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How To Use A Basic Decision-Making Matrix Like A Product Manager
The Deficit, Deadline & Decision matrix helps product managers prioritise what problem or feature to tackle first.
As mentioned in my previous article on the types of decision & prioritisation matrixes that a PM should have in their toolbox, one of the key decisions that a PM will have to make throughout their career is what will you prioritise to get built next. Whether it’s a new feature for an existing product, a problem that’s cropped up based on quantitative or qualitative data, or building a new product line entirely, it is up to the PM to decide what gets built first, what needs to be considered straight after and what ideas, features and problems go straight into the bin.
The way that you can do this is by using a Deficit, Deadline & Decision matrix. This is a matrix I’ve developed based loosely around the ‘C’ in the CIRCLES method (more on this method to come). The goal is to help you decide, based on your resource deficits and looming deadlines, which idea, feature or problem you and your squad should prioritise first.
What is the CIRCLES method?
Created by Lewis C. Lin, the CIRCLES method is a comprehensive problem-solving framework that helps product managers make a decision to prioritise which ideas, features or problems to tackle first. CIRCLES stands for the following:
Comprehend the situation (What? Why? Who? How?)
Identify the customer
Report customer’s needs
Cut, through prioritization
List solutions
Evaluate tradeoffs
Summarize your recommendation
You can read more about the CIRCLES method here. As mentioned previously, the Deficit, Deadline and Decision matrix is based loosely around ‘Comprehend the situation’ — the first C of the CIRCLES method.
