Prioritization Frameworks
Recipes for deciding what ships next — from RICE to MoSCoW.
RICE Scoring
Reach × Impact × Confidence ÷ Effort. Quantify each initiative on a 1–10 scale, multiply the numerators, divide by effort. Sort descending. Best for growth teams that need a single stack-ranked number.
ICE Scoring
Impact, Confidence, Ease — average the three scores. Faster than RICE when you lack precise reach data. Common in early-stage startups running weekly sprints.
MoSCoW Method
Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won't-have (this time). Stakeholders bucket every request. Forces hard trade-offs. Ideal for fixed-deadline releases where scope is the only variable.
Kano Model
Map features on two axes: implementation investment vs. customer delight. Classify into basic expectations, performance features, and delighters. Prevents over-investing in table-stakes while ignoring differentiators.
Value vs. Effort Matrix
Plot every candidate on a 2×2 grid. Top-left (high value, low effort) ships immediately. Bottom-right (low value, high effort) gets killed. The simplest framework — needs no math, just honest conversation.
No framework is perfect. Pick one, run it for two cycles, then tune the weights. Consistency beats precision.