Prioritization

Prioritization

Score and order product backlog items, feature requests, or strategic initiatives using proven prioritization frameworks. Choose the right framework for the context, apply it systematically, and produce a scored, ordered output with documented rationale.

Announce at start: "I'm using the prioritization skill to prioritize [what you're prioritizing]."

Checklist

You MUST create a task for each of these items and complete them in order:

1. Gather all items to prioritize — Features, stories, bugs, tech debt, strategic bets
2. Understand the context — What decision is being made? What constraints exist?
3. Choose the right framework — One or more based on context
4. Apply the framework — Score every item with documented rationale
5. Order and analyze — Produce an ordered list with insights
6. Identify quick wins and big bets — Call out patterns
7. Present for review — Get approval before committing

Choosing the Right Framework

You can combine frameworks. Example: Use RICE to score, then MoSCoW for the top items against a release deadline.

RICE Scoring

Developed by Intercom. The most comprehensive framework.

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

Factor Definitions

Reach: How many users or customers will this affect in a given time period?

• Be specific: "5,000 users per month" not "lots"
• For internal tools, count the people who will use it
• For new markets, estimate the addressable users

Impact: How much will this move the needle for those users?

• 3 = Massive impact (step-change improvement)
• 2 = High impact (significant improvement)
• 1 = Medium impact (noticeable improvement)
• 0.5 = Low impact (marginal improvement)
• 0.25 = Minimal impact (barely noticeable)

Confidence: How sure are you about your reach, impact, and effort estimates?

• 100% = High confidence (backed by data, experiments, or strong evidence)
• 80% = Medium confidence (informed by research, some data)
• 50% = Low confidence (gut feel, limited evidence)
• 20% = Moonshot (wild guess, high uncertainty)

Effort: Total resources needed.

• Measure in person-months, person-weeks, or story points
• Include engineering, design, QA, and any other teams
• Be consistent across all items being compared

Scoring Process

For each item, produce a table:

Red Flags in RICE

• All items scored with 100% confidence (unrealistic)
• Reach is always "all users" (be precise)
• Effort estimates from engineering are missing (PM guessing effort = low confidence)
• Scoring to make a pre-determined answer win (confirmation bias)

ICE Scoring

Simpler than RICE. Good for rapid, gut-feel prioritization (growth experiments, early-stage).

ICE Score = (Impact + Confidence + Ease) / 3

Each factor scored 1-10:

• Impact: How much will this move the needle? (1 = minimal, 10 = massive)
• Confidence: How sure are you? (1 = wild guess, 10 = backed by data)
• Ease: How easy is it to build? (1 = extremely hard, 10 = trivial)

ICE is fast but less rigorous than RICE. Use for initial filtering, then apply RICE to top candidates for deeper analysis.

MoSCoW Method

For release scope decisions. Categorize every item into one of four buckets:

• Must have — Critical, non-negotiable for this release. Without these, the release has no value.
  • Guard: "If we shipped without this, would we delay the release?" If no, it's not Must Have.
• Should have — Important but not critical. Can be worked around if not ready.
  • Guard: "If we shipped without this, would users be frustrated but still use the product?" If yes, Should Have.
• Could have — Nice to have. Low cost of delay.
  • Guard: "Would most users not even notice if this was missing?" If yes, Could Have.
• Won't have — Explicitly out of scope for this release.
  • Guard: This is NOT "we'll do it later." This is "we made a conscious decision not to do this now."

MoSCoW Rules:

• Must Have items should be ≤ 60% of total effort
• If everything is Must Have, nothing is
• Won't Have is not a failure — it's a strategic choice

Kano Model

Classify features by how they affect customer satisfaction:

Using Kano for Prioritization:

1. List all potential features
2. Classify each into one category based on user research
3. Prioritize: Basic (must have) → Performance (invest) → Excitement (differentiate)
4. Cut Indifferent and segment Reverse features

Value vs. Effort Matrix

Plot items on a 2x2 grid:

High Value  │  Quick Wins    │  Big Bets
            │  (Do first)    │  (Plan carefully)
            │                │
Low Value   │  Fill-ins      │  Time Sinks
            │  (If time)     │  (Don't do)
            └────────────────┴─────────────
            Low Effort          High Effort

Action per quadrant:

• Quick Wins (High Value, Low Effort): Do these immediately. Highest ROI.
• Big Bets (High Value, High Effort): Plan and sequence. Break into smaller deliverables.
• Fill-ins (Low Value, Low Effort): Do if there's spare capacity. Don't prioritize over Quick Wins or Big Bets.
• Time Sinks (Low Value, High Effort): Don't do. Explicitly deprioritize.

Story Mapping

For release and sprint planning. From Jeff Patton's methodology.

Process:

1. List user activities left-to-right in chronological order (the backbone)
2. Under each activity, list user stories in priority order (top = critical, bottom = nice-to-have)
3. Draw a slicing line across the map to identify what goes in each release
4. Each horizontal slice is a coherent release

Activities:  Browse     →   Search    →   Compare   →   Purchase  →   Track
             ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
             Product grid   Search bar   Side-by-side  Checkout     Order status
             Filter by cat  Autocomplete  Price history  Payment      Notifications
             ───────────── Slicing Line (MVP) ─────────────────────────
             Sort by price  Filters       Reviews       Save cart    Returns
             Ratings        Recent        Wishlist      Gift wrap    Reorder

Presenting Results

After scoring, present:

1. Framework used and why
2. Top items with scores and rationale
3. Bottom items that should be deprioritized
4. Quick wins identified
5. Big bets requiring further planning
6. Any ties or judgment calls to discuss

Save to: docs/product-superpowers/prioritization/YYYY-MM-DD-<context>.md

Key Principles

• Score with evidence, not emotion — Every score should have a rationale. "Gut feel" is valid only if labeled as low confidence.
• Effort must come from engineering — PM should not estimate effort alone.
• Confidence matters — A high-scoring item with low confidence is riskier than a medium-scoring item with high confidence.
• Reprioritize continuously — New information should change the order.
• Make trade-offs explicit — "If we do X, we don't do Y (or we delay Z)."
• Don't over-prioritize — If everything is P1, nothing is. 30-40% of items should be P1 or Must Have at most.

Red Flags

• Scoring items to get a pre-determined answer ("I already know what we should build")
• All items scored with the same confidence (not thinking critically)
• Effort estimates from PM alone (need engineering input)
• No items below the line (everything can't be top priority)
• Using one framework for everything (RICE doesn't work for release scoping)

Key References

• RICE framework by Sean McBride (Intercom)
• ICE framework by Sean Ellis (GrowthHackers)
• MoSCoW method by Dai Clegg
• Kano model by Noriaki Kano
• "User Story Mapping" by Jeff Patton