Claude Code Plugins

Community-maintained marketplace

Feedback

prioritization-framework

@johannesfritz/autonomous-orchestration
0
0

Apply RICE, ICE, or MoSCoW scoring to prioritize features. Use when deciding what to build first, during backlog grooming, or when product-manager needs to rank items.

Install Skill

1Download skill
2Enable skills in Claude

Open claude.ai/settings/capabilities and find the "Skills" section

3Upload to Claude

Click "Upload skill" and select the downloaded ZIP file

Note: Please verify skill by going through its instructions before using it.

SKILL.md

name prioritization-framework
description Apply RICE, ICE, or MoSCoW scoring to prioritize features. Use when deciding what to build first, during backlog grooming, or when product-manager needs to rank items.
allowed-tools Read, Write, Glob, Grep

Prioritization Framework Skill

Purpose

This skill applies quantitative prioritization frameworks (RICE, ICE, MoSCoW) to rank features and create data-driven backlogs.

Use this skill when:

  • Product Manager needs to prioritize the backlog
  • Deciding what to build first (strategic roadmap planning)
  • User asks "what should we build next?"
  • During backlog grooming or sprint planning
  • Comparing multiple feature candidates

Framework Selection Guide

Choose the right framework for your context:

Framework When to Use Speed Precision Best For
RICE Roadmap planning, major decisions Slow High Strategic prioritization with stakeholder buy-in
ICE Quick triage, daily decisions Fast Medium Fast prioritization during product review
MoSCoW Release planning, sprint scope Medium Medium Categorical grouping for time-boxed releases

Default recommendation: ICE for quick decisions, RICE for important prioritization.

RICE Scoring

Formula

RICE Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort

Higher score = higher priority

Parameters

  1. Reach - How many users affected per time period?

    • Estimate users per quarter (e.g., 1000 users will use this feature in Q1)
    • Be specific: "All users" = total user base count
    • "Power users only" = estimate that subset

  2. Impact - How much value does it create per user?

    • 3 = Massive impact (transforms workflow, solves critical pain point)
    • 2 = High impact (significant improvement, removes major friction)
    • 1 = Medium impact (nice improvement, makes things easier)
    • 0.5 = Low impact (small convenience, minor enhancement)
    • 0.25 = Minimal impact (cosmetic, rarely noticed)

  3. Confidence - How certain are you about Reach and Impact estimates?

    • 100% = Strong data, validated user research, proven demand
    • 80% = Good evidence, some user feedback, reasonable assumptions
    • 50% = Educated guess, limited data, hypothetical

  4. Effort - How many person-days to build?

    • Include design, development, testing, review, deployment
    • Ask Technical PM for effort estimates if uncertain
    • Account for complexity and unknowns

Example Calculation

Feature: Dark mode for Stellaris

  • Reach: 500 users per quarter (50% of user base prefers dark mode)
  • Impact: 1 (medium - improves UX, not transformative)
  • Confidence: 80% (user feedback supports this)
  • Effort: 5 person-days (frontend + testing)

RICE Score = (500 × 1 × 0.8) / 5 = 80

ICE Scoring

Formula

ICE Score = (Impact + Confidence + Ease) / 3

Higher score = higher priority. Score range: 1-10.

Parameters

All rated on 1-10 scale:

  1. Impact - User value created (1=minimal, 10=transformative)

    • 9-10: Solves critical pain point, game-changing
    • 7-8: Major improvement, highly valuable
    • 5-6: Moderate improvement, useful
    • 3-4: Minor improvement, nice-to-have
    • 1-2: Minimal value, cosmetic

  2. Confidence - Certainty of success (1=wild guess, 10=proven)

    • 9-10: Strong data, validated demand, proven approach
    • 7-8: Good evidence, user feedback supports
    • 5-6: Reasonable assumption, some supporting data
    • 3-4: Educated guess, limited validation
    • 1-2: Pure hypothesis, no evidence

  3. Ease - Inverse of effort (1=very hard, 10=trivial)

    • 9-10: Hours of work, no dependencies
    • 7-8: 1-2 days, simple implementation
    • 5-6: 3-5 days, moderate complexity
    • 3-4: 1-2 weeks, complex or risky
    • 1-2: Weeks/months, major undertaking

Example Calculation

Feature: Dark mode for Stellaris

  • Impact: 6 (moderate improvement, improves UX)
  • Confidence: 8 (user feedback supports, proven pattern)
  • Ease: 7 (5 days effort, moderate)

ICE Score = (6 + 8 + 7) / 3 = 7.0

MoSCoW Categorization

Categories

  • Must Have - Non-negotiable for this release (60% max of capacity)
  • Should Have - Important but not critical (can defer if needed)
  • Could Have - Nice-to-have if capacity allows (20% buffer)
  • Won't Have - Explicitly out of scope for this release

Assignment Rules

  1. Must Have:

    • Blockers for other work
    • Critical bugs affecting all users
    • Compliance/security requirements
    • Core functionality for release goal

  2. Should Have:

    • High-value features (RICE/ICE score > 7)
    • Major UX improvements
    • High-demand user requests

  3. Could Have:

    • Medium-value features (RICE/ICE score 4-7)
    • Polish and refinements
    • Buffer for unexpected work

  4. Won't Have:

    • Low-value features (RICE/ICE score < 4)
    • Can wait for next release
    • Explicitly deferred

Capacity Rule

Must Have should be ≤60% of total capacity to leave buffer for:

  • Unexpected bugs
  • Scope creep
  • Learning/unknowns

Output Format

RICE/ICE Ranked Backlog

Write to 00 Inbox/backlog/prioritized-backlog.md:

# Prioritized Backlog

**Last updated:** [ISO timestamp]
**Framework used:** [RICE/ICE]
**Total items:** [count]

---

## Ranked Items

| Rank | Item | Score | Reach | Impact | Confidence | Effort | Status |
|------|------|-------|-------|--------|------------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Dark mode | 80 | 500 | 1.0 | 80% | 5d | Ready for scoping |
| 2 | Offline lessons | 75 | 800 | 2.0 | 50% | 8d | Needs spike |
| 3 | PDF export | 40 | 200 | 1.0 | 80% | 4d | Ready for scoping |

**Top 3 priorities:**
1. Dark mode (RICE: 80) - Ready for Technical PM scoping
2. Offline lessons (RICE: 75) - Needs spike for offline storage approach
3. PDF export (RICE: 40) - Ready for plan creation

**Deferred (score < 20):**
- Custom color themes (RICE: 15) - Low reach, defer to future release

MoSCoW Release Plan

Write to 00 Inbox/backlog/release-plan-[release-name].md:

# Release Plan: [Release Name/Version]

**Last updated:** [ISO timestamp]
**Framework used:** MoSCoW
**Target release date:** [date]
**Team capacity:** [person-days available]

---

## Must Have (60% capacity = [X] days)

- [ ] Feature 1 (5d) - [Brief description]
- [ ] Feature 2 (8d) - [Brief description]

**Total:** [Y] days ([Z]% of capacity)

---

## Should Have

- [ ] Feature 3 (3d) - [Brief description]
- [ ] Feature 4 (5d) - [Brief description]

**Total:** [Y] days

---

## Could Have (Buffer)

- [ ] Feature 5 (2d) - [Brief description]
- [ ] Feature 6 (4d) - [Brief description]

**Total:** [Y] days

---

## Won't Have (This Release)

- Feature 7 - Deferred to next release (low priority)
- Feature 8 - Needs more user validation

---

## Release Health Check

- Must Have at [X]% capacity (target: ≤60%) → [PASS/WARN]
- Buffer available: [Y] days → [PASS/WARN]
- All Must Have items clearly defined → [PASS/WARN]

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Input

Collect items to prioritize from:

  • 00 Inbox/feedback/ (recent user feedback)
  • 00 Inbox/backlog/ (existing backlog items)
  • User-provided feature list

For each item, you need:

  • Feature description
  • User need it serves
  • Rough effort estimate (ask Technical PM if uncertain)

Step 2: Choose Framework

Ask user or default:

  • RICE if strategic/important prioritization
  • ICE if quick triage needed
  • MoSCoW if release planning

Step 3: Score Each Item

For RICE:

  1. Estimate Reach (users per quarter)
  2. Assess Impact (0.25 to 3 scale)
  3. Determine Confidence (50%, 80%, 100%)
  4. Get Effort estimate (person-days)
  5. Calculate: (R × I × C) / E

For ICE:

  1. Rate Impact (1-10)
  2. Rate Confidence (1-10)
  3. Rate Ease (1-10, inverse of effort)
  4. Calculate: (I + C + E) / 3

For MoSCoW:

  1. Identify Must Haves (blockers, critical)
  2. Identify Should Haves (high value)
  3. Identify Could Haves (nice-to-have)
  4. Identify Won't Haves (deferred)
  5. Verify Must Have ≤60% capacity

Step 4: Rank and Write Output

  • Sort by score (highest first)
  • Write to appropriate file
  • Highlight top 3-5 priorities
  • Note any items needing Technical PM scoping or spikes

Step 5: Communicate Results

Summarize for Product Manager:

  • Top priorities ready for action
  • Items needing investigation
  • Deferred items with reasoning
  • Total estimated effort for top N items

Validation Rules

Before finalizing backlog:

  1. Score sanity check:

    • RICE scores typically range 1-200 (outliers possible)
    • ICE scores range 1-10 (average should be 4-6)
    • If all items score >8, recalibrate (too optimistic)
    • If all items score <3, recalibrate (too pessimistic)

  2. Effort estimates:

    • If effort unknown, mark "Needs Technical PM scoping"
    • Don't guess effort - ask Technical PM for estimates
    • Account for testing, review, deployment time

  3. Confidence checks:

    • If confidence <50%, consider user research or spike
    • High-effort + low-confidence = risky, flag for investigation

  4. Must Have capacity:

    • For MoSCoW: Must Have should be ≤60% capacity
    • If >60%, move items to Should Have

Example Invocation

Product Manager: "Prioritize the current backlog using ICE scoring"

You (skill execution):
1. Read items from 00 Inbox/feedback/intake-2025-12-30.md
2. Read items from 00 Inbox/backlog/unprioritized.md
3. For each item:
   - Rate Impact: How valuable to users? (1-10)
   - Rate Confidence: How certain of success? (1-10)
   - Rate Ease: How easy to build? (1-10)
   - Calculate ICE score
4. Sort by score (highest first)
5. Write to 00 Inbox/backlog/prioritized-backlog.md
6. Return summary:

   "Prioritized 15 backlog items using ICE framework.

   Top 3 priorities:
   1. Dark mode (ICE: 7.0) - Ready for scoping
   2. Offline lessons (ICE: 6.7) - Needs spike
   3. PDF export (ICE: 6.3) - Ready for scoping

   Medium priority (5 items, scores 4-6):
   - Audio waveform visualization (ICE: 5.5)
   - Custom lesson playlists (ICE: 5.0)
   - ...

   Low priority (7 items, scores <4):
   - Custom color themes (ICE: 3.2) - Defer
   - ...

   Next steps:
   - Technical PM scoping for top 2 ready items
   - Spike for offline lessons approach
   - Defer low-priority items to future release

   Full backlog: 00 Inbox/backlog/prioritized-backlog.md"

Dealing with Ties

If multiple items have identical scores:

  1. Secondary criteria:

    • Strategic alignment (roadmap fit)
    • Dependencies (unblocks other work)
    • User pain level (critical vs nice-to-have)
    • Time sensitivity (contractual deadline, seasonal)

  2. Ask Product Manager: "Items A and B have identical ICE scores (6.5). Which should take priority?

    • Item A: [description]
    • Item B: [description]"

Important Notes

  • Scoring is subjective - Frameworks provide structure, not absolute truth
  • Get effort estimates from Technical PM - Don't guess complex work
  • Update regularly - Re-score as new data emerges
  • Document assumptions - Record why you scored items a certain way
  • Bias toward action - ICE for speed, RICE for rigor, both are valid

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  1. Overconfidence: Don't rate everything 100% confidence - be realistic
  2. Effort underestimation: Always ask Technical PM for complex features
  3. Impact inflation: Not everything is "high impact" - calibrate realistically
  4. Ignoring capacity: MoSCoW Must Have >80% = recipe for failure
  5. Analysis paralysis: ICE is good enough for most decisions - don't overthink

Remember: Prioritization frameworks are tools to support decisions, not replace judgment. Use them to structure thinking and communicate reasoning, but always apply product sense and strategic context.