Feature prioritization: How to choose the best features for your product

6 min readOct 19, 2023

Selecting the right features is vital for both customer satisfaction and the long-term success of your product.

Features define what your product can do and play a significant role in keeping customers engaged.

However, it’s easy to get carried away by adding too many features and complicating the product roadmap. That’s why feature prioritization is an important part of product development.

In this article, we’ll guide you through a structured approach to prioritize features effectively.

Know your customer needs

The first step in the feature prioritization process is understanding the needs of your customers.

Use interviews, surveys, and other methods to gather both qualitative and quantitative data.

This ensures that you’re focusing on features that solve real problems for your customers, aligning your product strategy with customer value.

Do your market research

Understanding your market is another important step in feature prioritization.

Don’t just rely on client or user feedback. Know what the market trends are, what your competitors offer, and what your target audience wants.

Use tools like surveys and competitor analysis to get this information.

How to rank features

After collecting all your qualitative and quantitative data, the next step is to prioritize product features.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to prioritize features:

Use a prioritization framework: Employ frameworks like the RICE method, MoSCoW method, or Kano model. These frameworks come with an internal scoring system developed to help you minimize potential wasted resources.
Balance value vs effort: Evaluate the business value each feature offers against the development effort required. This is a key aspect of the feature prioritization process that ensures you’re focusing on high-impact features.
Consult with product teams: Engage with your development, design, and product management teams. Their technical insights can significantly influence your prioritization process.
Customer feedback and user research: Incorporate customer requests and feedback into your feature prioritization. This ensures your product roadmap aligns with customer needs and maximizes customer satisfaction.
Iterative process: Remember, prioritizing features is an ongoing activity. Your product strategy should be flexible enough to adapt to new features, customer feedback, and market research.
Objective value scoring: Use opportunity scoring or a RICE score to objectively evaluate each feature’s potential impact and feasibility.
Manage customer feedback: Use tools or platforms that allow you to collect and manage customer feedback effectively. This adds another layer of data to your prioritization process.
Story mapping and user stories: Utilize these techniques to visualize the user’s product journey. This can help you identify gaps or opportunities for new features.
Customer delight vs customer retention: Some features may be aimed at delighting the customer, while others may focus on basic functionality for customer retention. Know when to focus on each.
Market research: Always keep an eye on market trends and competitor offerings. This helps you identify what particular features could give you a competitive edge.

This approach ensures you’re making data-driven decisions that align with both customer needs and business goals. It helps you avoid spending time and resources on features that won’t deliver significant value.

Tech considerations for your product

Technical factors play a significant role in the long-term success of your product. Here’s how to approach them:

Consult your product teams: Before finalizing any feature, discuss it with your development and product teams. They can provide insights into the technical challenges and requirements.
Scalability: Ensure that the features you choose can handle growth. This involves both the ability to handle more users and more data over time.
Security: Security is a top concern, especially when dealing with user data or financial transactions. Make sure the features you add don’t compromise the security of your product.
User’s product journey: Each feature should fit seamlessly into the overall user experience. Evaluate how each potential feature impacts the user’s interaction with the product.
Performance features: Consider the speed and responsiveness of each feature. Slow or glitchy features can turn users away.
Development effort: Balance the value each feature brings against the time and resources it takes to develop. This helps in prioritizing features effectively.

Budget and time

Budget and time are important factors that can’t be ignored when you’re prioritizing features. Here’s how to handle them:

Development effort: Evaluate how much work each feature will take. This is where your product teams come in. They can provide insights into the resources needed for each feature.
Cost assessment: After understanding the development effort, calculate the cost. Include everything from manpower to software licenses.
Product roadmap alignment: Make sure your budget and timeline fit with your overall product strategy. If a feature takes too long or costs too much, it might not be worth the investment right now.
Value vs effort: Use this principle to decide which features to work on first. Features that offer high customer value but require less effort should be your priority.
Iterative process: Remember, product development is an ongoing process. You can always revisit features in the future if they don’t fit into your current budget or timeline.

Test before you build

Before you start coding, it’s important to test your features. Here’s how to do it effectively:

Prototyping: Create a basic version of your feature to see how it works. This helps you identify any issues early on.
Story mapping: Use this technique to break down the user’s product journey. It helps you understand how your feature will fit into the overall experience.
Mock-ups: These are visual guides that represent the layout of the feature. They help your team understand what you’re aiming to build.
User feedback: This is the gold standard for validating your features. Use surveys, interviews, or usability tests to find out what users really want.
Iterative process: Make adjustments based on what you learn. This helps you avoid wasting resources on features that don’t add value.

Lock in your feature list

After gathering customer feedback, conducting market research, and testing potential features, you’re now ready to lock in your feature list.

Here’s how to go about it:

Document your decisions: Create a detailed list of the features you’ve chosen. Include the reasoning behind each choice, based on customer needs and business value.
Handle feature requests: If you’ve received feature requests from customers or team members, now is the time to address them. Evaluate each request against your prioritization framework and decide whether it makes the cut.
Clear communication: Make sure to communicate your finalized list to all stakeholders. This includes your client, product manager, and product teams.
Iterative process: Remember, finalizing your feature list is part of an ongoing, iterative process. It helps you refine your product strategy over time.
Align with product roadmap: Ensure that the features you’ve selected align well with your existing product roadmap. This keeps everyone on the same page and sets clear expectations for what’s to come.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Even with the best intentions, mistakes can happen during the feature prioritization process. Here are some common pitfalls and how to steer clear of them:

Overloading the product roadmap

Mistake: Adding too many potential features, including basic features, can lead to a cluttered product roadmap.
Solution: Stick to your prioritization framework and focus on features that align with customer needs and offer business value.

Ignoring customer feedback

Mistake: Overlooking customer requests and user research can lead to features that don’t resonate with your audience.
Solution: Always incorporate customer feedback into your prioritization process. Use tools that help you manage customer feedback effectively.

Neglecting market research

Mistake: Failing to consider market trends and competitor offerings.
Solution: Regularly conduct market research to identify particular features that could give you a competitive edge.

Overlooking technical aspects

Mistake: Ignoring scalability, security, and how a feature fits into the user’s product journey.
Solution: Consult with your product teams to understand the technical implications of each feature.

Focusing only on customer delight

Mistake: Only adding features aimed at customer delight and ignoring basic functionality for customer retention.
Solution: Balance features that delight customers with those that are necessary for customer retention.

Lack of clear communication

Mistake: Not communicating the finalized feature list clearly to all stakeholders.
Solution: Ensure transparent communication with your client, product manager, and product teams. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

Wrap-up

Choosing the right features for your product is a multi-faceted task that requires a strategic approach. From understanding customer needs and conducting market research to using prioritization frameworks and avoiding common mistakes, each step is crucial for the success of your product.