Product prioritisation is the process of deciding which features, bugs, and improvements to work on — and in what order. There is no single correct framework: the right technique depends on what you are optimising for, how much data you have, and where your product sits in its lifecycle. This guide covers the most widely used methods — MoSCoW, WSJF, RICE, Kano, and ICE — and the specific circumstances where each one earns its place.
One of the hardest questions you face daily is: “What should we do next?”
Stakeholders want their feature delivered now. Developers want clarity and focus. Users want problems solved. And you? You’re stuck balancing it all.
That’s where prioritisation techniques come in. They’re not magic formulas, but they help bring structure to the chaos. Instead of arguing over who shouts loudest, you can use a framework everyone understands.
In this series, I’ll cover the most common ones:
- Effort vs Value Matrix → the simplest visual way to compare options.
- MoSCoW Method → “must, should, could, won’t” prioritisation.
- RICE Scoring → reach, impact, confidence, effort.
- Kano Model → understanding what customers value.
- Cost of Delay (WSJF) → deciding what really can’t wait.
- Story Mapping → seeing priorities through the user journey.
- ICE Scoring → a lightweight cousin of RICE.
Each post will explain:
- What the technique is.
- When to use it.
- How to apply it step by step.
- A quick example.
- Pros and cons.
By the end, you’ll have a toolkit of methods to draw from, depending on your team and context.
Browse the full series
- The Effort vs Value Framework: A Simple Way to Prioritise Your Backlog
- MoSCoW Prioritisation: How to Sort Your Backlog Without the Drama
- RICE Scoring: A Data-Driven Way to Rank Product Ideas
- The Kano Model: Prioritising What Customers Actually Care About
- Cost of Delay (WSJF): How to Decide What Really Can’t Wait
- Story Mapping: Seeing Your Backlog Through the User’s Eyes
TL;DR: No single prioritisation framework works in every context. MoSCoW is best for aligning stakeholders on scope. WSJF and RICE are better when you need to defend sequencing with data. Kano helps when you are trying to understand what will genuinely delight users versus what they simply expect. User story mapping is the planning layer that sits above all of them. Written by Delphine Ragazzi.
