In a Nutshell

RICE is an acronym that sums up what we should be thinking about when it comes to prioritising our efforts in line with customer needs. It stands for ‘Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort’. If we are prioritising activities that create a positive experience for a large population of users, we are likely to be delivering high value results. If we are prioritising actions that are low effort and we are confident of achieving, we are likely to be able get fast results. If we are able to do both, we stand the best chance of achieving fast, high value results.

Firstly, are we focussing our attention on those things which will have the greatest ‘reach’ and ‘impact’? In other words, does this issue (feature, user story, bug fix) positively impact a wide population of users, or are our efforts best placed elsewhere?

Of those far reaching, high impact issues, which ones are we most confident in delivering? In other words, are we ready to deliver this – have we investigated it, do we know what’s involved and do we have the skills to do this? If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these, is it worth prioritising the delivery of other activities first whilst we spend time increasing our confidence in achieving this feature to a high standard?

Lastly, which of the far-reaching, high impact issues will require most effort? For example, is it complex and multifaceted? Are there interdependencies that are hard to separate and/or multiple stakeholders involved? If yes, is it better to prioritise other things first whilst working through some of these complications?

Practices