How to Prioritize Product Features for Optimal Results
Product prioritization is a skill that is hard to acquire. PMs always have too much to build and too little time or resources. Making hard prioritization choices can be heartbreaking...
It is release planning day. I worked hard to define clear milestones and prioritize my features. My team listens at my grandiose vision and release plan to ship an MVP. After a short silence, my engineering manager makes that killer statement: "You understand that there is at least three releases worth of work".
I am still laughing as I write this. It was ten years ago. I had good PM experience under my belt as a two time entrepreneur. Little did I know at that time what it takes to build enterprise products. I came with a set of assumptions that did not apply to this job. I made the rookie mistake of building a delusional MVP for a product that would never see the day in that form or shape.
Frameworks for Product Prioritization
Product prioritization is a skill that is hard to acquire. PMs always have too much to build and too little time or resources. Making hard prioritization choices can be heartbreaking. I coach many PMs and prioritization is a consistent struggle. When they have a plan, their convictions fall apart after a bit of questioning.
Good product prioritization brings the right product to market with the right timing. - PMB
I am not married to a specific framework. They can be of great help to guide your thinking and provide structure. This article summarizes the key product prioritization frameworks. I also like this one that emphasizes the need for Exec alignment early in the process. RICE scoring model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort) is also interesting.
Frameworks provide great starting point, a mean to an end. The framework in itself will not solve your prioritization dilemmas. You still have to put the work to address a lot of the unknown and pitfalls that we discuss below.
Looking in the Mirror: BFF or Worst Enemy?
There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men - Lee Lacocca
The challenge is not about the framework to adopt. It is about knowing yourself, the strong and weak side. And then use this awareness to make better product decisions.
Many PMs who struggle with product prioritization share common traits. I listed a few below. Take a moment to identify the ones that apply to you:
I have a hard time to say no to customers and product stakeholders
I am afraid that saying no to my boss or his boss will impact my career
I keep adding to my backlog and have a lot to choose from during planning
I often end up over-promising and under-delivering
Every feature looks important to me. I want it all.
I enter release planning with clear priorities. I leave the meeting with lots of re-prioritization to do.
I let my engineers do the prioritization during planning
I have a hard time negotiating feature work and doing trade-offs with my team
I often get frustrated with my team and do not understand why it takes so long to build features
I end up pushing stories below the line in the middle or towards the end of a release
New features take one or two releases longer than planned
Don't worry if you check several boxes, we've all been there!
Once You Nail the Strategy, the Rest Is a Peace of Cake
Indecisions, lack of clarity, late re-prioritization are all symptoms, not the root cause. The culprit IMHO is the lack of strategy. Without it, you will always struggle to define your priorities.
‘What is the vision for what I want to achieve?’ That’s the first question that must be asked, because if you aren’t crystal clear on where you want to go, good luck trying to get there. - unknown
A good product/company/business strategy will help you:
Decide where to place your big bets
Focus on innovation that drives customer value
Align your product priorities with the rest of the company
Get buy-in from your team and stakeholders
Articulate why you are doing what you are doing
Provide an anchor you can go back to at anytime to re-prioritize
At Salesforce, we build strategic alignment with the V2MOM framework. V2MOM stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, Measures. It consists of a simple one-page document. It follows a top-down approach. . We update our V2MOM every fiscal year. This drives innovation, accountability, alignment, and transparency at all levels.
Build that strategic alignment and clarity. Because once you get there, prioritization decisions will look like a piece of cake.
The Science and Art of Prioritizing Your Product
Many frameworks offer scorecards with criteria to capture features values and benefits. Always ask yourself those questions::
How many customers will benefit?
What kind of value does this feature add?
Will this feature impact new users or existing users?
How much will sales increase?
Will customer attrition decrease?
What is the level of effort to develop the feature?
What data do I have to backup my proposal?
I wish I had a magic wand and could give you a recipe for success. As a starting point, I recommend you:
Articulate your product vision and strategy inline with the company's
Identify tangible and measurable benefits for your customers and organization
Build your 12-24 months roadmap you want to gain buy-in from leadership
Define the key milestones including a MVP for new features
Assess your resources and team's ability to execute on the plan
This gives you a good base to start with. Now the fun begins.
If Everything Matters, Nothing Is Important
I confess. I read every single comment from customers, partners, competitors related to my product.
Let's be clear though. It is not because customer A tells you he needs feature X that you should add it to your backlog. You do not prioritize investments based on new VOCs or product ideas.
In the past, I treated any product gap as a good candidate for a future release. It could be. Or not. Those are inputs to help you refine your product vision and strategy. You need to develop a strong POV. Less is more and keeping your brain focused will help -which takes us to Spring cleaning.
Every Spring, my mum would spend two days cleaning our house. The result was amazing. We enjoyed a clean house for months. We could have guests without worrying about dirty windows. My mom could focus on things that matter to her in her free time.
My fellow PMs, this is time to institute your own Spring cleaning once a year. It could be as simple as this:
Go back to your backlog and group your stories in big themes (five at most), e.g.: Admin, Consumer UX, Integrations
If stories within the themes are over a year old, never them
If the theme is not your top priority for the year, punt it to next fiscal year
Punted a theme last year? Kill it
Cleaning up the backlog is very hard especially for junior PMs. Do yourself a favor: be harsh on yourself when it is cleaning time. Instead of doing a bit of everything, focus your team's effort on that one thing that matters.
The Spring cleaning is not meant to replace the frameworks listed above. It's a process to recognize that when everything matters, nothing is important. Learn from Warren Buffet’s 5/25 rule and develop your own focus strategy.
Good Prioritization Starts with You
A good product prioritization starts with a bit of homework. Here's some steps you can take to optimize your chances of success:
Avoid doing a bit of everything. Embark on one big journey. Add one or two "filler" themes when relevant
Articulate the value you are delivering vs the feature to complete
Define clear success criteria tied to business outcome, e.g.: 40% adoption in the next 12 months
Don't fall in love with your product; each story needs an end.
Having commitment issues (I have one with cheeses)? Take small steps to change this behavior
Don't be a pleaser (analysts, social media, execs, big customer)
Learn to say "No"
Before making big plans, understand the cards you are dealt
Senior team with high velocity vs new team with junior and senior members
Innovation in the team's field of expertise vs new space and technology
Platform only work vs UX only work vs mix of both and how it relates to your team's skills
Large installed base to support with escalations that may disrupt the team velocity
Build on top of existing services vs build new ones
PMs that excel at prioritization can tell you what they will not do and why. Can you?
Sometimes it's easy -you just have that one choice
Gaining Executives Buy-in
Execs buy-in is critical to your success as a PM. Once you have a good draft plan, work on building alignment with key stakeholders. Consider this:
Do not prioritize in your bubble
Socialize your plans with key stakeholders and get buy-in early
Worst case, you'll get valuable feedback and go back to the drawing board
Focus on the why when you pitch it, not the what or how
Done well, prioritization is like teaching a 9-year old that 1+1=2, it's obvious!
In case of doubt, say so. Leaders will value your honesty
Can you survive an hour of questioning? Or will your convictions fade away after two minutes?
Have the courage of your opinions. Take a stance. Explain why. Listen. Incorporate feedback as needed.
Keep the big picture in mind: deliver customer value
Be ready to make tough trade-offs
There is no free lunch. Remind your greedy boss if needed.
Achieving Success Through Team-Based Prioritization
This is a bit more tactical than the exec alignment discussion, yet critical to your success:
Partner with your Engineering leader. Get your reality check in a trusted and private setting before planning
Prioritize by domains or themes instead of individual stories
Organize peer-review early in the process, e.g. release preview that leads to a final release plan
Come to release planing with prioritized themes and options to cut by 30% up to 50% (remove a theme, reduce “filler“ themes)
Don't prioritize story points for the sake of staying within the team velocity
Instead, rally the team on key capabilities that deliver critical customer value
As you work your contingency plans, stay laser focused on the customer value
One big win per release; no concession
If it is not ready, do not ship it; focus your energy on building the right foundation instead
Setting ambitious goals is good. Have regular check-ins and a contingency plan ready.
Tread cautiously when there's a lot of unknown requiring many spikes. Your job is to de-risk.
That’s it for today. I am interested to learn about your prioritization strategies. Please share them in the comment section.