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Product Feature Prioritization Frameworks for Product Managers
In a world full of options,
the hardest decision is
often what to omit!
What sets successful products apart from the rest in a competitive market?
The secret often lies in how features on a product roadmap are prioritized.
Effective prioritization ensures the most important features are developed at the right time, boosting the product growth in the market.
With stakeholders pulling in different directions, choosing features for development is a challenging task product managers face.
With limited time and resources, a wrong decision can be expensive.
Why feature prioritization matters
Unfortunately, intuition is not scalable & its accuracy is always up for debate.
That’s when structured feature prioritization frameworks start adding great value for product teams. Biggest benefits of relying on these prioritization techniques are -
Better decison making
By letting you focus your efforts more strategically; prioritization can help you avoid biases & lead to better outcomes.
Efficient use of resources
Prioritization will often lead you to concentrate on fewer, impactful projects. Resulting in optimization of resources converting into greater innovation and success.
Scaling the product org
As the product org grows, need for a more widely accepted prioritization method deepens.
After all, founders cannot push their intuitions each time.
01
The MoSCoW Method
This framework, detailed at MoSCoW technique, focuses on placing each feature in one of the four buckets below:
Must have
If a feature is deemed to be essential, it goes in here.
Should have
Know a feature to be important but not fundamental for your target audience, then classify it as a ‘Should have’.
Could have
Nice-to-have features that improve the user experience but can be placed after the ‘Should have’ list.
Won't have
Features that aren't worth the time or money spent developing them or the ones that do not fit your product strategy.
For example a Release notes automation solution must include ability to generate the documents in multiple formats. While AI assistance is excellent to have, support for customisable dashboards is not a necessity.
Advantage
MoSCoW includes all stakeholders, making it easier to agree on priorities.
Disadvantage
It can lead to an overloaded "Must have" list, weakening the prioritization process.
02
The RICE Framework
Four important factors are taken into account while rating features in the RICE framework. This is how it operates:
Reach
How many people will this feature affect within a specific time period?
Impact
How much will this feature contribute to the desired outcome?
Confidence
How sure are you about your estimates for reach and impact?
Effort
How much work is required to implement this feature, measured in person-months?
RICE Score Calculation
The RICE score is calculated using the formula:
This score helps prioritize features by comparing their potential value against the effort required to develop them.
For an OKR software, using the RICE framework might show that adding AI-driven key result recommendations, despite high effort, could significantly improve tool adoption for many users and is worth prioritizing.
Advantage
The RICE framework offers a clear, quantifiable way to prioritize features, simplifying decision-making and team alignment.
Disadvantage
The RICE framework may miss qualitative factors like task dependencies or strategic importance.
03
The Kano Model
The Kano Model prioritizes features based on customer satisfaction:
Feature Categories
Basic Expectations
Essential features that don’t increase satisfaction but are expected.
Desired Features
Features that directly impact customer satisfaction.
Delightful Features
Unexpected features that greatly enhance satisfaction.
Indifferent Features
Features that customers neither like nor dislike.
Dissatisfaction Features
Features that upset or frustrate customers.
For example, in an idea management tool, basic features are customer feedback & voting, desired features are customizable look & feel, and delighters could be an highly flexible notifications.
Advantage
The Kano Model prioritizes features that enhance customer satisfaction by focusing on essential and delightful elements.
Disadvantage
It may oversimplify feature importance, potentially missing complex interactions and evolving needs.
04
Weighted Scoring Prioritization
This method prioritizes features by assigning weights to different criteria and calculating scores based on their importance.
Steps:
Choose criteria (e.g., revenue potential, customer impact, development efforts).
Assign percentage weights to each criterion (totaling 100%)
Score each feature on these criteria.
Calculate the final score based on the weighted criteria.
This method is customizable and applicable throughout a product’s lifecycle.
For example, if your weight criteria is user experience (50%), revenue potential (30%), and technical feasibility (20%). Then feature A will need to be score on a scale of 1 to 5 for each criterion to come up with a weighted score.
In such a situation, depending on what criteria are given more importance a feature scoring high in user experience and moderate in revenue potential could be prioritized over one with high revenue but lower user experience.
Advantage
Weighted Scoring Prioritization allows for a detailed evaluation based on multiple criteria, ensuring features align with business goals.
Disadvantage
Setting it up can be difficult and time-consuming, and if criteria or weights are not selected correctly, results may be biased.
05
Cost of Delay
The Cost of Delay framework prioritizes features by calculating the potential revenue or market share lost from not implementing them promptly.
Calculation:
Estimate the revenue (or market share) given feature could generate per unit of time.
Estimate the time required to develop the feature.
Multiply the estimated revenue by the development time to find the cost of delay.
Effectively prioritizes features by ROI and helps align team members on value.
For example in a subscription management app, if a feature could generate $5,000 per month but its delivery is delayed by 2 months, the cost of delay is $10,000.
Prioritizing such a feature ensures that potential revenue (or market share) isn’t lost.
Advantage
Cost of Delay helps prioritize features based on their potential revenue impact, aligning development with the highest return on investment.
Disadvantage
It may overlook non-monetary benefits or strategic value, potentially leading to a narrow focus on immediate revenue.
06
Product Tree
The Product Tree framework, introduced by Luke Hohmann, helps prioritize features by visualizing them on a tree structure:
Roots
Core features and tasks essential for the product's basic functions.
Trunk
Main functionalities and current features of the product.
Branches
Areas for potential growth, such as new features or enhancements.
Leaves
Specific features or small improvements that directly impact user satisfaction.
In this product prioritization framework, stakeholders place features on the tree to reflect their development priorities.
For example in case of a project management tool, core feature (root) is task management, main functionality (trunk) would be task tracking & monitoring, branch could be task automation, and leaf might be calendar integrations.
Advantage
The Product Tree framework visually organizes features, making it easier to see how new features relate to existing ones and prioritize accordingly.
Disadvantage
It may oversimplify complex relationships and dependencies between features, potentially missing nuances in prioritization.
07
Eisenhower Matrix
You can prioritize tasks by using the Eisenhower Matrix to determine their relative importance.
This method, influenced by Dwight D. Eisenhower, helps in time management and work prioritization. It categorizes features/tasks into four types:
Do First
Urgent and important tasks that need immediate attention.
Schedule
Important but not urgent tasks that can be planned for later.
Delegate
Urgent but not important tasks that should be assigned to others.
Delete
Tasks that are neither urgent nor important and can be ignored.
For example in the context of project management, resolving a blocker that is stopping a critical development task falls in the "Do First" quadrant, conducting a project retrospective to improve future processes will be in the "Schedule" category, handling team scheduling conflicts can be delegated to team leads, and reading a long email thread that doesn’t require your input can be eliminated.
Advantage
The Eisenhower Matrix helps prioritize by separating urgent from important tasks, boosting time management and focus.
Disadvantage
It may oversimplify complex tasks, potentially leading to neglect of important but less urgent activities.
08
ICE Scoring
ICE Scoring is a prioritization tool that helps evaluate ideas based on three criteria:
Impact
Potential benefit.
Confidence
Certainty of Success.
Ease
Effort required.
You score each criterion on a scale 1-10 and multiply them to get an ICE score. Higher scores indicate higher priority.
For example in a project management tool, adding a feature for automated task reminders might score Impact 9, Confidence 8, and Ease 7, giving an ICE score of 504.
Advantage
ICE Scoring offers a clear, quantitative approach to prioritizing ideas, simplifying decision-making based on impact, confidence, and ease.
Disadvantage
It may oversimplify decisions, ignoring qualitative factors that could affect the overall priority.
09
Value vs. Complexity Prioritization Matrix
This matrix assists you in setting priorities by weighing the benefits of each activity against its level of effort.
Here's how it works:
Assign Scores
Plot Initiatives
High Value, Low Complexity
Rate each idea based on how beneficial it is and how hard it will be to put into action.
Use these scores to place each initiative in one of four quadrants on a graph.
Prioritize these first; they offer the most benefit with the least effort.
High Value, High Complexity
Low Value, Low Complexity
Low Value, High Complexity
Important but challenging; plan carefully and address after quick wins.
Easy to do but with limited benefit; consider if resources allow.
Avoid or deprioritize; they’re hard to implement and not very beneficial.
This matrix helps you focus on what will give you the most impact with the least effort, especially useful when resources are limited.
For example when you are in search of PMF or a product-market fit, you might want to focus on "High Value, Low Complexity" features first.
Advantage
The Value vs. Complexity Matrix helps prioritize initiatives by focusing on high-value tasks that require less effort, optimizing resource allocation.
Disadvantage
It may not account for all strategic factors or long-term implications of high-complexity initiatives.
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Story Mapping
Story Mapping is a technique to visualize and prioritize tasks based on the user journey
Map User Goals
Define key user goals.
Create a Backbone
Arrange goals in sequence.
Break Down Tasks
List tasks under each goal.
Prioritize
Order tasks by importance and dependencies.
This feature prioritization framework helps teams plan product development from a user-centric perspective and focus on what matters most.
For a new project management tool, user goals might include "Create and assign tasks," "Track project progress," and "Generate reports."
Tasks or features under "Generate reports" goal could be prioritized a little later as compared to the other two goals.
Advantage
Story Mapping helps teams arrange tasks according to the user's journey, making sure development targets key user needs and delivers value.
Disadvantage
Creating and updating a detailed story map can take a lot of time and is complicated, particularly for large products.
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Buy a Feature
Buy a Feature is a participatory prioritization technique that seeks inputs from multiple stakeholders.
List Features
Teams compile a list of potential features or enhancements for the product.
Assign Prices
Each feature is assigned a cost or complexity score, representing the development effort required.
Distribute Budget
Stakeholders are given a virtual budget to "spend" on the features they consider most valuable.
Allocate Funds
Participants use their budget to vote on features, with the total spending determining the priority.
This method aligns feature development with stakeholder priorities while accounting for constraints like time and resources.
For example, imagine you’re prioritizing features for a screen recording software with a 100-coin budget. Stakeholders spend coins on High-Quality Exports (20 coins), AI-Powered Editing (50 coins), and Cloud Storage Integration (30 coins). The majority allocate coins to AI-Powered Editing, making it the top priority for development.
Advantage
Aligns feature development with stakeholder preferences and available resources.
Disadvantage
Can be biased by individual preferences and may overlook essential features.
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Opportunity Scoring
This method of prioritizing product features based on consumer needs helps identify which one will have the biggest impact.
This product prioritization framework is a component of the outcome-driven innovation methodology.
It functions in the following manner:
Survey Customers: Ask customers to rate the importance of various features or needs and how satisfied they are with current solutions.
Calculate Opportunity Scores:
High opportunity = High importance + Low satisfaction.
Low opportunity = Low importance or High satisfaction.
Prioritize Features: Focus on features with the highest opportunity scores because they represent areas where customers have significant unmet needs.
Opportunity Scoring helps prioritize work that will most positively impact customer satisfaction and product success.
In an employee performance management tool, customers might rate "advanced reporting" as very important but express dissatisfaction with current options.
This feature would score high for opportunity, indicating it should be a priority.
Advantage
Focuses on unmet customer needs, leading to high-impact feature development.
Disadvantage
Relies on customer feedback, which may not always predict future trends accurately.
13
Customer Journey Analysis
To find areas for improvement, customer journey analysis maps every interaction a customer has with a product or service.
Steps:
Map the Journey
Outline the entire customer experience.
Gather Data
Collect feedback and analytics.
Identify Pain Points
Find areas of dissatisfaction.
Enhance the Experience
Implement improvements.
For example when working with a SaaS product, analyzing the customer journey might show that users find onboarding difficult, so a simpler process is created to improve their experience.
Advantage
It gives a full picture of the customer journey, helping to make specific improvements.
Disadvantage
Mapping & analysing the customer journey can be a time and effort intensive effort.
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Quick Wins Matrix
The Quick Wins Matrix helps prioritize product features by plotting them based on Impact and Effort. Here's how it works.
Feature Categories:
Quick Wins
High impact, low effort (do first).
Major Projects
High impact, high effort (plan carefully).
Fill-ins
Low impact, low effort (consider if time allows).
Thankless Tasks
Low impact, high effort (avoid if possible).
For example in a tech startup, a "Major Project" involves creating a new feature, while a "Quick Win" is fixing a small issue that greatly improves user experience.
Advantage
Quickly pinpoints features that deliver the highest value with minimal effort.
Disadvantage
May overlook long-term value or strategic importance of high-effort features.
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Pareto Analysis
Pareto Analysis (80/20 Rule) helps prioritize by identifying the 20% of features that contribute to 80% of the results or success. This is a well known approach.
Identify Tasks/Problems
List all items.
Measure Impact
Evaluate their impact or frequency.
Prioritize
Concentrate on the 20% that have the biggest impact.
Allocate Resources
Direct resources to these key areas for maximum benefit.
In an IT support team, Pareto Analysis might show that 80% of issues come from 20% of recurring problems. Addressing these key issues can greatly reduce overall support tickets.
Advantage
Helps focus resources on the most critical areas that drive significant results or resolve major issues.
Disadvantage
May lead to neglecting less obvious but still important tasks or issues that could become significant in the long term.
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Blue Ocean Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy is about coming up with new ideas or products that make a unique market where there’s less competition.
Identify Market
Look at current market limits and see where competition is non-existent or low.
Explore New Market Spaces
Look for unmet needs or unexplored opportunities that can differentiate your offering.
Innovate and Create Value
Develop products or services that provide new value, making the competition irrelevant.
A company creating a new VR education tool, which opens a new market instead of competing in the crowded gaming sector.
Advantage
Reduces competition by entering untapped markets.
Disadvantage
High risk due to the need for significant innovation.
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Speed Boat
The Speed Boat Technique helps find and tackle problems that slow down a project.
Here's how it functions:
Identify Anchors
Find obstacles that hinder progress.
Discuss Solutions
Develop strategies to address these obstacles.
Implement Changes
Apply solutions to move forward more efficiently.
In a software development project, obstacles like outdated tools or slow approval processes are identified and addressed to speed up the development cycle.
Advantage
Clearly identifies and addresses barriers to progress.
Disadvantage
May overlook less obvious or underlying issues.
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Impact Mapping
A planning method called impact mapping connects product's goals with corporate objectives. Here's a quick summary.
Identify Key Players
Figure out who will impact or be impacted by the project.
Define Impacts
Clarify how these actors affect the goals.
Outline Deliverables
Specify what needs to be done to achieve the desired impact.
The approach emphasizes outcomes and their connections to ensure that efforts align with broader business goals.
For a cloud project management tool, actors are project managers, team members, and executives. Impact may include improved productivity and insights, with deliverables like real-time updates and dashboards.
Advantage
Aligns project goals with business objectives for better value delivery.
Disadvantage
Can be time-consuming to identify all relevant actors and impact.
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Lean Prioritization
This method prioritizes tasks or features by weighing their value against the effort needed, aiming to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.
Assess Value
Determine the potential benefit of each task or feature.
Estimate Effort
Calculate the resources and time needed for each feature.
Prioritize
Sort features by their value compared to the effort needed, starting with those that give the most benefit with the least work.
Quickly achieving the greatest results while reducing resource waste is the aim.
For a software update, prioritize implementing a feature with high user demand that requires minimal coding effort, rather than a complex but less impactful feature.
Advantage
Maximizes efficiency by focusing on high-value features with minimal effort.
Disadvantage
May overlook long-term benefits of high-effort features.
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Opportunity Solution Tree
Opportunity Solution Tree is a visual tool that helps teams map out how to achieve goals.
Identifying Opportunities
Pinpoint potential areas for improvement or new features that align with business objectives.
Developing Solutions
Create possible solutions or initiatives for each identified opportunity.
Mapping Connections
Visualize how these solutions lead to achieving the desired outcomes and how they are interconnected.
For a project management tool, identify an opportunity like "Increase team collaboration," develop solutions such as "Integrate real-time chat," and map how this improves overall team efficiency.
Advantage
Ensures alignment between opportunities, solutions, and desired outcomes.
Disadvantage
Can become complex with too many opportunities and solutions, leading to potential confusion.
Product managers have a lot of alternatives when it comes to prioritization models, but it may also be overwhelming to have so many choices.
You might wonder which prioritization framework should take priority.
In truth, each model is like a specific tool in your toolbox.
Just as you’d use a hammer for nails instead of a wrench, each prioritization model is designed to handle a specific type of task more effectively.
The key is to figure out which product prioritization frameworks deliver the goods for you.
Conclusion
Prioritization frameworks let you concentrate on the most crucial aspects of a product and support you in reaching well-informed conclusions.
Try different frameworks to find what works best for you.