Product Prioritization Models

What makes product managers particularly good at feature prioritisation is the ability to connect strategy to implementation. Being a Product Manager its very important that you chose the features that helps to achieve the product vision and required business outcome.

As its one of the significant aspect of a Product manager job to decide what to build next, and this isn't done is isolation, you have to hear a lot from the stakeholders,customers and some time HIPPOs

Without a prioritization framework, you could spend all day sorting and resorting features on you sixth sense but this would mostly result in failing to reach an agreement on what should be build next. With a working prioritization framework in place, you can ensure transparency and accountability when planning.

There are a lot of frameworks available for the prioritisation, but I would love to share most effective ones for me in providing guardrails for decision-making.

Model / Framework	Working Guidelines
Cost of delay	The cost of delay (CoD) framework combines urgency and value — to make decisions on what will deliver the most value right now. CoD is often used by teams following the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). CoD is a component of the weighted shortest job first (WSJF) prioritization framework. (See below.
Weighted shortest job first	Used in SAFe, weighted shortest job first (WSJF) sequences jobs (features, capabilities, and epics) in a flow-based order by measuring CoD against job size or duration.
​Kano model	The Kano model weighs customer satisfaction against the cost to implement. This framework can be useful for teams that want to determine which features to build for a MLP.
MoSCoW method	The MoSCoW method qualifies initiatives and features into four categories: Must-haves Should-haves Could-haves Will not have at this time MoSCoW prioritization can help teams deliver incremental value across each of the four categories.
Product tree	Product tree refers to an exercise in which the product roadmap is represented by a tree: Branches: The primary product or system functionalities Roots: The technical requirements needed to support feature branches Leaves: New feature ideas This method of feature prioritization can be helpful for organizations with a large portfolio of products. The visual of a tree encourages teams to focus across the portfolio with decisions that positively impact the entire ecosystem.
RICE	The RICE framework scores features based on four factors: Reach: How many customers the feature will benefit Impact: A measurable impact to customers or the business, such as an increase in sales or customer sentiment Confidence: Proposed value to the customer Effort: Resources needed to complete the feature Whereas CoD combines urgency and value, RICE balances value and effort.
Value vs. effort	​Somewhat of a simplified version of RICE, the value vs. effort framework scores features based on value to the customer and organizational effort. Lean teams that prefer a lightweight framework may choose this one.

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