R&D Toolkit
  1. Overview
      2. Overview
    1. Introduction
      2.
      1. Recent Updates
        2.
    2. Tools
      3.
      1. Research
        2.
      2. Delivery
        3.
    3. Resources
      4.
      1. R&D
        2.
      2. Websites
        3.
      3. Project Tracking
        4.
      4. Further Resources
        5.
  2. Research
      3. Research Tools
    1. Problem
      2.
      1. Discovery
        2.
      2. Prioritisation
        3.
      3. Project Scoping
        4.
      4. Framing
        5.
    2. Empathise
      3.
      1. Investigate
        2.
      2. User Interview
        3.
      3. User Insights
        4.
      4. Data
        5.
    3. Mapping
      4.
      1. Research Mapping
        2.
      2. User Mapping
        3.
      3. Organisation Mapping
        4.
    4. Synthesis
      5.
      1. Problem Reframing
        2.
      2. Define
        3.
      3. Feature Prioritisation
        4.
  3. Design
      4. Design Tools
    1. Ideation
      2.
      1. Warm Up
        2.
      2. Sketching
        3.
      3. Storyboarding
        4.
      4. Design Studio
        5.
  4. Delivery
      5. Delivery Tools
    1. Agile
      2.
    2. Scrum
      3.
      1. Overview
        2.
      2. Team
        3.
      3. Events
        4.
      4. Artifacts
        5.
      5. Glossary
        6.

marc.tools

A Product R&D Toolkit

Welcome. I'm Marc and this is a Toolkit to create things.
Research Tools    Synthesis
Feature Prioritisation

From the Synthesised research, insights will have been accumulated as to what is required to be included in any solution.

These potential features need to be prioritised before they are passed on to the ideation phase.

Section Tools
Feature Log
MoSCoW
Weighted Scoring
Buy-a-Feature
  
Synthesis    Feature Prioritisation
Tool Info
Category Feature Prioritisation
Updated 18/10/20
Templates   PDF     Miro
Creator N/A

Naturally throughout any Product Development process, ideas will flow and might take the form of a feature, or lead on to a specific feature.

Logging these feature ideas regularly will help clear minds, but also inspire solutions down the line.

By collating a feature log, it also means that previously proposed, but de-prioritised features could still be useful for future problem solving solutions.

  
Synthesis    Feature Prioritisation
Tool Info
Category Feature Prioritisation
Updated 18/10/20
Templates   PDF     Miro
Creator Dai Clegg

Once we have a general idea of how we are going to tackle the problem, defined as a HMW, or a Job/User Story, we can begin to prioritise what would be needed in the product.

The MoSCoW method is very helpful as a lean, quick, intuitive means of prioritising these features. An acronym for Must have, Could have, Should have, Would have - it helps rank features by order of importance, but also doesn't discount any features and if there is the resource, all will be built.

Before starting this process, ensure that it is clear how much resource should be dedicated to each category, and how disputes are resolved amongst team members different needs and priorities.

Must Have

Non-Negotiable features that if missing, would render the product useless. A lean way of product creation when resources are right, perfect for an MVP.

Should Have

This is where real value can be added, whilst they aren't essential for the product to function as intended, they will help significantly improve the experience for the user.

Could Have

The nice to haves - won't add significant value, but if there is the resource can still be a nice addition to level up the product.

Would Have

If there is resource, then this feature would be added, but likely it won't be added in this sprint, but it could be used again for future prioritisation.

Further Resources
  What is MoSCoW Prioritization?
  The Moscow Method
  
Synthesis    Feature Prioritisation
Tool Info
Category Feature Prioritisation
Updated 18/10/20
Templates   PDF     Miro
Creator N/A

Applying scores to features helps to crystallise focus on what's important, and what areas will be impacted most by the feature.

Using Weighted Scoring helps to make this process consistent and aligns teams by allowing everyone to score and prioritising from there - removing friction and enhancing cohesion.

Combining numerical scores against user benefit vs cost will help focus the team to choose the real important features and build empathy for users and for business risk.

Further Resources
  Weight Scoring Explainer
  Weighted Decision Matrix: Your Tool Towards Pro-Level Prioritization
  
Synthesis    Feature Prioritisation
Tool Info
Category Feature Prioritisation
Updated 18/10/20
Templates   PDF     Miro
Creator Luke Hohmann

When working with stakeholders, users and other team members to build out new products taking every opportunity to engage them, as well as learn is important.

Buy-a-Feature prioritisation is a great tool for this, by offering stakeholders a say about what features are important you can ensure you are building the right things. It can also be helpful when struggling to prioritise or extract meaningful insights from previous research.

As the log is at the beginning of the process it is pre-research, and therefore will contain a lot of assumptions.

Steps
  • Provide stakeholders with a list of features and details with associated costs.
  • Provide them with a budget and ask them to go shopping.
  • Observe their choices, and ask them to explain, all the time extracting insights and information to further help the prioritisation process.
Further Resources
  Buy-a-Feature Explainer
  Buy a Feature Game
  How to play the ‘Buy a feature’ design game