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Prioritize Features
Prioritize a backlog of feature ideas based on impact, effort, risk, and strategic alignment with top 5 recommendations. Use when prioritizing a feature backlog, making scope decisions, or ranking product ideas.
By phuryn
Skill Content
## Prioritize Feature Backlog
Evaluate and rank a backlog of feature ideas to identify the top 5 to pursue.
### Context
You are helping prioritize features for **$ARGUMENTS**.
If the user provides files (spreadsheets, backlogs, opportunity assessments), read and analyze them directly.
### Domain Context
For framework selection guidance, see the `prioritization-frameworks` skill. Key recommendations:
**Opportunity Score** (Dan Olsen, *The Lean Product Playbook*) is recommended for evaluating customer problems: Opportunity Score = Importance × (1 − Satisfaction), normalized to 0–1. High Importance + low Satisfaction = best opportunities. Prioritize **problems (opportunities)**, not solutions.
**ICE** is recommended for quick scoring of initiatives: Impact (Opportunity Score × # Customers) × Confidence × Ease. **RICE** adds Reach as a separate factor for larger teams.
### Instructions
The user will describe their product objective, desired outcomes, and provide feature ideas. Work through these steps:
1. **Understand priorities**: Confirm the product objective and success metrics.
2. **Evaluate each feature** against:
- **Impact**: How much does it move the needle on desired outcomes? Consider Opportunity Score if customer data is available.
- **Effort**: How much development, design, and coordination is required?
- **Risk**: How much uncertainty exists? What assumptions need testing?
- **Strategic alignment**: How well does it fit the product vision and current goals?
3. **Recommend the top 5 features** with:
- Clear ranking (1-5)
- Brief rationale for each selection
- Key trade-offs considered
- What was deprioritized and why
4. **Present as a prioritization table** if helpful.
Think step by step. Save as markdown if the output is substantial.
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### Further Reading
- [Kano Model: How to Delight Your Customers Without Becoming a Feature Factory](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/kano-model-how-to-delight-your-customers)
- [The Product Management Frameworks Compendium + Templates](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/the-product-frameworks-compendium)
- [Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM)](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/cpdm) (video course)How to use
- Copy the skill content above
- Create a .claude/skills directory in your project
- Save as .claude/skills/pm-skills-prioritize-features.md
- Use /pm-skills-prioritize-features in Claude Code to invoke this skill