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prioritization-craft skill

safe

This skill helps you prioritize features and backlog using RICE, value vs effort, and Kano models to make tradeoffs and say no gracefully.

npx playbooks add skill menkesu/awesome-pm-skills --skill prioritization-craft

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---
name: prioritization-craft
description: Applies prioritization frameworks including RICE, ICE, Value vs Effort, and Kano model. Use when prioritizing features, managing backlog, making tradeoffs, or saying no gracefully. Based on Shreyas Doshi and Intercom frameworks.
---

# Prioritization Engine

## When This Skill Activates

Claude uses this skill when:
- Prioritizing feature requests
- Managing product backlog
- Making tradeoff decisions
- Saying no gracefully

## Core Frameworks

### 1. RICE Framework (Source: Intercom)

**Formula:**
```
RICE Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort

Reach: How many users affected (per quarter)
Impact: How much impact (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3)
Confidence: How confident (%, use 80% if unsure)
Effort: How much work (person-months)
```

**Example:**
```markdown
Feature: In-app notifications

Reach: 1000 users/quarter
Impact: 2 (high impact)
Confidence: 80%
Effort: 1 person-month

RICE = (1000 × 2 × 0.8) / 1 = 1600
```

### 2. Value vs Effort Matrix

```
High Value, Low Effort  → DO FIRST (quick wins)
High Value, High Effort → DO NEXT (strategic)
Low Value, Low Effort   → DO LATER (fill-ins)
Low Value, High Effort  → DON'T DO (money pit)
```

---

## Action Templates

### Template: RICE Scoring

```markdown
# Feature Prioritization

## Feature 1: [Name]
- Reach: [X users/quarter]
- Impact: [0.25/0.5/1/2/3]
- Confidence: [X]%
- Effort: [X person-months]
- **RICE Score:** [calculate]

## Feature 2: [Name]
- Reach: [X users/quarter]
- Impact: [0.25/0.5/1/2/3]
- Confidence: [X]%
- Effort: [X person-months]
- **RICE Score:** [calculate]

## Priority Order
1. [Feature with highest RICE]
2. [Feature with second RICE]
3. [Feature with third RICE]
```

---

## Quick Reference

### 📊 Prioritization Checklist

**Score Each Feature:**
- [ ] Reach (how many users)
- [ ] Impact (how much value)
- [ ] Confidence (how sure)
- [ ] Effort (how much work)

**Prioritize:**
- [ ] Calculate RICE scores
- [ ] Order by score
- [ ] Say no to low scorers

---

## Key Quotes

**Shreyas Doshi:**
> "Saying no is the most underrated PM skill."

**Intercom:**
> "Without prioritization, everything feels urgent and nothing gets done well."

Overview

This skill applies battle-tested prioritization frameworks to help product teams choose what to build, defer, or kill. I combine RICE, ICE, Value vs Effort, and Kano-inspired thinking so you get measurable tradeoffs and clear decisions. Use it to make backlog choices defensible and to say no without friction.

How this skill works

I score ideas using quantitative formulas (RICE and ICE) and map options on a Value vs Effort matrix for quick intuition. For user delight and category-fit, I apply Kano thinking to flag must-haves vs delighters. The output is a ranked list, recommended next work, and language to explain rejections or tradeoffs.

When to use it

Prioritizing a list of feature requests or experiments
Triaging a growing product backlog before planning
Deciding between competing high-effort initiatives
Evaluating whether a small request is worth shipping
Preparing a stakeholder conversation to say no or defer work

Best practices

Estimate Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort consistently across items
Use conservative confidence values when evidence is weak (e.g., 50–80%)
Combine quantitative scores with qualitative notes explaining assumptions
Re-run scores after new data or user research changes reach/impact
Prefer small quick wins (high value, low effort) to buy learning before big bets

Example use cases

Rank three onboarding experiments using RICE to pick the fastest learning loop
Map backlog items on Value vs Effort to identify quick wins for the next sprint
Compare two strategic bets by normalizing effort in person-months and scoring impact/confidence
Use Kano thinking to decide if a proposed polishing change is a delighter or must-have
Draft a concise tradeoff note to stakeholders explaining why a low-score feature was deprioritized

FAQ

How do I pick impact values for RICE?

Use the discrete scale (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3); pick the value that best represents business/user impact and document why you chose it.

What if two items have similar RICE scores?

Use qualitative factors: strategic fit, legal/regulatory risk, learning velocity, or Kano classification to break ties and pick what accelerates long-term goals.