7 Techniques to Prioritize Features Like a Pro(duct Manager)

Let’s face it, being a product manager can sometimes feel like you’re juggling while riding a unicycle. Stakeholders are screaming for new features, the team is swamped, and the backlog is starting to look like a novel.

It’s time to ditch the chaos and take control. We’re cutting through the fluff to give you 7 straight-up, actionable frameworks that will streamline your workflow and amplify your product’s success—and your career as a standout product manager.

Here’s Why Prioritization is Crucial

Picture this: You’re at an all-you-can-eat buffet, but you only have one plate. Do you pile it high with everything in your reach, or do you strategically choose the most delicious items available?

Feature prioritization is kind of like that—making sure you select the most valuable features to deliver maximum satisfaction for your customers.

Focusing on What Matters

Just like you’d prioritize the main dishes over the side salads, aligning features with your business goals ensures you’re focusing on what’s most filling for your company’s appetite. By selecting features that directly contribute to your organization’s objectives ($$$), you make every development cycle count.

Maximizing Resource Efficiency

You wouldn’t waste precious plate space on food that doesn’t satisfy, right? Similarly, you can’t afford to spend resources on low-impact features. Prioritization helps you make the most of limited resources—doing more with less and ensuring every effort is nourishing your product’s success.

Enhancing User Satisfaction

Picking the most delicious items keeps you happy at the buffet. Prioritizing features that solve real user problems keeps your customers satisfied and coming back for more. By focusing on their needs, you’re serving up a product experience they can’t resist.

Keeping Your Product Lean and Focused

Loading up your plate with every possible dish can leave you overwhelmed and not enjoying your meal. Similarly, adding too many unnecessary features can confuse users and dilute your product’s value. Prioritization keeps your product lean, focused, and enjoyable.

Maximizing Efficiency and Productivity

A well-organized kitchen produces the best dishes. Clear priorities help your team concentrate on what matters most, reducing stress and boosting productivity. After all, a focused team delivers better results—just like a skilled chef creates a masterpiece.

7 Proven Techniques to Prioritize Features Like a Pro(duct Manager)

Now that we understand why feature prioritization is essential, it’s time to get our hands dirty. You’ve got a backlog longer than your Amazon wishlist, stakeholders with "urgent" projects, and a team waiting for clear direction. So how do you navigate through the chaos and figure out what actually deserves your team’s blood, sweat, and tears?

MoSCoW Method: Distinguishing Must-Haves from Nice-to-Haves

Remember that all-you-can-eat buffet where you only have one plate? MoSCoW is your strategy for deciding what absolutely needs to make it onto that plate.

MoSCoW is an acronym that stands for:

• Must-have (M): Non-negotiable features critical for the product’s success.

• Should-have (S): Important but not mission-critical or time-sensitive features.

• Could-have (C): Nice-to-have features if time and resources permit.

• Won’t-have (W): Features that are out of scope (for now). This doesn’t mean that these features wouldn’t provide value!

How It Works:

1. List All Features: Gather every feature request, idea, and requirement possible (or plausible).

2. Categorize Each Feature into:

   1. Must-haves, essential for the first/next release.

   2. Should-haves, important but not deal-breakers.

   3. Could-haves, enhance the product but aren’t necessary.

   4. Won’t-haves, agreed upon as not being included this time.

3. Prioritize Within Categories: Not all Must-haves are equal; rank them if needed.

4. Communicate: Share your categorization with stakeholders for buy-in.

Pros of the MoSCoW Method:

• Simplicity: Easy to understand and to implement.

• Clarity: Provides clear categories that make prioritization straightforward.

• Alignment: Facilitates consensus among team members and stakeholders.

Cons of the MoSCoW Method:

• Subjectivity: Relies heavily on personal judgment, which can introduce bias.

• Lacks Granularity: Doesn’t offer an effective way to rank features within the same category.

• Overloaded Categories: Teams may label too many features as “Must-Have,” losing the focus.

RICE Scoring: A Data-Driven Approach to Feature Prioritization

When your taste buds can’t make the call, it’s time to bring in a bit of science. RICE scoring is like objectively analyzing each dish based on specific criteria to make the most satisfying choice.

RICE stands for:

• Reach: How many users will the feature affect (in a given time)?

• Impact: How much will it contribute to your goals? You should use a scale here (e.g. from 1 for “low” to 3 for “high”).

• Confidence: How sure are you about your estimates? Express this as a percentage.

• Effort: How much time will it take to build? Measured in person-hours or any other consistent unit.

RICE Scoring Formula:

How It Works:

1. Determine the number of your users impacted by the feature.

2. Rate the potential benefit using your own scale.

3. Assign your confidence with a percentage (based on data).

4. Estimate the development time.

5. Apply the formula.

6. Rank features based on their RICE scores.

Suppose we’re considering in-app chat support for our project management app. This feature would reach 10,000 users per month, with a high impact rated at 3. We’re 80% confident in these numbers (nobody’s perfect), and it would take about 5 person-weeks to implement—roughly one intense sprint fueled by coffee and last-minute inspiration.

Plugging these into our RICE formula, we get: (10,000 × 3 × 0.8) ÷ 5 = 4,800. With a score like that, this feature (compared to other features) would be the buffet’s carving station—a must-have on our limited plate.

Pros of RICE Scoring:

• Data-Driven: Quantifies features based on measurable criteria.

• Objective Prioritization: Reduces personal bias through numerical scoring.

• Scalable: Suitable for handling a large backlog of features.

Cons of RICE Scoring:

• Time-Consuming: Requires detailed estimates for each factor.

• Requires Accurate Data: Inaccurate inputs can lead to misleading scores.

• Complexity: May be difficult for team members unfamiliar with the method.

Kano Model: Prioritizing Features That Delight Users

Not all features are equal in the eyes of your users. The Kano Model helps you understand which features will make them really love your product. This model is a framework that categorizes and rate features based on customer satisfaction. It uses the following categories:

• Must-be Features (Basic Expectations):

  • Definition: Essential features that users expect. Their absence causes dissatisfaction.

  • Example: In our project management app, the ability to create and assign tasks is a must-have.

• One-dimensional Features (Performance Features):

  • Definition: Features where increased functionality leads to increased satisfaction—the more you provide, the happier your users.

  • Example: Faster loading times or advanced customization options.

• Attractive Features (Delighters):

  • Definition: Unexpected features that delight users. Their presence significantly boosts satisfaction.

  • Example: An AI assistant that predicts project delays or a gamification element that rewards task completion.

• Indifferent Features:

  • Definition: Features that don’t significantly affect user satisfaction whether they’re present or not.

  • Example: Offering dozens of font styles in the app settings. Most users won’t care either way.

• Reverse Features:

  • Definition: Features that can cause dissatisfaction if overdone or present.

  • Example: Mandatory social sharing of project milestones (I wonder how many users would actually use this “feature”?)

How It Works:

1. Identify Potential Features: List them all out.

2. Survey Customers: Ask how they’d feel with and without each feature.

3. Categorize Features: Based on responses, classify each feature.

4. Prioritize:

   1. Must-be features are top priority.

   2. One-dimensional features are next.

   3. Attractive features can set you apart from competitors.

To determine how each feature fits into the Kano Model, you’ll want to dish out two questions to your users—one functional and one dysfunctional:

1. Functional Question: “How would you feel if our product included feature XYZ?”

2. Dysfunctional Question: “How would you feel if our product did not include feature XYZ?”

The responses for both questions need to be the same multiple-choice options and help you categorize all of your features.

Pros of the Kano Model:

• Customer-Centric: Focuses on features that enhance user satisfaction.

• Strategic Differentiation: Identifies features that can set your product apart.

• Balanced: Ensures basic needs are met while introducing innovative features.

Cons of the Kano Model:

• Resource-Intensive: Requires extensive user research and surveys.

• Subjective Interpretation: Classifying features can be difficult (without clear data).

• Not Quantitative: Difficult to use for precise numerical prioritization.

Value vs. Effort Matrix: Identifying Quick Wins

Visualizing your priorities can make decision-making a whole lot easier. Why not with a 2x2 grid plotting value (impact) against effort (cost).

The grid basically looks like this:

How It Works:

1. Estimate value and effort for each feature.

2. Place each feature on the grid accordingly.

3. Identify where each feature falls.

4. Prioritize:

   1. Tackle Quick Wins first.

   2. Schedule Major Projects.

   3. Fill in gaps with Low Value, Low Effort tasks.

   4. Reconsider or drop your Time Sinks.

Pros of Value vs. Effort Matrix:

• Visual and Intuitive: Easy to understand and communicate to stakeholders.

• Identifies Quick Wins: Highlights high-value, low-effort features.

• Flexible Application: Can be adapted to various projects and teams.

Cons of Value vs. Effort Matrix:

• Subjective Estimates: Assessments of value and effort can be biased.

• Oversimplification: Reduces complex factors to just two dimensions.

• Limited Scalability: Becomes less effective with a very large number of features.

Weighted Scoring: Tailoring Prioritization to Your Strategy

One size doesn’t always fit all. Weighted scoring lets you customize criteria to suit your product’s unique needs. This method assigns weights to various criteria and scores features against them.

How It Works:

1. Choose factors to prioritize. Like customer value, revenue potential, strategic fit, technical feasibility.

2. Allocate importance to each factor by assigning weights in percentages (totaling 100%).

3. Rate each feature against each factor.

4. Multiply the score by the weight for each criterion, then sum them up.

5. Rank the features. Higher scores indicate higher priority.

Suppose your factors and weights are:

1. Customer value (50%)

2. Revenue potential (30%)

3. Technical feasibility (20%)

Rate your feature XYZ for each of the factors: e.g. 4/5 for customer value, 5/5 for revenue potential and 3/5 for technical feasibility. You now need to multiply the scores by the weights:

( 4 × 0.5 ) + ( 5 × 0.3 ) + ( 3 × 0.2 ). Leaving feature XYZ with a total score of 4.1 (out of 5). Compare this total score with other features to prioritize.

Pros of Weighted Scoring:

• Customizable Criteria: Tailor the weighting to align with strategic objectives.

• Comprehensive Evaluation: Considers multiple factors for a balanced view.

• Transparency: The scoring process is clear and can be audited.

Cons of Weighted Scoring:

• Complex Setup: Can become complicated with many factors and features.

• Time-Intensive: Scoring each feature across all criteria requires effort.

• Potential Bias: Weights and scores may reflect stakeholder preferences.

User Story Mapping: Keeping the User Journey Front and Center

To build products users love, you need to think like they do. User Story Mapping is a visual exercise that maps out the steps a user takes to accomplish tasks, helping you prioritize features that enhance their personal journey.

How It Works:

1. Define user activities and outline high-level tasks users perform.

2. Break down into user stories that detail the steps within each activity.

3. Map the stories by arranging them in a visual format, typically from left to right in sequence.

4. Identify essential steps on which to focus on first.

An example for our project management app could look as follows:

• User Activity: Managing a project.

• User Story:

  1. Create a new project.

  2. Invite team members to the project.

  3. Define project tasks and subtasks.

  4. Assign tasks to team members.

  5. Set deadlines and milestones.

  6. Upload and share project documents.

  7. Track task progress and update statuses.

  8. Adjust timelines and resources as needed.

  9. Generate and review progress reports.

  10. Complete tasks and mark them as done.

  11. Archive or close completed projects.

Now focus on perfecting these steps before adding features like custom fonts or AI assistants.

Pros of User Story Mapping:

• User-Focused: Centers prioritization around the user journey.

• Identifies Gaps: Reveals missing steps or features in the product experience.

• Promotes Collaboration: Encourages teamwork across different functions.

Cons of User Story Mapping:

• Time-Consuming: Requires significant time commitment from the team.

• Less Quantitative: Doesn’t provide numerical prioritization scores.

• May Overlook Business Goals: Focus on user experience might neglect strategic objectives.

Buy-a-Feature Game: Engaging Stakeholders in Prioritization

Who said prioritization can’t be fun? The Buy-a-Feature Game is an interactive exercise where stakeholders “purchase” features using a limited budget, revealing what they really value the most.

How It Works:

1. Assign a monetary cost to each feature based on its effort or value. Calculating these prices is the most important part of this method.

2. Give each participant a set amount of “money.” Try balancing the total amount of money in the game with the total amount of your team’s resources.

3. Let stakeholders buy features they believe are most important. They obviously can’t buy them all.

4. Analyze the results and announce the features with the most investment as the prioritized winners.

Pros of Buy-a-Feature Game:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Involves team members in a fun, interactive way.

• Reveals True Priorities: Shows what stakeholders value when resources are limited.

• Facilitates Consensus: Helps align different perspectives through collaborative decision-making.

Cons of Buy-a-Feature Game:

• Not Scalable: Difficult to manage with large groups or numerous features.

• Artificial Constraints: The game setting may not reflect real-world limitations.

• Potential Bias: Stakeholders may influence the outcome to favor their interests.

Summary of Feature Prioritization Frameworks: Which One Suits You Best?

By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each method, you can choose the one that best fits your team’s needs and the specific context of your project. Whether you’re looking for a quick way to prioritize features or a comprehensive approach that aligns with strategic goals, there’s a method here to help you turn your backlog into a focused, actionable plan.

Conclusion: Turning Chaos into a Strategic Plan

We’ve journeyed through the all-you-can-eat buffet of feature prioritization, carefully selecting the most delectable strategies to transform your overwhelming backlog into a satisfying, actionable plan. Just like at a grand feast, you can’t (and shouldn’t) pile everything onto your plate. By thoughtfully choosing the most valuable features, you ensure your product delights users, aligns with business goals, and makes the most of your team’s efforts.

Remember, prioritization isn’t about saying “no” to features—it’s about saying “yes” to what truly matters. Whether you’re using the MoSCoW method to sort the essentials, applying RICE scoring to add some science to your decisions, or employing the Kano Model to balance basics and bonbons, you’ve now got a smorgasbord of techniques to make informed choices.

From Good to Great: The PM’s Secret Sauce in Prioritization

What sets a great product manager apart from an okay one when it comes to prioritization? It’s all about mastering the recipe:

1. User-Centric Mindset: Great PMs always put the user first. They don’t just think about features—they think about solutions to user problems. They ask, “What will make our users’ lives better?”

2. Data-Driven Decisions: Instead of relying on gut feelings, they gather data and use quantitative methods like RICE scoring. They validate assumptions with real numbers to make objective choices.

3. Strategic Alignment: They ensure every feature aligns with the company’s business goals. They focus on initiatives that drive revenue, increase market share, or enhance the brand.

4. Effective Communication: Great PMs clearly articulate the “why” behind their decisions. They get buy-in from stakeholders by explaining how prioritization benefits the product and the company.

5. Flexibility and Adaptability: They recognize that priorities can shift due to market changes or new information. They’re ready to pivot and adjust the roadmap as needed.

6. Collaborative Approach: They involve the team in the prioritization process. They understand that diverse perspectives lead to better decisions and increased team commitment.

By honing these skills, you don’t just manage products—you lead them to success. You become the maestro orchestrating a symphony that hits all the right notes with users, stakeholders, and your team.

Coming Next: Part 2—Building Your Product Roadmap

Ready to dive deeper into the exciting world of product management? This post is the first of a two part series on roadmap creation. Next time we will dive deep into how to built a roadmap after prioritizing all your features.

Join me on this journey as we dive into more essential topics every product manager should know. Together, we’ll explore new trends, share insights, and grow our skills to stay ahead in this ever-changing landscape.