Prioritization

Prioritization in product management involves deciding which product features or initiatives to focus on based on their potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with the product strategy and business objectives. This process is crucial for managing resources effectively, meeting customer needs, and driving product success.

Example

A Product Manager at a ride-sharing company, like Lyft, is considering several potential features to improve the driver app. The features include an enhanced navigation system, an in-app chat with riders, and a new earnings dashboard. To prioritize these features, the Product Manager uses the RICE scoring system (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort).

For the enhanced navigation system, the Product Manager estimates that it will reach all drivers (high reach), significantly improve their experience (high impact), and they have high confidence in these estimates based on driver feedback and competitive analysis. However, it will also require significant engineering resources (high effort).

The in-app chat with riders is expected to reach only a subset of drivers who frequently communicate with riders (medium reach), have a moderate impact on their experience (medium impact), and there's medium confidence in these estimates based on initial user research. The effort is relatively low as it leverages existing chat infrastructure.

The new earnings screen is expected to reach all drivers (high reach), have a high impact on their understanding of their earnings (high impact), and there's high confidence in these estimates based on driver surveys. The effort is moderate as it requires backend data work and frontend UI design.

After calculating the RICE scores for each feature, the Product Manager finds that the new earnings dashboard has the highest score, followed by the enhanced navigation system, and then the in-app chat. This helps the Product Manager make a data-driven decision to prioritize the development of the new earnings dashboard, while also providing a clear rationale to communicate to stakeholders.

Pain Points

Prioritization can be challenging due to competing priorities, limited resources (such as finances or headcount), changes in marketing conditions, and uncertainties. It's also important to revisit and adjust priorities as conditions change.

Practical Exercise

Think of a product you're familiar with. What are some potential features or initiatives? How would you prioritize them based on their potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with the product strategy and business objectives?

Related Topics to Research: Prioritization frameworks, RICE, MoSCoW, Eisenhower matrix, Kano model, Stakeholder management, Agile planning, Roadmap prioritization