Techniques for Prioritizing Requirements — Buy a Feature
So folks welcome back, this blog is the continuation of the previous blog Decoding Success: A Guide to Writing Effective PRD. In this, I’ll cover one of the prioritization techniques that we discussed in the previous blog this prioritization technique is known as the Buy a Feature prioritization method. Initially developed by Luke Hohmann, this methodology was built to make a product manager’s life easier, to make them understand what problems users face and to build solutions to get them solved. Buy-a-feature is a fun and easy-to-play game which gives you a different aspect to understand the value of each feature and how it impacts the end user. It ensures that you are more focused on the right features and that the customers are getting what they need.
At a point in your working life, you might have faced this issue where the demand from the users, stakeholders and internal teams are so many and the priority set on the requirements is so high that prioritization becomes a headache for you. This game helps you ease the prioritization of the features. Let’s learn how the methodology helps you in detail.
What exactly is Buy a Feature?
‘Buy-a-Feature’ is a method used during the product development phase to assess the value of potential features or ideas. In this approach, the product team collaborates with customers and stakeholders or respective teams involved in the feature to gather feedback and prioritize features based on their recognized value. The process involves listing features, assigning estimated development costs, and providing stakeholders with “play money(hypothetical cash)” to “buy” the features they find most valuable. This interactive and engaging framework helps uncover preferences and motivations behind stakeholders’ decisions, turning the prioritization process into an insightful and enjoyable activity.
This method is useful for helping stakeholders choose features from various options.
How to use ‘Buy-a-Feature.’
- Step 1: Create a list of features
Make a list of all the features you’d like to prioritize and assign prices to each. - Step 2: Assign prices to the feature
Optionally, assign a value or cost to each feature based on project size and complexity. This pricing that you assign to the feature is derived using the efforts and time that the team will take to get it done. The more effort and time the higher the price of the feature. - Step 3: Get all the stakeholders involved
Bring stakeholders and customers together for an in-person or virtual session. - Step 4: Distribute play money
Give everyone in the session a fixed amount of “play money,” like 50–60% of the total feature costs if prices are assigned. - Step 5: Feature buying:
Participants “buy” features by spending their play money as they see fit. Observe and ask stakeholders to explain their choices. - Step 6: Collect insights
Arrange features based on the money spent (top to bottom). Use the ranked list and insights to guide future product development decisions. - Review the purchases
After the game, review the purchased features and reflect on some key questions:
- Why was the least expensive feature not chosen?}
- What motivated the selection of one feature over another?
- Understand why multiple stakeholders collaborated to buy the most expensive feature.
This engaging method helps prioritize features while gaining valuable insights from stakeholders.
When to use the ‘Buy-a-Feature’ methodology?
Use Buy-a-Feature when improving a product, especially if your team needs to prioritize features or understand customer desires. It’s effective in cutting down lengthy feature lists and identifying which features attract customers. The game enhances transparency with key stakeholders and depicts resource limitations. It helps customers understand why brands can’t offer everything at once. If traditional market research has yielded little, Buy-a-Feature offers a reliable alternative, avoiding issues like unrelated survey responses or trolling in online polls.
A few tips when using the ‘Buy-a-feature’ methodology
- Prioritize with end-users for more meaningful insights into the features they value
- Welcome new ideas during the game, estimating their value and fitting them into the ranked list.
- Keep the list length manageable to avoid overwhelming participants
- Prices can be based on development costs, complexity, risk, effort, or a mix of factors
- Give everyone the same amount of money
- Provide enough money to buy only half of the features to encourage thoughtful choices
- Encourage negotiation; price a desirable feature higher than the given play money to test collaboration
- Pay attention to group discussions for insights into product priorities
- Join discussions to guide and give extra play money if needed
- Listen to participants’ explanations and discuss each answer with the group
Using Buy-a-Feature is a great way for product teams to get an idea of stakeholders’ and consumers’ priorities swiftly. By letting potential customers prioritize features, it helps identify important features in the market. The Buy a Feature game is a great prioritization tool when your organization has limited resources and wants to develop numerous features. By involving potential customers in the prioritization process, you can efficiently identify the essential features that the market values most.
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