Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty

by C. Todd Lombardo

Prioritization Frameworks Table 7-4. Priorization Frameworks overviewFramework Use To Choose When Downsides Critical Path Identify the “one thing” that will drive a customer to buy Designing an MVP or making a major expansion in product scope Does not take into account effort, risk, or business goals; does not rank needs finer than “critical” or “noncritical” Kano Model Understand how customers perceive relative value Identifying possible add-ons or enhancements Does not take into account effort, risk, or business goals Desirability, Feasibility, Viability Identify opportunities that meet all key criteria for success Prioritizing among a relatively small set of initiatives or solutions to a particular problem Categories are not clearly defined in terms of customer needs, organization goals, or different types of effort or risk ROI Scorecard Rank ideas according to return-on-investment criteria Weighing multiple factors and/or a long list of possible initiatives, problems to solve, features, or solutions More complex model requires alignment on different components of value and effort MoSCoW Communicate launch criteria Feeling uncertain about what must be included in a product, service, or release Does not help set priorities, only communicate them Note Value/Effort = Priority