T.P.G.
RICE Method of Prioritization
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Abhinav Saini
Abhinav Saini

The RICE Method of Prioritization is a framework used by product managers to systematically evaluate and prioritize features, projects, or initiatives. It helps teams make data-driven decisions by assigning a score to each initiative based on four factors: Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort.

Breaking Down the RICE Framework

1. Reach

  • Measures how many people will be affected by the initiative in a given period (e.g., number of users per month).
  • Helps determine the potential audience size for the feature or project.
  • Example: “This feature will impact 10,000 users per month.”

2. Impact

  • Estimates how much the initiative will move the needle on a key goal (e.g., user engagement, revenue, retention).
  • Uses a qualitative scale:
    • 3 = Massive impact
    • 2 = High impact
    • 1 = Medium impact
    • 0.5 = Low impact
    • 0.25 = Minimal impact
  • Example: “Introducing in-app notifications might increase engagement by 2x.”

3. Confidence

  • Represents how certain you are about your estimates for Reach and Impact.
  • Expressed as a percentage:
    • 100% = High confidence
    • 80% = Medium confidence
    • 50% or less = Low confidence
  • Example: “We have A/B test results supporting this hypothesis, so we assign 90% confidence.”

4. Effort

  • Measures the amount of work required to complete the initiative.
  • Estimated in person-months (how much time a single team member needs to complete the task).
  • Example: “This feature will take 2 engineers 3 months to develop = 6 person-months.”

Calculating the RICE Score

The formula for the RICE score is:

RICEScore=(Reach×Impact×Confidence)EffortRICE Score = \frac{(Reach \times Impact \times Confidence)}{Effort}

A higher RICE score means the initiative should be prioritized.

Example Calculation

InitiativeReach (users)Impact (1-3)Confidence (%)Effort (months)RICE Score
Feature A10,0002.080%53,200
Feature B5,0003.090%34,500
Feature C15,0001.070%42,625

In this case, Feature B has the highest RICE score (4,500), making it the highest priority.

Why Use RICE?

  • Objective Decision-Making – Reduces bias and gut-feeling decisions.
  • Balances Short-Term vs. Long-Term Gains – Considers impact vs. effort.
  • Encourages Data-Driven Prioritization – Helps teams focus on high-value initiatives.

By using the RICE method, product managers can prioritize work effectively and ensure that teams focus on the most impactful projects.