Prioritization in product management is the crucial process of deciding which features, tasks, or initiatives to focus on first, given limited resources (time, budget, engineering capacity) and competing demands. It involves evaluating the relative importance of different options and making strategic choices about which ones will deliver the most value to users and the business.
Below are 7 prominent methods for prioritization:
MoSCoW Method
It stands for “Must Have,” “Should Have,” “Could Have,” and “Won’t Have”. It helps categorize solutions in these four bundles and start with the must haves. This is a simple and effective for quickly prioritizing features based on their importance and feasibility. However, this method can be subjective if not used consistently across the team.
Value vs. Effort Matrix
This method plots features on a matrix with “Value” on one axis and “Effort” on the other. It visually represents the trade-off between value and effort, helping to identify high-impact, low-effort opportunities. However, it can be challenging to accurately quantify value and effort.
RICE Scoring
This method prioritizes features based on Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. It provides a more quantitative approach to prioritization, considering factors beyond just value and effort. This method, however, requires careful estimation and may not fully capture all relevant factors.
Kano Model
This method categorizes features based on customer satisfaction: “Must-be,” “Performance,” and “Delighters.” It helps identify features that will truly delight customers and drive satisfaction. This method, however, can be challenging to accurately categorize features and predict customer reactions.
Cost of Delay
It prioritizes features based on the potential financial or opportunity cost of delaying their implementation. It helps to focus on features that have the greatest potential impact on the business. However, at times, it can be very difficult to accurately estimate the cost of delay for all features.
The BUCK Model
This method prioritizes features based on their Business value, User benefit, Competitive advantage, and Kill-switch potential, which is how the name is derived. It provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating features across various dimensions. This method, however, can be more complex than some other methods and may require more time for evaluation.
While using this method, each solution can be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for all the four dimensions. The final outcome could be derived from Benefits (Business and User) – Cost.
Assumption Testing
It prioritizes features by testing assumptions about the product or the market, aiming to reduce risky assumptions and finally derisk the solutions. It helps to validate key assumptions and reduce risk early in the product development cycle. Though, it may not always result in the features with the highest immediate value.
Remember: The best prioritization method will vary depending on the specific context, team, and product. It’s often helpful to use a combination of methods to gain a more comprehensive understanding of priorities.