RICE prioritization matrix

What is the RICE prioritization method?

The RICE prioritization method is a systematic way of ranking features, products, or initiatives in order of priority so that product managers know which items to tackle first. The RICE prioritization method looks at four factors to determine priority:

1. Reach: How many people the feature or product will impact within a specified time frame
2. Impact: How much you believe this will impact a person
3. Confidence: A percentage that denotes how confident you are in the product’s impact
4. Effort: How much time your initiative or product will require to develop

You’ll notice that each of the four factors are assigned a numerical value. This will be used to determine a final score in the template so that products or features can be easily ranked in order of importance.

Benefits of a RICE assessment

• Decrease risk. After conducting a RICE assessment, you’ll have a better idea of which products, features, or initiatives to focus on first because you’ll be able to determine how successful each one is likely to be.
• Introduce objectivity. Instead of relying on feelings or guesses, the RICE assessment brings quantifiable clarity into the equation. This goes a long way to convince stakeholders and others throughout the organization of the correct order of development.
• Examine correct factors. The RICE matrix looks at the four factors that really matter in terms of prioritization. That way, your team isn’t bogged down by additional considerations.

How to use our RICE prioritization matrix template in Lucidspark

Step 1: Define reach. You’ll need to define “reach” on your own, as well as what time frame you’ll be using for the calculation. Your reach could refer to new customers, new prospects, transactions, or even how many customers will sign up for the new feature.

Step 2: Determine impact. Again, you need to determine what defines “impact” here. It could be how much a new feature delights customers or how much a product will influence a potential customer to become a long-term customer. Use the following scale:

• 3 = massive impact
• 2 = high impact
• 1 = medium impact
• .5 = low impact
• .25 = minimal impact

Step 3: Measure confidence. How certain are you that this particular product will have the predicted outcome? Assign a percentage to your confidence ranking (100% is high and 50% is low).

Step 4: Estimate effort. What time investment does the project require? Measure by how much work one team member can complete in a month (this is known as person-months).

Step 5: Calculate. Multiply reach, impact, and confidence; then divide by total effort.

Step 6: Share and collaborate. You can choose to fill in the RICE matrix individually, then share out for feedback, or you can work through it collaboratively with your team in real time.

Step 7: Annotate. Use the Note Panel and comments to add context, pose questions, or direct your collaborator’s attention to specific sections of the template.