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Glossary
Prioritization

What is RICE Score?

A RICE Score is a scoring system used by product teams to prioritize features, ideas, and projects by calculating four factors: Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. The formula (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort helps teams move beyond subjective opinions to data-driven decision-making. It provides a standardized way to compare disparate initiatives against a single objective value.

When to use it

Teams should use the RICE framework when they have a large backlog of competing ideas and need a transparent, defensible way to decide what to build next. It is particularly effective during quarterly planning or when stakeholders have conflicting priorities that need to be resolved with objective data. This method helps prevent 'loudest voice' syndrome by grounding decisions in estimated reach and effort.

Example

A SaaS team prioritizing 4 features for Q3 evaluates a new 'Dark Mode' vs. a 'CSV Export' tool. The CSV Export has a Reach of 1,000 users/month, an Impact of 2 (High), and 80% Confidence, with an Effort of 2 person-weeks, resulting in a score of 800. Dark Mode has a Reach of 5,000, an Impact of 0.5 (Minimal), and 100% Confidence, with an Effort of 1 week, resulting in a score of 2,500. Despite Dark Mode having lower individual impact, its massive reach and low effort make it the higher priority according to the RICE model.

How Planet Roadmap helps with RICE Score

Planet Roadmap includes a Table view with customizable scoring fields that allow you to automate RICE calculations directly on your feature backlog. You can also link these scores to your public feedback portal to incorporate customer voting data into your Reach estimates.

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FAQ

How do you calculate the 'Confidence' score in RICE?
Confidence is expressed as a percentage (100% for high confidence, 80% for medium, 50% for low) to account for uncertainty in your Reach, Impact, or Effort estimates. If you have data to back up your Reach but are guessing on Impact, you should lower your Confidence score to reflect that risk.
What is the difference between RICE and ICE scoring?
While both frameworks measure Impact, Confidence, and Effort, RICE adds 'Reach' as an explicit factor to account for how many users will actually be affected by a change. ICE is often faster for quick internal gut checks, whereas RICE provides a more rigorous analysis suitable for long-term roadmapping.

Related terms

ICE ScoreMoSCoW MethodWeighted ScoringValue vs Effort MatrixWSJFBacklog Grooming

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