How would you prioritize your product backlog?

Question

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Situation:
In my previous role as a Product Manager for a fintech startup, we were working
on developing a new feature set for our mobile banking app. The product backlog
had grown significantly due to new feature requests, technical debt, and
regulatory requirements. We needed a systematic approach to prioritize these
tasks to ensure timely delivery and maximum value to our users.
Task:
My responsibility was to prioritize the product backlog in a way that balanced
user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility, all while ensuring
that the most critical features were developed first to meet our upcoming
release deadlines.
Action:
I implemented a prioritization framework that combined the MoSCoW method (Must
have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have) with weighted scoring based on
business impact, customer value, and development effort. I started by gathering
input from key stakeholders, including the engineering, marketing, and customer
support teams. Then, I worked closely with the development team to estimate the
effort required for each task.
After scoring each item in the backlog, I categorized them into Must-have (high
business impact and customer value, with reasonable development effort),
Should-have (important but not critical for the next release), Could-have
(nice-to-have features with low priority), and Won't-have (features that didn’t
align with our current goals).
Result:
This approach allowed us to clearly define our priorities and focus on
delivering the most valuable features first. We successfully launched the key
features on time, which led to a 20% increase in user engagement within the
first month. Additionally, by addressing technical debt alongside new features,
we improved the app's stability, resulting in a 15% decrease in support tickets
related to technical issues. The prioritization framework also enhanced
cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that everyone was aligned with the
product goals.

Anonymous · Answer

For prioritizing the product backlog, I evaluate each product across the
dimensions of 1) impact on metrics/organization level goal the needle which it
is trying to move, 2) reach of product as to how many personas or stakeholders
experience will it improve 3) technical feasibility or complexity of the product
being delivered which also includes dimensions of clarity in requirements and 4)
if its of strategic importance to future growth

How would you prioritize your product backlog?

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