How can prioritization techniques improve product development timelines?

Prioritizing features in product development is a critical challenge, and it requires a strategic approach to ensure we're creating value for our customers and stakeholders while optimizing resources. As most that know me, I am a big fan of implementing frameworks. For prioritization, one popular method I like to use is the MoSCoW method (Must-haves, Should-haves, Could-haves, and Won't-haves). People also like to use the Eisenhower Matrix (Urgent vs. Important) to categorize features and prioritize them effectively. Whichever you choose, it is important to regularly review and adjust priorities as market conditions, customer feedback, and business goals evolve.

Product development should be a dynamic process, taking into account the opinions of customers and stakeholders and considering competitors. In similar conditions, competitors plan their development plans with the development of technology and monitoring the future of the market. In this process, activities are determined whose time steps and weights should be determined according to the above. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the market, competitors, technology and customer needs is the main path to follow.

You can develop timeline dependencies that show which tasks must be completed before others. Even if one task is more important, its successful completion may be dependent on another trigger. In that case, you must do the preliminary task first. Even though it is lower priority, it sets the stage for higher priority outputs.

Using any preferred prioritization techniques (such as KANO,RICE, MoSCoW etc) helps streamline tasks by identifying and focusing on high impact activities. Consequently , this ensures that crucial features or components are addressed early, reducing the risk of delays and contributing to a more streamlined and timely product development and delivery process.

It is crucial to prioritize the tasks to allow teams to allocate resources effectively and manage deadlines. By focusing on critical features, teams can use resources efficiently and improve time management. Moreover, prioritization helps teams identify and address potential risks early on, preventing delays and the need for rework. Understanding customer needs and preferences is also essential in prioritization, as it allows teams to work on features that will enhance customer satisfaction. Lastly, prioritization facilitates an iterative development process, where teams can release an initial version of the product, gather feedback from customers, and then determine which additional features to prioritize based on customer demands.

Here are three reasons to sharpen the way you prioritize work: #partner to get farther, faster. Knowing what not to work can be as important as what you work on, even for tasks that must be completed. During the prioritization process, ask yourself if there is a partner or another way to deliver the desired result without doing it yourself. #projectplanning to avoid schedule crashes. Prioritize important but less urgent work with long lead times and critical dependencies. Developing and qualifying a packaging system is a great example of this from the medtech world. Manage #projectrisk: prepare for failures. As you look towards your next value-creating milestone, what do you think might go wrong? What might you do about it now?

I strongly believe the 80-20 rule (80% of the result comes from 20% of effort). So in order to prioritise, I focus on things which have high RoE (Return on Effort) and IoE (Impact on Effort). This way, it becomes easy to get started on the right things. The Cost of Delay technique is also a simple technique that calculates the potential cost incurred by delaying a feature, and acts as a good guide to prioritise tasks with the highest cost of delay.

One of the main questions of junior PM's! The key here is to balance quick wins (high impact, low effort) with major projects (high impact, high effort). You'll be regularly revisiting and adjusting priorities to stay responsive to market / user feedback... that ensures that resources are optimally allocated, maximizing efficiency and product value. Effective prioritization hinges on aligning tasks with the product’s strategic goals and user needs. So start by evaluating each feature or task based on its potential impact on users and the business, along with the required effort or resources. Look up techniques like "Eisenhower Matrix" (segregates tasks into categories based on urgency and importance) or the "Value x Complexity" model.

First, define your North Star. Start by setting clear criteria and objectives. → What are your project goals? → What do you aim to achieve? A well-defined destination ensures everyone is on the same page. Data acts as the wind in your sails, propelling you in the right direction. Just as sailors rely on the wind, gather data and feedback from various sources. The seas are ever-changing, and so are your priorities. Regularly review and update your plans. Involve your team and stakeholders in the prioritisation process.

Well, first of all, we need to be specific, which product we are developing and for which users as some techniques may not be applicable to every product. However, we can apply a step-by-step guide as follow: 1. Create a comprehensive list of all required features or tasks for product development. 2. Prioritize based on value, assigning a rating or number to each feature based on its impact on business goals. 3. Consider feasibility and effort required for each feature or task. 4. Gather input from stakeholders and incorporate their feedback. 5. Use prioritization frameworks like MoSCoW, Kano, or RICE. 6. Regularly review and update priorities as needed. 7. Clearly communicate and document priorities to the team.

3C's: Clarity, Context, and Continuous Dialogue! Start by clearly stating the priorities, explaining the rationale behind these choices. Context is vital: show how these priorities align with business objectives, user needs and market trends, using simple, straightforward language. Equally vital is establishing a regular communication rhythm of meetings, updates and dashboards, ensuring everyone is on the same page. Encourage feedback, and actually adjust priorities based on new insights / shifts in the market. This will help in team alignment, better resource allocation, and managing stakeholder expectations.

In one of my past roles, we were developing a feature-rich e-commerce platform. The challenge was deciding which features to launch first. Using the RICE score, we identified that the quick checkout option had the highest potential impact and least effort. But I didn't just present the scores to stakeholders. I walked them through the narrative: "Our primary goal is user retention. Quick checkout reduces cart abandonment, which our data shows is a key pain point." By marrying data with the story, not only did stakeholders understand the 'what', but they felt the urgency of the 'why'. This approach fast-tracked development and ensured a smooth launch.

In my opinion, effective prioritization techniques are invaluable tools for streamlining and accelerating product development timelines. By systematically assessing and ranking tasks, teams can focus their efforts on high-impact activities, reduce time wasted on low-priority work, and enhance overall efficiency. The result is not only faster time-to-market but also improved product quality, customer satisfaction, and a competitive edge in today's fast-paced product development landscape.

There is a great example to explain the successful prioritization of features in the development of the iPhone. When Apple's product development team created the iPhone, they had to decide which features to prioritize for the first release. They focused on must-have functions like making calls, sending messages, browsing the internet, and playing music. To prioritize these important features, they decided to leave out fewer essential ones like video recording and MMS. This strategic decision allowed them to concentrate on creating a user-friendly and revolutionary smartphone. Source: Thet successful prioritization of features in the development of the iPhone by Apple's product development team.