How Can the RICE Model Prioritize Roadmaps?

Imagine this: your product team has ten innovative ideas brimming with potential, but the clock is ticking, and resources are tight. The challenge? Choosing the one idea that delivers maximum impact with minimal effort. Enter the RICE framework—a powerful prioritization model transforming decision-making into a data-driven process.

The RICE model evaluates ideas through four key factors—Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort—and provides a clear and objective way to identify the most viable product opportunities.

This article will explain how the RICE framework works, its advantages and limitations, and provide actionable tips to help you master roadmap prioritization. But, first, let’s learn what the RICE framework is.

What is the RICE framework?

The RICE model is a scoring framework designed to help product managers make informed decisions about what should be on their product roadmaps. By assigning ideas a numerical score based on four factors—reach, impact, confidence, and effort—it ensures that priorities are data-driven rather than influenced by bias or guesswork.

Quantifying the potential value and effort of competing ideas builds trust and alignment across teams. Product managers often use the RICE framework to present their prioritization strategies to stakeholders, including leadership teams.

The origin of the RICE model

The RICE model was developed by Intercom, a leading messaging software company, to enhance their internal decision-making processes. Faced with countless potential features and limited resources, Intercom created the RICE model to evaluate each idea objectively. By comparing reach, impact, confidence, and effort, the framework allowed them to focus on initiatives with the greatest potential for success.

Breaking down the RICE model

Let’s look at each of its four factors in detail to understand how the RICE framework helps your team focus on what delivers the highest value with the least effort.

Reach

This measures how many people your product or feature will affect within a specific timeframe. Reach is typically quantified using metrics like the number of customers or transactions impacted.

For example, if the launch of a new feature is expected to be used by 5000 customers in a month, then the Reach is 5000.

It gives you a clear picture of how to work on the product roadmap.

Impact

Impact gauges the level of benefit or change an idea can bring to users. It’s often rated on a scale. It is calculated on a scale for comparison as follows: 

• 3 = Massive impact
• 2 = High impact 
• 1 = Medium impact
• 0.5 = Low impact 
• 0.25 = Minimal impact

For example, if a feature aims to enhance user experience, it can be rated as high impact (2) as it directly influences customer choice. 

Confidence

Confidence reflects how certain you are about your estimates for reach and impact. A high confidence score signals strong supporting data, while a low confidence score highlights areas of uncertainty. It can be expressed using percentages.

For example, 100% indicates you are extremely sure, while 50% showcases some uncertainty regarding your assumptions. In cases of low confidence, you can use prototypes or A/B testing to validate your assumptions before proceeding.

Effort

Effort calculates the total time required to execute the idea, often measured in team hours or person-months. Lower effort scores indicate quicker wins with minimal resources.

For example, a small design tweak to improve conversion rates might score better than a complex feature with a month-long development cycle.

With these four factors in mind, you can objectively determine which new project to prioritize over others in the present. Let’s learn how to use this framework to prioritize the roadmap.

How to use the RICE framework to prioritize your roadmap

Now that you understand how the RICE model can assist you, let’s explore how to apply it step-by-step to prioritize your product roadmap.

Step 1: Identify and list features or initiatives

Start by creating a comprehensive list of potential features, initiatives, or projects you want to evaluate. This ensures that you don’t overlook any idea, regardless of how big or small it seems.

Step 2: Estimate reach, impact, confidence, and effort for each item

For every initiative on your list, assign estimates for the four RICE factors:

• Reach: Quantify how many users or customers the feature will affect within a specific timeframe.
• Impact: Rate the degree of benefit the initiative will provide to users, often using a standardized scale.
• Confidence: Assign a confidence level to indicate how certain you are about your reach and impact estimates.
• Effort: Measure the time and resources required to implement the idea, typically in person-hours or team-months.

Step 3: Calculate the RICE score

Once you’ve estimated the four factors, calculate the RICE score using this formula:

RICE Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort

This score provides a clear, objective value for each idea, making comparisons easier.

Step 4: Rank items and prioritize your roadmap

Rank all the ideas in descending order based on their RICE scores. Items with the highest scores indicate high-value opportunities requiring relatively low effort. While ranking is helpful, remember to align the final prioritization with your business goals and resource constraints.

With this structured approach, the RICE model helps product teams focus on high-impact projects first, fostering better resource allocation and strategic alignment.

Example of RICE scoring in action

To illustrate how the RICE framework works, let’s evaluate and prioritize three product features: onboarding flow, adding a new dashboard, and a referral program.

Scenario: Comparing three features using the RICE model

We’ll assess each feature based on the four RICE factors—reach, impact, confidence, and effort—and calculate their RICE scores to guide our decision-making.

Feature	Reach	Impact	Confidence	Effort (weeks)	RICE Score
Onboarding flow	5000	2x	90%	20	450
Adding a new dashboard	3000	3x	80%	15	480
Referral program	8000	1x	70%	10	560

Analysis: What the scores reveal

Based on the RICE scores:

1. The referral program emerges as the top priority. Despite its lower impact and confidence, its high reach and low effort make it the most lucrative option.
2. Adding a new dashboard ranks second. While its reach is lower, its higher impact and relatively moderate effort make it a valuable initiative.
3. Onboarding flow is the lowest priority. Though it has decent reach and confidence, its high effort and lower score suggest it’s less viable in the current context.

The RICE analysis provides a clear and objective way to prioritize initiatives. By focusing on the referral program and new dashboard first, the product team can maximize their return on investment with the available resources.

Benefits of using the RICE framework

Here is why using the RICE model is a good choice: 

1. It promotes data-driven decision-making by relying on objective data derived from measurable factors instead of intuition. 
2. By focusing on both effort and potential outcomes, you can focus on projects that deliver maximum value with minimal resources. 
3. It creates a fair and transparent process for ranking initiatives with a structured scoring process.
4. The framework creates a centralized ranking system to align teams on a particular roadmap direction. 

These benefits make using the RICE model a lucrative choice for all teams in a fair, transparent, and practical manner. However, despite benefits, it has some limitations as well. 

Limitations of the RICE framework

While the RICE framework offers significant advantages, it does come with a few limitations to keep in mind:

1. Difficulty in estimating Reach and Impact: Accurately predicting the reach and impact of new initiatives can be challenging, especially for untested ideas. This uncertainty may affect the reliability of the RICE score.
2. Subjectivity in Confidence scores: The confidence factor relies on subjective judgment, which can skew the overall RICE score if not assessed carefully.
3. Unsuitability for complex projects: The RICE model best suits straightforward initiatives. Complex or ambiguous projects may require additional frameworks to capture their nuances effectively.

By acknowledging these limitations, you can proactively address potential challenges and ensure the RICE framework is used effectively.

Best practices for using the RICE framework

To maximize the value of the RICE framework, consider the following best practices:

1. Leverage data-driven insights

Use user surveys and analytics data to estimate Reach and Impact more accurately. Reliable data ensures your scores are grounded in evidence.

2. Collaborate with cross-functional teams

Gather input from teams like marketing and sales to bring diverse perspectives into your Confidence calculations.

3. Combine with other frameworks

Pair the RICE model with complementary methods, such as MoSCoW or Kano prioritization, for a more comprehensive approach to decision-making.

4. Revisit and refine scores

Review your RICE scores regularly as new data becomes available to ensure your roadmap remains relevant and accurate.

By applying these best practices, you can overcome limitations and unlock the full potential of the RICE framework, enabling you to prioritize initiatives confidently.

The bottom line

The RICE prioritization framework is a powerful tool that simplifies the complex process of roadmap management. The framework offers a clear, data-driven approach to making decisions that maximize value while minimizing resource use. For that, it evaluates initiatives based on Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort.

From calculating RICE scores to ranking ideas, the framework prepares teams to focus on high-impact projects first. However, it’s essential to recognize its limitations, such as the challenges in estimating reach and impact or the subjectivity in confidence scoring. Combining the RICE model with other prioritization frameworks and relying on data-driven insights can help address these gaps effectively.

Ultimately, mastering the RICE framework ensures that your team’s efforts align with strategic goals, powered by smarter resource allocation and stakeholder trust. By implementing the practices shared in this guide, you’re well on your way to creating a roadmap that drives meaningful results. 

FAQs 

1. What is the RICE Model for prioritization?

The RICE model focuses on four factors: Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort to help prioritize the project roadmap.

2. How do you calculate the RICE score?

The RICE score is calculated using the following formula: 

RICE Score = [(Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort]

3. What are the advantages of using the RICE framework?

The RICE framework helps teams make data-driven decisions to prioritize projects transparently.

4. How do you estimate Reach and Impact accurately?

To accurately calculate the Reach and Impact, it is crucial to collect data through customer surveys and user analytics.

5. Can the RICE Model be combined with other prioritization techniques?

You can combine the RICE prioritization with other techniques, such as MoSCoW or Kano, for more accurate results.