1. Where to Start with Prioritization Techniques

Welcome to another lesson in module 6 of the Product Management course! Today, we’ll be discussing prioritization techniques.

This lesson is divided into three main topics. First, we’ll start by aligning some key concepts and discussing what not to do when prioritizing. Then, we’ll dive into common prioritization frameworks that can guide you in product management. Finally, we’ll wrap up with some best practices for prioritizing.

Common Mistakes in Prioritization

1. Relying Solely on Intuition

While intuition can sometimes guide you, it’s not the best tool for prioritization. Intuition is prone to bias and lacks the full context needed to make sound decisions in product management. When you prioritize based on intuition alone, you may miss critical data points or overlook business and user needs.

2. Depending Entirely on Expert Opinions

While experts can provide valuable input, they don't have the complete context of your product or business. It’s essential to use their insights to inform decisions, but their perspectives shouldn’t be the sole determinant of your priorities.

3. Using Voting to Prioritize

Voting, particularly when involving multiple stakeholders with varying interests, often leads to misalignment. Sales may prioritize based on immediate customer needs, support on addressing technical issues, while product teams focus on user and product growth. This divergence in interests can lead to a lack of cohesive prioritization, making voting an unreliable method.

4. Allowing Sales or Support to Dictate Priorities

Sales and support teams play important roles but focusing exclusively on their demands can skew priorities. While their input should be considered, it’s important to balance these requests with broader product goals and strategies.

5. Copying Competitors’ Features

Blindly replicating what competitors are doing is risky. You may not fully understand why a competitor implemented a specific feature, whether it’s successful for them, or whether it’s appropriate for your users and market. Always ensure that what you're building aligns with your strategy rather than chasing trends.

Key Factors to Consider When Prioritizing

1. Company Strategy

The strategy of your company should be a critical guiding force in prioritization. A company’s strategy outlines the path to achieving its broader vision and long-term goals. By aligning product initiatives with the company’s strategy, you ensure that what you're building supports the overarching objectives of the business.

Start by examining the mission and vision of your business. From there, break down objectives into OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and quarterly goals. This hierarchy helps you stay focused on what’s most important and informs the direction of product development.

2. Product Data

Data plays a crucial role in helping you make informed prioritization decisions. KPIs, user research, discovery findings, and even bug reports all contribute to understanding where to focus. But be cautious: data alone shouldn’t drive every decision, and you shouldn’t get caught in "analysis paralysis." Eventually, you must act even if all the data isn’t available.

When using data, aim to balance new initiatives with critical bug fixes and improvements to the current product. This balance will vary depending on your company’s current phase and goals.

3. Business and Market Context

Your product doesn’t exist in isolation. You must consider the broader market context, competitor movements, and industry trends. These external factors can inform your decisions on differentiation and help you decide whether to follow or lead in certain areas.

4. Additional Influences

Other factors influencing prioritization include market timing, user feedback, input from founders, and competitive actions. These should complement—not replace—the other factors. By synthesizing information from various sources, you can build a well-rounded prioritization strategy.

Key Reminders When Using Frameworks

Frameworks are helpful tools but aren’t foolproof methods that solve prioritization for you. They’re meant to reduce complexity, narrowing down long lists of initiatives to manageable options. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

  1. Frameworks Are Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution
    Different frameworks work better in different contexts. Sometimes, you’ll need to adapt or even create your own prioritization approach that fits your specific situation.

  2. You Will Never Have All the Data
    You will rarely have 100% of the information you need to make decisions with full confidence. At some point, you need to stop gathering data and act. Accept that uncertainty is part of the process and make decisions based on the best information available.

  3. Prioritization is a Team Effort
    You won’t always prioritize alone. It’s important to gather input from various stakeholders, but use these inputs to guide your decision-making rather than allowing others to make decisions for you.

  4. Priorities Change
    Priorities are fluid, and it’s important to revisit them regularly. Market shifts, new discoveries, and emerging data may require you to adjust your roadmap or re-prioritize initiatives.

By recognizing that priorities are not static and frameworks are simply tools to help guide decision-making, you can approach prioritization in a flexible, informed manner.

This structured approach to prioritization helps ensure that product teams stay aligned with the company's overall goals while balancing data, user needs, and market realities.