What prioritization frameworks do you use (RICE, WSJF, value vs effort)?

Question

Accepted Answer

Once you're past gut-feel prioritization, frameworks help you compare options **consistently** and explain decisions to others. The most useful are **RICE**, **WSJF**, and the **value vs. effort** matrix. None gives a magic answer — they structure the conversation.

## RICE

```text
Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort

Reach      → how many people affected per time period
Impact     → how much it moves the goal (e.g. 3 = massive, 1 = low)
Confidence → how sure are we? (100% / 80% / 50%)
Effort     → person-months

Higher score = do sooner. Confidence guards against hype.
```

## WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)

From SAFe/agile. Prioritizes by **cost of delay ÷ job size**.

```text
WSJF = Cost of Delay / Job Duration

Do the items that are most urgent AND smallest first → fastest value flow.
```

## Comparison

| Framework | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Value vs. effort | Quick, visual triage | Subjective, 2 factors only |
| RICE | Comparing features with data | Garbage in, garbage out |
| WSJF | Flow / lots of competing items | Estimating cost of delay is hard |

## A concrete example

Two features: A reaches 10k users, big impact, low confidence, high effort; B reaches 2k, medium impact, high confidence, tiny effort. RICE often surfaces B as the better bet — high confidence and low effort beat a risky moonshot.

## The honest caveat

These scores are estimates dressed as numbers. Use them to *structure debate and expose assumptions*, not to outsource judgment. A framework that produces an obviously wrong ranking means your inputs are wrong.

## Why it matters

Without a framework, prioritization defaults to whoever argues loudest or most senior.

A shared scoring model makes trade-offs explicit and decisions defensible.

The real value is the *conversation* it forces — debating reach, impact, and confidence aligns the team on what actually matters.

Framework	Best for	Watch out for
Value vs. effort	Quick, visual triage	Subjective, 2 factors only
RICE	Comparing features with data	Garbage in, garbage out
WSJF	Flow / lots of competing items	Estimating cost of delay is hard