What is Feature Prioritization?

Ruben Buijs
2 minutes • Aug 10, 2023 • Product Management

Feature prioritization is a critical process in Saas product management that involves determining the order and importance of features to be developed and released. It helps product managers make informed decisions about which features should be implemented first based on various factors such as customer needs, business goals, and resource constraints.

Importance of Feature Prioritization

Feature prioritization plays a crucial role in the success of a Saas product. It ensures that the most valuable and impactful features are given priority, which can result in higher customer satisfaction, increased user adoption, and ultimately, better business outcomes. Without proper prioritization, product teams may end up wasting time and resources on features that have little or no value to the customers or the company.

How to Use Feature Prioritization

  1. Identify customer needs: Start by understanding the needs and pain points of your target customers. Conduct user research, gather feedback, and analyze user data to identify the features that will address their most pressing needs.

  2. Define business goals: Align the prioritization process with the overall business goals of your company. Consider factors such as revenue generation, market expansion, or customer retention while prioritizing features.

  3. Evaluate feature impact: Assess the potential impact of each feature on your users and business. Consider factors like user value, revenue potential, competitive advantage, and technical feasibility to determine the importance of each feature.

  4. Weighting criteria: Assign weights or scores to different criteria that are relevant to your product and business. For example, you may assign higher weights to features that align with your company's strategic objectives or have a high potential for generating revenue.

  5. Prioritize based on data: Utilize data-driven insights to make informed decisions. Analyze user feedback, conduct A/B testing, and evaluate user behavior to prioritize features that will have the most positive impact on your target audience.

Useful Tips for Feature Prioritization

  • Involve stakeholders: Include relevant stakeholders such as product managers, developers, designers, and customer support representatives in the prioritization process. Their input and perspectives can provide valuable insights and help make more informed decisions.

  • Regularly re-evaluate: Priorities can change over time due to evolving market dynamics, customer feedback, or business goals. Set aside time at regular intervals to re-evaluate and adjust your feature prioritization to ensure it remains aligned with the changing needs of your users and business.

  • Consider long-term impact: While immediate customer needs are important, also consider the long-term impact of features. Prioritize features that have the potential to scale, drive user engagement, and contribute to the long-term success of your product.

  • Communicate transparently: Clearly communicate the rationale behind your feature prioritization decisions to the entire product team and other stakeholders. This helps foster understanding, alignment, and collective ownership of the product roadmap.

  • User Research
  • A/B Testing
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Revenue Generation
  • Technical Feasibility
  • User Adoption
  • Market Expansion
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Product Roadmap

FAQ

Feature prioritization is the process of determining the order in which features should be developed and released in a SaaS product.
Feature prioritization helps product managers make informed decisions about which features to focus on, considering factors such as user needs, business goals, and available resources.
Feature prioritization can be done using various methods such as MoSCoW technique, Kano model, value vs. effort analysis, and user feedback analysis.
The MoSCoW technique is a prioritization method that categorizes features as Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have, and Won't-Have, based on their criticality and impact on the product.
The Kano model is a prioritization framework that classifies features into three categories: Basic, Performance, and Excitement, based on their impact on customer satisfaction.
Value vs. effort analysis is a technique where features are prioritized based on their perceived value to customers compared to the effort required to develop them.
Analyzing user feedback helps in understanding the needs and preferences of users, which can then be used to prioritize features that align with user expectations.
Some challenges in feature prioritization include conflicting stakeholder priorities, limited resources, changing market dynamics, and balancing short-term and long-term goals.
No, feature prioritization is an ongoing process that requires continuous evaluation and adjustment based on changing user needs, market conditions, and business goals.
Data-driven decision making involves analyzing relevant data such as user metrics, market trends, and business impact to inform feature prioritization decisions and reduce subjective biases.

Article by

Ruben Buijs

Ruben is the founder of ProductLift. I employ a decade of consulting experience from Ernst & Young to maximize clients' ROI on new Tech developments. I now help companies build better products

Table of contents

  1. Importance of Feature Prioritization
  2. How to Use Feature Prioritization
  3. Useful Tips for Feature Prioritization
  4. Related Terms

Ship features your users (really) want.
Collect feedback, prioritize ideas, and build a product your customers love with AI-powered tools for feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs, and knowledge bases.

Get Started for Free

The faster, easier way to capture user feedback at scale

Join over 3,051 product managers and see how easy it is to build products people love.

Did you know 80% of software features are rarely or never used? That's a lot of wasted effort.

SaaS software companies spend billions on unused features. Last year, it was $29.5 billion.

We saw this problem and decided to do something about it. Product teams needed a better way to decide what to build.

That's why we created ProductLift - to put all feedback in one place, helping teams easily see what features matter most.

In the last four years, we've helped over 3,051 product teams (like yours) double feature adoption and halve the costs. I'd love for you to give it a try.

Ruben Buijs

Founder & Digital Consultant