combined score

This lets you rank features objectively. You can then sort your List view by this score to see the most valuable items at the top.

Create Saved ClickUp Views for Decision Meetings

For product planning sessions, set up dedicated views:

• A List filtered to Status = Idea or Validating
• Grouped by Customer Segment to see who benefits
• Sorted by Priority Score or Impact

Save these settings as a named view, such as Prioritization Board, and share it with your leadership team to speed up roadmap decisions.

Step 5: Manage Delivery with ClickUp Sprints or Kanban

After prioritizing features, you can manage implementation using agile workflows inside ClickUp, without switching tools.

Organize Delivery Lists in ClickUp

Create a Folder called Delivery with Lists for each team, sprint, or release:

• Backend Sprint
• Frontend Sprint
• Mobile Release
• Infrastructure Improvements

Convert roadmap tasks into sprint items by moving or linking them to the appropriate Delivery Lists. Use relationships or dependencies to keep links between roadmap features and underlying tasks.

Use ClickUp Automations for Handoff

Automations reduce manual work when moving items from planning to execution. Examples:

• When a roadmap task status changes to Planned, automatically assign it to a product manager.
• When status becomes In Progress, move it to a Delivery List and notify the engineering channel.
• When a feature is marked Released, update related feedback tasks and close them.

Configure these from the Automations panel so your product workflow runs consistently.

Step 6: Share Roadmaps and Updates from ClickUp

ClickUp makes it simple to keep stakeholders informed through views, dashboards, and public sharing options.

Create Stakeholder Dashboards in ClickUp

Build Dashboards with widgets like:

• Roadmap List widget filtered to Planned and In Progress
• Chart widget showing features by segment or status
• Burnup or burndown charts for releases or sprints
• Task list of recently released features

Share the Dashboard link with executives or customer-facing teams so they can self-serve status updates without asking product managers for one-off reports.

Share Read-Only ClickUp Views Externally

For customers or partners, share read-only views:

1. Open your Roadmap List or Board view.
2. Click the sharing options in the top-right corner.
3. Enable public sharing and set permissions to view only.
4. Send the link or embed it in your customer portal.

This approach replaces traditional roadmap slides and ensures everyone sees the most up-to-date plan directly from ClickUp.

Step 7: Improve Your ClickUp Setup Over Time

As your product team grows, continue refining your configuration by reviewing processes and adjusting fields, views, and automations.

Review ClickUp Workflows Regularly

Schedule quarterly reviews where you:

• Audit custom fields and remove unused ones
• Update statuses to better match real-world stages
• Retire views that are no longer used
• Add new Form fields to capture missing context

This keeps your ClickUp workspace lean and easy to navigate.

Use Expert Help to Optimize ClickUp

If you want professional support designing a scalable product workspace, you can work with consultants who specialize in tool configuration and automation. For example, Consultevo offers services that help teams refine workflows and integrations across their stack.

Next Steps: Master Product Management in ClickUp

By organizing your hierarchy, centralizing feedback, building a roadmap, and connecting planning to delivery, you can use ClickUp as a full Productboard alternative. Start with a simple structure, then gradually introduce advanced views, automations, and dashboards as your team becomes more comfortable.

Return to your setup regularly, gather feedback from stakeholders, and adjust your ClickUp configuration so it continues to reflect how your product team actually works.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

Get Help

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