Mastering Prioritization: Choose the Best Framework for Your Game Project
Discover actionable prioritization strategies to align teams, focus resources, and deliver results.
Introduction: The Art of Prioritization
As a product manager in the gaming industry, one of your most critical responsibilities is deciding what to build, when to build it, and why. Prioritization isn’t just about making a to-do list; it’s about making strategic choices that align with your game’s goals, meet player needs, and deliver measurable results.
But let’s be honest—prioritization can be messy. Balancing the demands of stakeholders, managing limited resources, and racing against tight deadlines are challenges we’ve all faced. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when everything seems important and urgent at the same time.
So, how do you cut through the noise? How do you ensure you’re focusing on the right features at the right time, especially in an industry where player expectations shift quickly and competition is fierce?
The answer lies in mastering prioritization frameworks—structured approaches that help you weigh options, make data-driven decisions, and align your team around a clear path forward. Let’s explore how these frameworks can transform the way you approach your projects.
Why Prioritization Matters
Poor prioritization can derail even the most promising projects. Without a clear strategy, teams risk chasing after the wrong goals, wasting valuable time and resources on features that don’t deliver value. The consequences?
Wasted Resources: Development teams might spend weeks—or months—building features that players don’t care about or don’t use.
Missed Deadlines: Without a focused plan, timelines slip as teams juggle too many tasks at once, leaving critical updates delayed or incomplete.
Disconnected Player Experience: Features that don’t resonate with players can erode trust and satisfaction, leading to lower retention rates and dwindling revenue.
On the flip side, effective prioritization is a game-changer. When done right, it ensures that your team is working on what truly matters. You’ll see:
Clear Alignment: Stakeholders, developers, and designers are united around a shared vision and roadmap.
Better Decision-Making: A structured approach helps you focus on high-impact features and avoid chasing shiny objects.
Measurable Results: By prioritizing based on data and player needs, you can deliver features that drive engagement, retention, and revenue growth.
Prioritization is more than a process—it’s a skill that empowers teams to move confidently toward success. With the right framework in place, you’ll make decisions that not only meet deadlines but also delight your players.
Overview of Prioritization Frameworks
When faced with a long list of potential features, tasks, or improvements, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This is where prioritization frameworks come into play. A prioritization framework provides a structured approach to evaluating and ranking what should come first, ensuring that every decision is aligned with your project goals and resources.
At its core, a prioritization framework helps you answer key questions like:
Which features deliver the most value to players?
What tasks align best with our business objectives?
Where should we focus our limited time and resources?
By bringing structure to decision-making, these frameworks transform what might otherwise feel like a guessing game into a clear, data-driven process. They create a shared language for your team and stakeholders, reducing debates and keeping everyone aligned on priorities.
However, not all frameworks are created equal. The best one for your project depends on several factors:
Project Goals: Are you focused on player satisfaction, revenue growth, or operational efficiency?
Team Structure: Is your team small and nimble, or large and data-driven?
Available Data: Do you have robust analytics to guide decisions, or are you relying on qualitative insights?
Popular Frameworks and When to Use Them
Different projects call for different approaches, and the right prioritization framework depends on your goals, team, and resources. Here’s an overview of some of the most widely-used frameworks, their benefits, and when to apply them:
Choosing the Right Framework
Selecting a framework isn’t one-size-fits-all. Consider your goals, the complexity of your project, and the type of data available. In many cases, combining frameworks or adapting them to fit your specific needs can yield even better results.
How to Choose the Right Framework
Selecting the right prioritization framework is key to making impactful decisions that drive results. Here’s how to evaluate your options and choose the best fit for your project:
1. Assess Your Data Availability
Quantitative Data Available: If you have robust analytics or performance metrics, frameworks like RICE or Weighted Scoring will allow you to leverage that data effectively.
Example: Use RICE to rank features based on reach, impact, confidence, and effort if you have solid player data.
Limited Data: When detailed metrics aren’t available, simpler frameworks like MoSCoW or ICE work well.
Example: If you’re in the early stages of development, ICE can help you make quick, gut-driven decisions.
2. Understand Team and Stakeholder Needs
Collaborative Teams: Teams with varied expertise or non-technical stakeholders often benefit from the clarity of MoSCoW, which categorizes features into easily understood groups.
Example: Use MoSCoW during cross-functional planning meetings to ensure alignment across departments.
Analytical Teams: For data-driven teams, RICE or Weighted Scoring provide the precision and depth needed for complex decision-making.
Example: Use Weighted Scoring to prioritize features based on multiple criteria like revenue potential, engagement, and ease of development.
3. Consider Project Complexity
Simple Projects: For straightforward initiatives, quick and lightweight frameworks like ICE or MoSCoW are ideal.
Example: If you’re launching a minor update with just a few features, ICE can help you decide on priorities without overcomplicating the process.
Complex Projects: Large-scale efforts with multiple objectives and stakeholders are better served by RICE or Weighted Scoring, which can accommodate greater detail.
Example: Use RICE when managing a roadmap for a live service game with multiple teams and overlapping priorities.
4. Focus on Player Outcomes
Player-Centric Goals: If your main focus is enhancing player satisfaction, the Kano Model is a great choice. It helps identify which features meet basic expectations, drive delight, or offer diminishing returns.
Example: Use the Kano Model to balance “must-have” features with innovative elements that surprise and delight players.
Real-Life Example in Gaming
Let’s walk through a fictional scenario where a mobile game team uses prioritization frameworks to decide between three potential features:
Feature A: A new cosmetic system to monetize through in-app purchases.
Feature B: A social leaderboard to boost player engagement.
Feature C: An upgraded onboarding flow to improve new player retention.
The team must choose where to focus their resources first.
Applying RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort)
Step 1: Define Metrics for RICE
Reach: Estimate the number of players affected by each feature.
Impact: Assess how significantly the feature would improve metrics like retention, engagement, or revenue.
Confidence: Rate the confidence level in your estimates.
Effort: Estimate the development effort required (in weeks, hours, or story points).
Step 2: Score Each Feature
Results:
The onboarding flow receives the highest RICE score due to its potential to impact the largest audience (new players) and its high confidence and impact ratings.
Applying the Kano Model
Step 1: Categorize Features
Must-Have Features: Essential for meeting basic player expectations.
Example: The onboarding flow fits here, as it directly addresses a critical step in the player journey.
Performance Features: Improve satisfaction; the better they are, the more players benefit.
Example: The social leaderboard encourages competitive engagement, driving long-term play.
Delighters: Unexpected features that surprise and excite players.
Example: The cosmetic system offers personalization and fun, creating moments of joy for paying players.
Step 2: Balance Categories
The onboarding flow (Must-Have) is prioritized first because it addresses core player retention, a foundational metric for game health.
The social leaderboard (Performance Feature) comes next, as it drives engagement and strengthens community ties.
The cosmetic system (Delighter) is last, as it enhances monetization but doesn’t impact the majority of players immediately.
The Final Decision
Based on the combined insights from RICE and the Kano Model:
First Priority: Upgrade the onboarding flow. It has the highest RICE score and addresses a Must-Have category in the Kano Model.
Second Priority: Develop the social leaderboard. While not urgent, it improves engagement over time and offers high potential as a Performance Feature.
Third Priority: Introduce the cosmetic system. As a Delighter, it can wait until the core player experience is solidified.
Why This Works
By applying both frameworks, the team balances quantitative decision-making (via RICE) with qualitative insights into player satisfaction (via the Kano Model). This approach ensures resources are directed where they’ll have the greatest immediate and long-term impact, aligning with both player needs and business goals.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When applying prioritization frameworks, there are several common pitfalls that product managers often encounter. Avoiding these mistakes will help ensure you’re making the most of your resources and aligning with your overall product goals. Here’s a breakdown of the top mistakes to watch out for:
1. Overloading the Backlog with Low-Impact Features
One of the most common missteps is allowing too many low-impact features to crowd your backlog. While it's tempting to add every idea or request from stakeholders, not every feature deserves immediate attention.
Solution: Focus on high-impact features first and save lower-priority items for future phases, when the time and resources are available.
2. Relying Solely on Gut Feelings or Subjective Opinions
While intuition and experience can be valuable, basing prioritization decisions solely on gut feelings or personal preferences can lead to biased outcomes.
Solution: Use a prioritization framework to guide your decisions, supplementing your gut feel with data whenever possible. Frameworks like RICE or Weighted Scoring bring structure to your decisions, grounding them in measurable factors.
3. Ignoring Team Bandwidth When Prioritizing High-Effort Features
Sometimes, product managers prioritize features based on their impact or value but forget to consider the team’s capacity. Features that require significant development time and resources can strain your team, especially if they’re already at capacity.
Solution: When evaluating a feature’s priority, always assess the resources required and balance it with the team’s bandwidth. Prioritize features that offer high value relative to their cost in time and resources.
4. Failing to Revisit Priorities Regularly as the Project Evolves
Prioritization isn’t a one-time task. As projects progress, market conditions change, player feedback rolls in, or team capacity fluctuates. Failing to revisit and adjust your priorities can lead to misaligned goals or wasted resources.
Solution: Regularly revisit your priorities—whether it’s every sprint, monthly, or after a major milestone. Use data, feedback, and the changing landscape to ensure that your priorities remain relevant and impactful.
Avoiding these common mistakes is essential for maintaining a smooth and effective product management process. Stay focused on high-impact features, back up decisions with data, assess team capacity, and regularly revisit priorities to adapt as needed. By steering clear of these pitfalls, you'll be able to make better decisions, increase your team's efficiency, and deliver features that truly resonate with players.
Your Next Steps
Prioritization is one of the most crucial aspects of product management, especially in the fast-paced and ever-changing world of gaming. The right framework can make all the difference, helping you focus on the features that will drive the most value for your players and your business. Whether you choose RICE, MoSCoW, or another method, each framework offers its own strengths to help you make informed decisions.
However, finding the right framework isn’t about choosing a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about experimenting with different methods, learning from each decision, and iterating based on what works best for your unique projects, team dynamics, and goals. The more you practice, the more intuitive the process will become.
Your Next Step:
Start experimenting with the frameworks we’ve discussed today. Try applying RICE to your upcoming project, or use the MoSCoW method to prioritize your next game update. Don’t worry if you don’t get it perfect the first time—prioritization is a skill that improves with experience.
Next Week:
To help you implement what we’ve discussed, I’ll be sharing a free prioritization framework template next week. This resource will guide you through the process step-by-step, making it even easier to get started. Stay tuned, and get ready to put your prioritization skills into action!
Until then, keep experimenting, iterating, and growing your product management expertise. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at making smart, data-driven decisions.
If you found this post helpful, why not share it with others? Product management can be tough, but by learning together, we all grow stronger. Feel free to forward this newsletter to a colleague, share it with a friend, or even post it in a relevant community. The more, the merrier!
Thanks for being part of PM Playground. Keep those questions and thoughts coming—I'm here to help!
See you next week,
Matt Street
Founder, PM Playground