Why Standard Frameworks Aren’t Enough: A Contextual Approach to Prioritization

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If you’ve ever prepared for a product management interview, you’ve likely come across the usual prioritization frameworks: RICE, ICE, MoSCoW, and more. These frameworks are useful tools for structuring your thoughts, but they often fall short in real-world application. Why? Because prioritization is contextual.

Different teams, products, and stages demand different approaches. A one-size-fits-all framework rarely accounts for the nuances of your team’s current situation. Let’s explore an alternative prioritization model that adapts to the team’s stage and goals, offering a more mature and practical approach.

The Contextual Prioritization Model

This model focuses on aligning priorities with the team’s current stage and challenges. Instead of forcing a framework onto every scenario, it adapts priorities based on the team’s goals and needs.

1. When the Team Has Just Been Formed

Prioritize:

Setting the right vision and goals
Researching new business opportunities
Testing new ideas
Pitching and storytelling to establish the team’s identity

At this stage, the focus is on foundation-building rather than immediate deliverables. The team needs clarity and alignment before diving into execution.

2. When Looking for a Big Lever (Rather Than Many Small Wins)

Prioritize:

High-risk, high-return projects
Experiments and research that provide major insights

The goal here is to find a transformational opportunity rather than incremental improvements. Risk tolerance is higher because the potential payoff is significant.

3. When Focused on Launching One Product

Prioritize:

Tests and research that tightly define success
Projects required to achieve that success

At this stage, precision matters. The focus is on removing ambiguity and ensuring the launch is as smooth as possible.

4. When Working on Sustainable, Consistent Growth

Prioritize:

Low-risk, predictable-return projects
Doubling down on proven levers

Teams in this stage need to maintain momentum. The focus is on stability and scaling what already works.

5. When Aiming for Aggressive Growth

Prioritize:

A portfolio of high-risk/high-return and low-risk/predictable-return projects
Establishing a work cadence that can pivot based on experimental results

Aggressive growth demands a balanced approach. You need to take big bets while ensuring the team can adapt quickly as results come in.

6. When Resolving Long-Standing Quality Issues

Prioritize:

Defining a quality bar and projects that achieve it
Long-term contributions to sustained quality (e.g., dashboards, logging, infrastructure refactoring)

Here, the focus shifts to stability and excellence. The team works to eliminate technical debt and improve the user experience.

Why This Model Works

Context-Driven: Unlike rigid frameworks, this approach adapts to the team’s current situation.

Nuanced Prioritization: It balances short-term needs with long-term goals.

Practical Execution: It acknowledges that prioritization frameworks often collapse under execution and emphasizes continuous adaptation.

Key Takeaways for Product Management Interviews

Don’t regurgitate frameworks. Instead, understand the problem and align your approach to the context.

Show your thought process. Explain why a certain approach works better for the situation.

Acknowledge the limitations of frameworks. Highlight how you would adapt as new information comes to light.

For example, if you’re asked about prioritizing features for a new product launch, don’t jump straight to RICE or ICE. Instead, say something like:

"For a new product launch, my focus would be on reducing ambiguity and ensuring we have the right tests and research in place to define success. While frameworks like RICE can help quantify decisions, I’d prioritize alignment across stakeholders and iterate as we gather more data during execution."

Conclusion

There is no silver bullet in prioritization. Frameworks are tools, not solutions. The real key is understanding the problem deeply and adapting your approach to the context. Whether you’re a product manager preparing for an interview or leading a team, this contextual prioritization model will help you navigate complex decisions with clarity and confidence.