You're facing user feedback on unattainable features. How do you prioritize within budget limits?
Facing tough decisions on product features? Dive in to share how you balance user desires with budget realities.
You're facing user feedback on unattainable features. How do you prioritize within budget limits?
Facing tough decisions on product features? Dive in to share how you balance user desires with budget realities.
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The first thing is to understand whether the feature will add value! It’s like understanding whether the customer needs a drill bit or just an inch of hole.. The latent need of the customer must be understood. Second the budget and time line remains sacrosanct. Any new features should be considered or introduced in a phased manner. This will keep the product relevant.
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It's critical to understand the user problem you are trying to solve rather than get fixated on the solution/feature being proposed. Many times the problem can be solved by a very different solution/feature that users might be asking for. The job of a PM is not to ship features it's rather to solve for user problems. Once the problem is correctly identified; the solution can often be broken down into smaller chunks that can be shipped over multiple releases helping in managing bandwidth constraints. Budget constraints are best managed by targeting a cohort & checking for the validity of the hypothesis and the ROI it is driving which can help in unlocking more budget in the future.
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Not every idea can or should be built, especially when you’re working within budget limits. When I face user feedback on unattainable features, the first thing I do is ask, Does this feature solve a critical problem? Does it enhance the core experience in a way that drives real value? If the answer is no, it gets pushed down the list. But if it’s a game-changer, I look for ways to make it happen maybe we scale it down, or we build a phased version that fits within the budget. The key is to focus on high-impact, high-value features. You don’t need to build everything, you need to build the right things. By keeping the team focused on what moves the needle and staying within financial constraints.
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Unattainability is typically a function of one party unwilling to budge from a seemingly unreasonable position. In my world this is typically due to a "perceived" gap in quality of materials, workmanship or finishing. The customer's Scope of Work/ Purchase Order left some ambiguity on what they're looking for; they realize this upon getting samples; now they want a better product at the same price the vendor supplied the samples for! The parties need to address each other's concerns and be reasonable and honest with each other.
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From my experience, to prioritize unattainable features within budget limits, first analyze user feedback to identify the most common requests and align them with business goals. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis, balancing high-value features against development costs. Engage with stakeholders to ensure alignment, and use prioritization frameworks like MoSCoW or RICE to objectively rank features. Focus on must-have, high-impact features that solve key pain points while postponing lower-priority, nice-to-have items to manage resources effectively.
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