Our Prioritization Framework

A good prioritization framework helps us compare all project ideas in a rigorous, consistent way.

Prioritization is an ongoing challenge when building a product roadmap. A good prioritization framework can help you consider each factor about a project idea with clear-eyed discipline and combine those factors in a rigorous, consistent way.

RICE is a simple prioritization framework with four factors to evaluate each project idea and assess priority: reach, impact, confidence and effort.

What are the key actors of the RICE score

Reach

To avoid bias towards features you’d use yourself, estimate how many people each project will affect within a given period.

Reach is measured in number of people/events per time period. For example, “how many customers will this project impact over a single quarter?”. As much as possible, use real measurements from product metrics instead of gut feeling.

Impact

To focus on projects that move the needle on your goal, estimate the impact on an individual person. For example, it’s “how much will this project increase conversion rate when a customer encounters it?”

Impact is difficult to measure precisely. Choose from a multiple-choice scale: 3 for “massive impact”, 2 for “high”, 1 for “medium”, 0.5 for “low”, and finally 0.25 for “minimal”. These numbers get multiplied into the final score to scale it up or down.

Confidence

To curb enthusiasm for exciting but ill-defined ideas, factor in your level of confidence about your estimates. If you think a project could have huge impact but don’t have data to back it up, confidence lets you control that.

Confidence is a percentage, and we use another multiple-choice scale to help avoid decision paralysis. 100% is “high confidence”, 80% is “medium”, 50% is “low”. Be honest with yourself: how much support do you really have for your estimates?

Effort

To move quickly and have impact with the least amount of effort, estimate the total amount of time a project will require from all members of your team: product, design, and engineering.

Effort is estimated as a number of “person-months” – the work that one team member can do in a month. There are many unknowns here, so keep estimates rough by sticking to whole numbers. Unlike the other positive factors, more effort is a bad thing, so it divides the total impact.

How is a RICE score calculated

So, to quickly summarize our four factors:

Reach: how many people will this impact? (Estimate within a defined time period.)

Impact: how much will this impact each person? (Massive = 3x, High = 2x, Medium = 1x, Low = 0.5x, Minimal = 0.25x.)

Confidence: how confident are you in your estimates? (High = 100%, Medium = 80%, Low = 50%.)

Effort: how many “person-months” will this take? (Use whole numbers and minimum of half a month – don’t get into the weeds of estimation.)

Once you’ve estimated these factors, combine them into a single score so you can compare projects at a glance. Here’s the simple formula:

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The resulting score measures “total impact per time worked” – exactly what we’d like to maximize.

How to use RICE scores effectively

Of course, RICE scores shouldn’t be used as a hard and fast rule. There are many reasons why you might work on a project with a lower score first. One project may be a dependency for another project, so it needs to happen first, or another feature might be “table stakes” to sell to certain customers.

Sometimes you might want or need to work on projects “out of order”. And that’s okay! With a scoring system in place, you can clearly identify when you’re making these trade-offs.

A prioritization framework will help you make better-informed decisions about what to work on first and defend those decisions to others.

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