James G
Founder
October 11, 202513 min read
The Feature Decision Problem
Every product team faces a flood of potential features:
- Customer requests
- Stakeholder ideas
- Competitor features
- Team suggestions
- Market trends
How do you decide what to build next?
A Framework for Feature Decisions
Step 1: Gather All Options
Collect features from all sources:
- Support tickets and customer calls
- Sales lost-deal reasons
- Competitor analysis
- Search data and market trends
- Internal team ideas
Step 2: Filter for Viability
Remove features that are:
- Technically impossible (for now)
- Misaligned with strategy
- Outside your target market
Step 3: Score Remaining Options
Use a consistent framework (like RICE):
| Feature | Reach | Impact | Confidence | Effort | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature A | 5000 | 2 | 80% | 4 | 2000 |
| Feature B | 2000 | 3 | 70% | 2 | 2100 |
| Feature C | 8000 | 1 | 90% | 6 | 1200 |
Step 4: Consider Strategic Fit
High-scoring features might still not be right:
- Does it move us toward our vision?
- Does it serve our core persona?
- Is it the right time?
Step 5: Decide and Commit
Make the call. Document the reasoning. Move forward.
Data Sources for Better Decisions
Customer Data
- NPS feedback themes
- Support ticket patterns
- Feature request frequency
Market Data
- Competitor feature sets
- Search volume for problems/solutions
- Industry analyst reports
Business Data
- Revenue impact estimates
- Cost of delay calculations
- Opportunity cost of alternatives
Common Decision Traps
The HiPPO Problem
Highest Paid Person's Opinion shouldn't override data. Use frameworks to depersonalize decisions.
The Squeaky Wheel Problem
Loud customers aren't always representative. Validate vocal requests with broader data.
The Shiny Object Problem
New ideas feel exciting. Established priorities might be more valuable. Stick to the process.
Automating Feature Decisions
Modern tools can help:
- Aggregate customer feedback automatically
- Analyze competitor features continuously
- Score features based on market data
This article was generated by SeoMate - AI-powered SEO content generation.
