SKILL.md
Prioritization Frameworks Reference
A reference guide to help you select and apply the right prioritization framework for your context.
Core Principle
Never allow customers to design solutions. Prioritize problems (opportunities), not features.
Opportunity Score (Dan Olsen, The Lean Product Playbook )
The recommended framework for prioritizing customer problems.
Survey customers on Importance and Satisfaction for each need (normalize to 0–1 scale).
Three related formulas:
- Current value = Importance × Satisfaction
- Opportunity Score = Importance × (1 − Satisfaction)
- Customer value created = Importance × (S2 − S1), where S1 = satisfaction before, S2 = satisfaction after
High Importance + low Satisfaction = highest Opportunity Score = best opportunities. Plot on an Importance vs Satisfaction chart — upper-left quadrant is the sweet spot. Prioritizes customer problems, not solutions.
ICE Framework
Useful for prioritizing initiatives and ideas. Considers not only value but also risk and economic factors.
- I (Impact) = Opportunity Score × Number of Customers affected
- C (Confidence) = How confident are we? (1-10). Accounts for risk.
- E (Ease) = How easy is it to implement? (1-10). Accounts for economic factors.
Score = I × C × E. Higher = prioritize first.
RICE Framework
Splits ICE's Impact into two separate factors. Useful for larger teams that need more granularity.
- R (Reach) = Number of customers affected
- I (Impact) = Opportunity Score (value per customer)
- C (Confidence) = How confident are we? (0-100%)
- E (Effort) = How much effort to implement? (person-months)
Score = (R × I × C) / E
9 Frameworks Overview
Framework
Best For
Key Insight
Eisenhower Matrix
Personal tasks
Urgent vs Important — for individual PM task management
Impact vs Effort
Tasks/initiatives
Simple 2×2 — quick triage, not rigorous for strategic decisions
Risk vs Reward
Initiatives
Like Impact vs Effort but accounts for uncertainty
Opportunity Score
Customer problems
Recommended. Importance × (1 − Satisfaction). Normalize to 0–1.
Kano Model
Understanding expectations
Must-be, Performance, Attractive, Indifferent, Reverse. For understanding, not prioritizing.
Weighted Decision Matrix
Multi-factor decisions
Assign weights to criteria, score each option. Useful for stakeholder buy-in.
ICE
Ideas/initiatives
Impact × Confidence × Ease. Recommended for quick prioritization.
RICE
Ideas at scale
(Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort. Adds Reach to ICE.
MoSCoW
Requirements
Must/Should/Could/Won't. Caution: project management origin.
Templates
Further Reading
- Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM) (video course)