Beyond RICE and MoSCoW: Understanding the Psychology of Prioritization
The most popular topics for a product manager this time of the year are roadmaps and priorities.
Prioritization is the heartbeat of effective product management, steering teams toward success. Often, the product managers are unsure if they are working on the right things and juggle multiple opinions and priorities of the stakeholders. Due to lacking customer data, we use our gut feeling or collective team experience to decide what 'feels' important. We choose features that are popular or influenced by competitors or, worse, an over-enthusiastic stakeholder persuades us.
From KANO, RICE/ICE, and MoSCoW to Weighted scoring or Value/Complexity Quadrant, several traditional models can help product teams determine what to prioritize for different situations. These frameworks are helpful when used objectively. They also make us believe we make rational decisions, carefully weigh options, and prioritize based on objective criteria.
The reality is different. We rely on mental shortcuts, heuristics, and hidden biases that can hijack our best intentions. These cognitive biases influence our priorities beneath the surface of rational decision-making.
Let's take a closer look at the usual suspects:
Anchoring Bias: Imagine you hear a senior executive share their opinion of the specific estimated business value delivered by a feature. "This one could grow sales by 15%!". Suddenly, that number becomes an anchor, skewing your perception of the entire idea. Even if you know it's inflated, it unconsciously influences your evaluation of other features, prioritizing features based on an arbitrary starting point rather than the actual value.
Confirmation Bias: We seek information and favor ideas that confirm our existing beliefs, and this can be particularly dangerous when evaluating features. Suppose you think a particular approach is the right one. In that case, you'll be more likely to dismiss or downplay any evidence that suggests otherwise, leading to a potentially flawed prioritization decision.
Availability Heuristic: Remember when you panicked about a minor bug because you just read a story about another application coming down and causing losses to the business? We judge the importance of things based on how easily they come to mind, often overestimating the likelihood of rare events and neglecting critical long-term goals and opportunities.
Loss Aversion: We hate losing. It's a primal fear that can distort our decision-making. This fear translates to a tendency to prioritize features that prevent problems over those that create opportunities. We become fixated on minimizing potential losses and continue to invest resources in building a product that no longer aligns with the product strategy. We sacrifice potential gains and hinder long-term growth.
Present Bias: The allure of instant gratification is hard to resist. This present bias can lead us to prioritize tasks with immediate rewards, even if they offer little long-term value. We might prioritize features that solve yesterday's problems instead of tomorrow's. We sacrifice strategic initiatives for quick wins, neglect the bigger picture, incur potential technical debt, and jeopardize our product's future potential.
So, how do we reclaim control of our prioritization process and make decisions that truly serve our products, users, and business? The answer lies in awareness and active countermeasures.
Challenge Assumptions: Don't accept the first idea or let the loudest voice dictate your agenda. Question initial information and seek diverse perspectives to break free from the anchoring trap.
Structure Your Process: Implement frameworks and tools like RICE or MoSCoW that guide your decision-making with objective criteria, minimizing the influence of confirmation bias.
Gather Diverse Data: Dig deeper than readily available information. Conduct user research, analyze usage data, and consider alternative perspectives to avoid falling victim to the availability heuristic.
Embrace Long-Term Vision: Don't let the fear of loss paralyze you. Develop a clear vision for your product's future and use it as a compass to navigate present bias and prioritize initiatives that align with that vision.
Collaborate Early: Involve stakeholders throughout the process. Open communication and diverse viewpoints can help identify and mitigate bias, leading to more balanced and effective prioritization.
Remember, understanding cognitive biases is just the first step. The real power lies in harnessing that knowledge to make conscious, strategic decisions. By unraveling the psychology behind decision-making, teams can elevate their prioritization processes, fostering innovation and delivering products that truly resonate with users. The journey toward effective prioritization involves continual self-awareness, adaptation, and embracing diverse perspectives and data-driven insights.
