You are the product manager for a product and you just launched the pilot. There is a competing priority on a new feature request and a bug that was found post-launch. How will you decide which one to pick?
- Rob Martin
Clarifying questions:
Which company is facing this problem? Google
On which Platform this is happening? Web or mobile? Up to you
What would be plan for launch date of new feature? ASAP
Does the feature/bug address security or privacy vulnerabilities? No
Another question needs to be analysed:
Do we have Estimated number of customers affected due to bug and new feature? Because Bug can affect all users and new feature might be used by selected group of users
How frequently customer uses the feature with bug compare to new feature? because Frequency of use can affect the initial customer experience. (As it is pilot).
How much engineering effort is required? As Bug fixing requires engineering and QA testing but new feature requires User research, design, development, QA testing, marketing and all other teams.
What will be the opportunity cost if we focus on bug v/s new feature?
Internal factors:
- Does the bug/feature help in building other features?
- Does the bug/ feature help in Capturing more data to understand user behaviour and minimize risk of our decisions?
- Does the bug/ feature have any dependencies on third party?
External Factors
- Competition: competitor may also launch such features and we want to be first in the market for early advantages and attract more users
- Regulatory: New govt. policy or regulatory within a timeline
- Marketing: New promotions for upcoming sales event such as festival offer, new year to improve sales
RICE Score
I would compare Bug v/s New Feature on the RICE (Reach, impact, confidence, effort) parameter.
Reach: How much customer is going to be affected due to bug or new feature?
Impact: How much impact will happen internally and externally due to both?
Confidence: How much data is available due to both Reach and Impact?
Effort: How much effort is required for each?
We will decide on RICE Score (Reach*Impact*Confidence/Effort) whether we will Fix a Bug or implement new features.
Google