Management & Thinking
ProRICE Prioritization
RICE 優先級排序 · Source: Sean McBride · Intercom
A pile of candidate features / projects / ideas competing for slots — converting gut feel into comparable scores
Core Concept
Intercom (2016): score each candidate on four axes — Reach (people affected per time period), Impact (per-person impact, usually on a 0.25/0.5/1/2/3 scale), Confidence (your certainty in the first three estimates, 0–100%), Effort (person-months). Formula: Score = R × I × C ÷ E. The point isn't precision — it's forcing each dimension to be estimated separately, preventing one strong gut feeling from dominating, and surfacing the fact that "my confidence is actually 30%."
Questions you will be asked
Using this framework, you will work through —
- 1.List the 3–8 candidates you're comparing this round.
- 2.Reach: how many people will each item touch/affect within a fixed window (e.g. next quarter)?
- 3.Impact: how much will each affected person be impacted? Use 3 / 2 / 1 / 0.5 / 0.25.
- …and 3 more
FAQ
How is RICE different from MoSCoW?
RICE is quantitative — computing a comparable score via R×I×C÷E, ideal for granular ranking among many close candidates; MoSCoW is qualitative four-level classification, ideal for fast "in or out" consensus. Few candidates and need speed — MoSCoW; many candidates needing fine ordering — RICE.
Can I fully trust the score RICE produces?
No — it's an aid, not a verdict. Its real value is forcing you to estimate the four dimensions separately, especially Confidence, which makes you face "I'm actually only 30% sure." Treat the score as a conversation starter: when a ranking is counterintuitive, go back and check which estimate is off, rather than blindly executing the number.
Which RICE dimension is easiest to get wrong?
Impact and Confidence. Impact gets inflated by whoever has the strongest gut feeling, so constrain it with fixed tiers (0.25/0.5/1/2/3) rather than letting people write any big number; Confidence is generally overstated, so honestly discount items without data behind them. RICE's mechanism for preventing "the loudest voice wins" rests mainly on these two being estimated honestly.
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