Framework library · Decision making and problem solving
RICE scoring
RICE puts four questions to every idea: how many people it reaches in a period, how much it moves each of them, how confident you are in those estimates, and how much work it takes. The score is value per person-month, and the ranking is a starting point for the conversation, not its end.
Use it when
- A product backlog has more good ideas than capacity, and the ranking needs to survive scrutiny.
- Ideas come from many stakeholders and you need a common basis to compare them.
- You want to make the confidence behind each estimate visible.
Avoid it when
- Ideas differ in kind (a regulatory must-do against a growth bet). Handle must-dos separately, for example with MoSCoW.
- Reach cannot be estimated in the same unit for every idea. RICE needs one denominator, such as customers per quarter.
- The decision is strategic. RICE ranks features within a strategy; it does not choose the strategy.
How to run it
Fix the reach unit and period
For example, customers affected per quarter. Every idea uses the same unit, from data where possible.
Score impact on the fixed scale
Massive 3, high 2, medium 1, low 0.5, minimal 0.25, for the effect on each person reached against one goal, such as conversion or retention.
Be honest about confidence
100% when there is data, 80% with some support, 50% for a hunch. Below 50% is not an estimate.
Estimate effort in person-months
All the work: design, engineering, testing, launch. Round to whole or half months.
Rank, then discuss the surprises
Where the ranking disagrees with intuition, find out why. Either an estimate is wrong or the intuition is.
Work through it
Answer the questions below, or load the worked example to see a finished one. The drawing updates as you type. Export the result as a PowerPoint deck, a Word document, an Excel workbook, a PDF or plain text.
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Mistakes to avoid
- Inflating confidence to promote a favourite.
- Comparing reach estimated in different units.
- Using the score as an instruction. Dependencies, strategy and risk still need judgement.
Where it comes from
Sean McBride, "RICE: Simple prioritization for product managers", Intercom blog, January 2018. The impact scale (3, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25) and the confidence levels (100%, 80%, 50%) used here are Intercom's. Source.
Use it with
Further reading
Work through it with us
The frameworks here are free to use as they stand. If you would rather work through the question behind this one with us, these are the ways an engagement starts.