Solving the Product Prioritization Puzzle: A Six-Step Framework for Success

Roadmap Prioritization can often feel overwhelming, with countless methodologies claiming to be the answer. Many, however, lack the flexibility required to support smart product decisions.

To help you navigate this challenge, I’ve developed a six-step framework designed to balance structure and adaptability—ultimately helping you create a prioritization strategy that aligns with your unique business needs.

Before we dive into the details, let’s clarify the term "framework." A framework is a structure that supports and guides development. When applying one to your business, it’s crucial to consider your corporate culture and allow for flexibility. Remember, processes should enable your success, not become roadblocks. Use this framework as your guide not your manual.

The Three Key Pieces of Prioritization

At its core, prioritization is built on three essential components:

1. Themes: Categories that articulate the value of your work (we’ll explore these in more depth below).

2. Anticipated ROI/Impact Score: A method for determining the expected value to your business.

3. Corporate Objectives: Objectives such as OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) or other strategic frameworks your organization follows.

You’re likely already using some form of these elements, even if informally. In this post, I'll explain how I incorporate these into prioritization.

Getting Started

The first 3 steps in the framework are focused on understanding where you are now. You will need to revisit these when your organization sets new objectives or if your prioritization process gets offtrack.

Step 1: Define Themes

All work can be categorized into three value-driving themes:

1. Revenue Growth: Opportunities that increase revenue.

2. Operational Efficiency: Initiatives that reduce costs and improve productivity.

3. Revenue Retention: Efforts that maintain existing revenue.

Themes are evergreen and should corelate to P&L value. While organizations might create other themes like “Tech Debt” or “User Experience,” these lack clarity and don't identify clear business value.

Upgrading a 3rd party system component to remain compliant with customers is Revenue Retention work. Improving deployment processes to decrease the time it takes to deploy new features is a matter of Operational Efficiency.

By using these clear, value-driven categories, you’ll communicate the impact of your work more effectively.

Step 2: Allocate Capacity

Next, allocate your team’s capacity across these themes based on your corporate goals. For example:

• A startup in its early years (1-3 years) will likely prioritize Revenue Growth and allocate 70% of efforts to Revenue Growth, 20% to Revenue Retention, leaving 10% to Operational Efficiency.

• A mature organization may focus more on Revenue Retention and Operational Efficiency.

Start capacity allocation at the corporate portfolio level, then refine it for individual product lines or teams. Adjust based on the maturity and strategic focus of each business group.

Step 3: Categorize In-Flight Work

With your capacity allocations in mind, categorize ongoing and committed work into the defined themes. While some opportunities may align with multiple themes, start by selecting the one that aligns most closely. As you gain experience, consider adding impact scoring to enhance your categorization process.

You may find during this process that you are over committed in one theme. You now have data to have a conversation with your leadership group where you can:

• Adjust allocation percentages to reflect the roadmap

• Remove committed roadmap work

• Increase capacity by adding resources resources

Continuous Prioritization

Now that you have an understanding of how your current roadmap aligns to your overarching theme allocations and what capacity you have remaining, you can focus on the opportunities that drive forward momentum.

In the final 3 steps I discuess what your team should be doing on a continuous basis. Depending on your organization, this could be a weekly to quarterly cycle, however, I recommend a monthly cycle +/- for most organizations.

Step 4: Align with Objectives

Unlike themes, objectives generally have an end with a measurable goal. They are often set at the corporate level (think OKRs) and provide corporate focus on what is most valuable to the organization.

Review your opportunity assessment canvas (or equivalent asset) and organize initiatives according to these objectives. I like to have a location on the opportunity canvas that identifies the related objective so it is clear to your audience.

This step helps you identify opportunities that don't align with current goals—which can either be set aside or revisited with executive leadership later. Just because an opportunity doesn't fit into a specific corporate objective doesn't mean is shouldn't be prioritized. It just means you should have a communication and approval path for escalating this valuable work.

A great example of this would be that 3rd party system component upgrade I mentioned earlier. There may not be a specific corporate objective that aligns with this work, but it doesn't change the value it brings to your organization.

Step 5: Prioritize Opportunities

Along with the related objective, your opportunity assessment should have also included an Anticipated ROI and/or impact score.

Using the opportunities that most align with your corporate objectives or have received approval, rank opportunities based on their anticipated ROI/impact score and compare this ranked list to your available capacity within each theme.

Add initiatives where there’s room and remove those that exceed your capacity. This ensures your prioritization strategy remains both realistic and impactful.

Step 6: Communicate the Plan

Finally, share the roadmap with leadership and stakeholders. Be transparent about what made it into the plan—and just as importantly, what didn’t and why. Clear communication builds alignment and trust across teams.

Also consider the personas receiving this communication. Your executive leadership will probably need different communications compared to, for example, your customer success group.

The Roadmap to Success

By following this six-step framework, you’ll build a prioritization strategy that drives measurable business outcomes. Whether you’re a startup looking for growth or a mature company focusing on efficiency and retention, this flexible approach ensures you’re investing in the right opportunities at the right time.

Want to dive deeper into this framework or explore other aspects of product innovation? Reach out to schedule a free 30-minute consultation—I’d love to help you achieve your goals.

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