1. A computer-implemented method for managing application template artifacts in a networked computing environment, comprising: assigning a set of templates to a set of successive phases, each of the set of templates being assigned to a single one of the set of successive phases, the set of successive phases corresponding to a lifecycle of an application, and the set of templates being stored in a computer storage device; providing a reference in at least one template of the set of templates assigned to a particular phase, the reference referring to at least one previous template of the set of templates, and the at least one previous template being assigned to a previous phase in the set of successive phases; providing a set of pointers in the set of templates, the set of pointers referring to a set of artifacts used in the set of successive phases; identifying a set of changes to the set of artifacts, the set of changes occurring between individual phases of the set of successive phases; and propagating the set of changes to the at least one previous template of the set of templates via the reference.