Since its inception, RICE (react, affect, confidence, and energy) has turn into some of the in style prioritization frameworks in product.
On this information, we’ll cowl every thing you could know concerning the RICE scoring technique for prioritization.
Desk of contents
The RICE framework: A quick historical past
Sean McBride co-developed the RICE framework whereas working as a product supervisor at Intercom. With so many alternative prioritization frameworks, McBride and his fellow PMs struggled to discover a decision-making technique that finest suited their context.
McBride launched RICE to resolve a number of issues:
- Resolution-making favored “pet concepts” slightly than concepts with broad attain
- There was inadequate scrutiny on how concepts straight impacted targets
- Effort was commonly discounted and confidence was not introduced into the equation
What’s the RICE framework?
RICE is a sort of scoring technique for prioritization. It considers 4 attributes:
- Attain — What number of customers will this affect throughout a given time interval?
- Influence — How a lot will this affect every customers because it associated to our chosen objective?
- Confidence — How assured am I within the attain, affect, and energy estimates?
- Effort — How lengthy will this take to implement?
By formulating RICE, it outputs a single rating. This allows the framework to be utilized persistently throughout even essentially the most disparate concepts, permitting for higher objectivity in the best way you prioritize.
Attain
The primary attribute within the RICE framework is attain. Attain is about estimating how many individuals your concept or initiative will affect in a given timeframe.
Attain is essential to contemplate as a result of it helps you keep away from the bias of doing one thing for a section of customers who, although they may be the squeakiest wheels, don’t characterize nearly all of your customers.
When estimating attain, ask your self, “What number of customers/prospects do I consider it will affect over a given time interval?” You will want to find out what the time interval and apply it persistently. For instance, what number of customers do you consider it will affect within the subsequent month? Or maybe the subsequent quarter?
As soon as you identify this, you will have to then quantify the attain. That is carried out by calculating these person numbers as an precise amount.
For instance, say you’ve 7,000 month-to-month lively customers (MAU). If you happen to consider an concept will affect 60 p.c of them over the course of a month, then your attain quantity can be 4,200 customers. If you happen to’re calculating this over 1 / 4, it will be 4,200 x 3 months = 12,600 customers.
Influence
Influence is finest used when in relation to the next objective or goal and key consequence (OKR), equivalent to “improve conversion by 10 p.c.”
The query try to be asking your self right here is, “How a lot will this affect particular person customers?” Or, for this instance, how will it affect conversion, and by how a lot?
McBride’s unique components again at Intercom detailed a scaled system from 0–3 for measuring affect:
- Huge affect = 3
- Excessive affect = 2
- Medium affect = 1
- Low affect = 0.5
- Minimal affect = 0.25
That mentioned, you might select to make use of your personal scale right here. I’ve seen scales from 1–5, out of 10, and even customized ones equivalent to:
- Massive Influence =3
- Medium Influence = 2
- Low affect = 1
That is so that you can outline and discover what works for you. Simply keep in mind that no matter scale you selected it must be quantifiable. For instance, you can’t use t-shirt sizing (S, M, L).
Confidence
Confidence is an attention-grabbing dimension and one thing that arguably all prioritization frameworks ought to embrace. Product work, as we all know, is inherently unsure. Bringing confidence into the equation helps us acknowledge that reality and take it under consideration when prioritizing.
When calculating confidence, you need to ask your self, “How assured am I with this concept? How assured am I concerning the scores I’ve given for attain and affect?”
In case we’re on the lookout for a easy proportion — are you 50 p.c assured? 80 p.c?
As a information, you’ll be able to divide confidence up into:
- Excessive confidence = 100%
- Medium confidence = 80 p.c
- Low confidence = 50 p.c
- Beneath 50 p.c is a wild guess
Nonetheless, like with affect, you aren’t constrained to this scale. I’ve commonly used 25 p.c intervals (25 p.c, 50 p.c, 75 p.c, 100%) and 10 p.c intervals (10 p.c, 20 p.c, 30 p.c, and so on.) for confidence as effectively.
As a result of confidence is a proportion, it basically handicaps low confidence scores. For instance, say you gave actually excessive scores for attain and affect, however your confidence is low. You’re nonetheless unsure that it’ll even have the anticipated affect or attain the variety of customers you set. Confidence will take that under consideration and rebalance the scores, brining the ultimate RICE rating down.
Confidence can even act as a forcing operate for discovery and make sure that your selections are data-informed.
When setting confidence rating, ask your self, “How a lot knowledge or supporting proof do I’ve for this concept and the scores I gave?”
For instance, you will have set your attain scores based mostly on discovery across the variety of customers affected by the issue. You’ll have additionally carried out some person testing across the resolution that steered that it resonated effectively. On this case, you would possibly say you’ve a excessive diploma of confidence as a result of it’s backed by proof and knowledge.
Then again, let’s say you’ve an concept that accommodates ballpark figures with little to no supporting knowledge or discovery to again it up. On this case, it will be exhausting to argue something however low confidence.
Lastly, the arrogance score isn’t the ultimate rating. It may very effectively act as a immediate to ask, for instance, “How would possibly we improve confidence on this concept?” This may occasionally lead you to do some vital discovery and, in the long run, improve your confidence score (in addition to your attain and affect scores).
Effort
The final element to the RICE scoring mannequin is effort. Effort is right here to make sure that the potential advantages outweigh the prices.
For effort you need to calculate the period of time it will take to finish. Effort will be calculated as person-hours (or days, weeks, and so on) or as merely the variety of days/weeks and/or sprints it would take the crew to finish.
For example, this concept might take a crew of 5 two weeks to finish. In person-weeks this may be 5 x 2 = 10.
Effort isn’t purported to be an actual science. It ought to be an estimate, so don’t fret an excessive amount of about getting actual numbers or spend an excessive amount of time retrieving estimates from the crew.
How do you calculate a RICE rating?
When you’ve decided a rating for every attribute, calculating a RICE rating is straightforward.
RICE is a components that multiplies attain, affect, and confidence and divides that by effort. The output of this is named a RICE rating.
The RICE components is as follows:
RICE rating = (Attain x Influence x Confidence) / Effort
To make use of RICE, record out the concepts that you just need to evaluate and assign every a rating for attain, affect, confidence, and energy:
- Attain — What number of customers will this affect throughout a given time interval?
- Influence — How a lot will this affect every customers because it associated to our chosen objective?
- Confidence — How assured am I within the attain, affect, and energy estimates?
- Effort — How lengthy will this take to implement?
A RICE scoring matrix would possibly look one thing like beneath:
| Concept | Attain | Influence | Confidence | Effort |
| New onboarding movement | 7,000 | 2 | 40 p.c | 4 |
| Referral program | 4,000 | 1 | 60 p.c | 2 |
When making use of RICE, you should utilize a software that permits you to enter a RICE rating, equivalent to Productboard, airfocus, or Roadmunk. In any other case you’ll be able to simply use a spreadsheet to carry out the calculation.
Right here’s a RICE prioritization template you’ll be able to obtain and customise utilizing Google Sheets.
It’s essential to recollect the your RICE rating isn’t purported to do the prioritization for you. It’s best to view RICE as in enter to your prioritization. In different phrases, it’s as much as you to guage the ultimate scores and decide what it is best to do first.
Right here’s an instance: let’s say the highest two RICE scores are solely three factors aside. Nonetheless, upon additional investigation, you understand that the highest rating has a confidence score of solely 50 p.c, in comparison with an 80 p.c confidence score for the second-highest rating.
On this instance, it is best to prioritize the merchandise with the second-highest RICE rating. Additional, you would possibly think about methods to validate the scores related to the primary merchandise and/or improve confidence.
Let’s have a look at one other instance situation the place there’s a small distinction in RICE rating however a distinction in effort. Relying on the dimensions of that hole, it might make extra sense to prioritize the lower-effort activity regardless of its barely decrease RICE rating.
Why use the RICE framework for prioritization?
RICE is a implausible prioritization software and it’s straightforward to see why it’s so broadly adopted.
RICE goals to cut back biases by specializing in attain slightly than squeaky wheels. It additional reduces biases by measuring confidence and looking for knowledge and validation in prioritization.
RICE additionally encourages product administration finest practices, equivalent to doing discovery to extend confidence, supporting selections with knowledge, specializing in affect, and striving for buyer centricity via attain.
RICE scoring template
Obtain and customise this RICE scoring template that can assist you implement the prioritization framework in your group.
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