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Creativity sparks innovation, but true growth and customer satisfaction come from prioritizing features that align with user needs and business goals, and deliver tangible, long-term value.
Focusing on high-impact tasks helps software makers create clear product roadmaps. This ensures time and resources are allocated to what matters most. It keeps operations lean and agile, drives competitiveness, and prevents wasted effort on features that fall outside their growth strategy.
To help you craft an impactful software product roadmap, we examined the strategies of thriving software businesses and consulted two industry experts for insights:
- Swashata Ghosh, VP of Engineering at Freemius and founder of WPQuark, a WordPress form builder plugin
- Andrei Glingeanu, software engineer and developer at Blocksy, a lightweight WordPress theme designed for Gutenberg and WooCommerce. He was featured in a recent Freemius video with Blocksy co-founder Sergiu Radu, which you can view below:
Get your compass out — it’s time to plot the route for your software product roadmap 🗺️, starting with a breakdown of the perks.
Key Benefits of an Effective Software Product Roadmap
By focusing on the right features, software makers can optimize resources, enhance user satisfaction, and align their software product roadmap with long-term business success. Let’s explore how.
- Balancing passion and strategy: Swashata cautions against getting carried away by the thrill of new ideas. He illustrates this with a personal example: “I had to choose between building a cost calculation feature customers requested or implementing a Stripe Subscription feature. I chose the latter, but it didn’t boost sales. Only after adding the cost calculation feature did I see real results.”
Looking back, he reflects: “I should have prioritized the requested feature. Subscriptions without cost calculations weren’t helpful for most users. This experience taught me to align technical goals with customer demands and overall strategy.”
By combining creative ideas with strategic thinking and user feedback, makers ensure their product fulfills a real-world purpose.
- Maximizing resources for impact: Effective prioritization helps makers focus on features that improve user experience and drive product growth.
Swashata shares his approach: “We track user feedback in GitLab, using a simple system to keep score of requests. Each time a request comes in, we add a +1. Over time, this reveals the most in-demand features, guiding our prioritization.”
- Acting fast and iterating from there: Blocksy’s Andrei reflects on how delaying their launch to perfect the product cost them valuable time and user insights. “It’s not about building everything first,” he explains. “It’s about releasing something, gathering feedback, and iterating from there.”
A clear example is Blocksy’s Shop Extra extension. “In version 1, we included a few WooCommerce enhancements,” Andrei recalls. “These features quickly gained traction within the eCommerce community, proving this was an area worth focusing on. That insight led to a more comprehensive Shop Extra in Blocksy v2, packed with filters, swatches, and more. Even now, we continue improving this extension based on customer needs.”
This iterative approach has since shaped Blocksy’s development process, keeping them user-focused and driven by real needs rather than assumptions.
Successfully navigating feature prioritization requires a blend of strategic planning and user input. Let’s explore why listening to your users is the first step to turning priorities into action.
The Starting Point: Using Customer Feedback to Prioritize Software Features Effectively
Customer feedback typically falls into two categories — qualitative and quantitative.
- Qualitative feedback offers insights from individual users about specific pain points, helping makers understand user perspectives on a personal level. This type of feedback is often gathered through conversations and support tickets.
- Quantitative feedback comes from data and trends, showing how the broader user base interacts with the product. This can be collected through feature request counts and user feedback forms.
Andrei and the Blocksy team rely on quantitative feedback. “We have a form on our website for feature requests, and we keep an internal backlog,” Andrei explains. This system helps convert individual feedback into broader insights.
“We don’t have a strict threshold for prioritizing specific requests,” Andrei adds. “We rely on our gut feeling and how well a request aligns with the overall product strategy. Plus, with our background in building real-world websites, we have a solid understanding of what’s important to our users.”
The Effectiveness of Feedback Boards
Public feedback boards like Freemius’ suggestion board – powered by Nolt – offer a dynamic way for users to engage directly with makers. Users can propose new features, share ideas, and comment on existing suggestions, creating a collaborative environment for product improvement.
The upvoting system allows the community to highlight the most impactful features, updates, and ideas. Additionally, makers can choose to display only the features they need more feedback on, maintaining strategic privacy and ensuring their roadmap doesn’t unintentionally guide competitors.
However, some makers may find that public feedback boards aren’t always the best option.
Andrei shares that Blocksy initially tried an open voting system but eventually moved away from it. “The noise became too distracting, so we now rely solely on a feature request form.” This more streamlined approach helps Blocksy maintain a focused internal backlog, ensuring feedback remains relevant and aligned with their product goals.
Collaborative Feature Sponsorship
Another approach to prioritizing features is collaborative sponsorship, where power users actively champion specific developments they value most.
Swashata shares an example: “A few companies in Germany were power users of my product. They purchased a lot of licenses, so when they made a request, it became a priority. These agencies were buying new licenses almost every month, which created a win-win situation: they got the features they needed, and I got consistent business.”
But bigger customers aren’t the only ones who can (or should) influence a product’s roadmap. Smaller users with niche requests can also contribute by co-sponsoring feature development. Swashata shares an example: “One user requested a guest blogging feature for WordPress through the form builder. Although it didn’t align with the product’s core value, their need made sense: they wanted a single solution to avoid multiple plugins. I offered to let them sponsor 50% of the development cost. It was a win-win — they got the feature, and it became a valuable addition for other users.”
Balancing power user requests with opportunities for smaller users to co-sponsor development helps makers meet both broad and niche needs without compromising the product’s long-term vision.
The Freemium Model
One challenge in gathering feedback is reaching enough users for a representative sample. Blocksy tackles this by offering a freemium version of its product, attracting a larger user base to test core features.
The freemium model also acts as a validation tool, helping Blocksy identify which features resonate with users before investing heavily in development.
Andrei shares, “When we released the free version, we set up Zendesk and a website chat for customer support. But we quickly realized that providing real-time responses via chat was too time-consuming for us. Email and forum feedback turned out to be more effective for thoughtful, detailed input.”
In addition to gathering feedback, proactive approaches to feature prioritization are equally important.
Effective Strategies for Prioritizing Features in Your Software Roadmap
Effective feature prioritization balances user needs, product stability, and long-term business goals. Here are two strategies to help you take action.
The MVP Approach
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) helps teams deliver a basic set of features to validate their relevance before investing further resources. By focusing on core features that address the primary problem, an MVP provides just enough functionality to gather valuable user feedback and minimize wasted effort.
Blocksy uses this approach to test user interest and refine features. Andrei explains, “We build an initial version, even if it’s not complete, and see how people respond. We focus on identifying problems and gathering user requests to improve the product.”
One example of Blocksy’s MVP approach is its header and footer builders. Initially, the free version of the theme offered only pre-built variants, not a full editing experience. “But after observing what free users needed, we developed a customizable header builder, which has since become a core feature,” Andrei shares.
Another example is the “Advanced Posts” block. The team started with a simple shortcode, “blocksy_posts,” which became popular quickly. They then expanded it into a feature-rich Gutenberg block, adding an “Advanced Taxonomy” block for querying terms and an advanced slider capability as usage grew.
Balancing New Features with Bugs and Technical Debt
“Bugs and technical debt must be prioritized alongside new features,” Swashata advises. “If you neglect them, product stability and user satisfaction suffer.” He emphasizes the importance of fixing bugs that affect core functionality to maintain the “happy path”.
The “happy path” refers to the typical user journey, where key functions must work seamlessly. By addressing bugs alongside new features, software makers can ensure product stability, minimize disruptions, and preserve user trust.
Swashata highlights the importance of stability in critical features: “For example, if a bug affects the quiz score calculation in my plugin, fixing it takes precedence over adding new features. Similarly, any issues with payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal must be resolved before adding new ones. Features that are central to the product’s unique selling proposition (USP) must remain stable.”
In addition to strategic approaches, frameworks could also provide valuable guidance in feature prioritization — depending on where you are in your product’s development.
Prioritization Frameworks to Guide Your Decisions
Prioritization frameworks are valuable tools for mapping out a software product roadmap, but their effectiveness depends on the specific needs of your business and product.
Swashata shares that he hasn’t had much success using frameworks. “They can help organize your thoughts, but they don’t help develop intuition. Intuition is what guides product sense [more on this later], and it can be supported or questioned by data,” he explains.
Despite not directly improving product sense, he acknowledges that frameworks are helpful for scaling your product and aligning priorities. “They’re particularly useful when communicating decisions to non-technical co-founders, investors, or team members.”
Below are three widely used frameworks to help prioritize software features:
MoSCoW Method
The MoSCoW method is a straightforward way to prioritize features based on their importance. It breaks down tasks into four categories:
- Must-have: Essential features the product needs to function.
- Should-have: Important features that add significant value but aren’t critical for the basic functionality.
- Could-have: Nice-to-have features that can improve the user experience but are less urgent and can be saved for later.
- Won’t-have: Features that are unnecessary for the current release and can be left out to save resources.
How to use the MoSCoW method:
- Align with your stakeholders (even if it’s just you or a small team) to discuss the key factors influencing your decisions, such as budget, time, and business goals.
- List all the features or tasks you need to prioritize. This could include everything from new features to fixes and updates.
- Go through the list and assign each item to one of the four MoSCoW categories.
- Use the categorized list as a roadmap for development, focusing first on the “must-have” features, then moving on to “should-have” and “could-have” items as time and resources allow. “Won’t-have” features can be excluded until later.
This method helps makers stay focused on what truly matters and avoid spreading resources too thin across low-priority tasks.
RICE Scoring Model
The RICE Scoring Model is a method for prioritizing features based on four factors: Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort.
- Reach: Estimate how many people the feature will impact (e.g., number of users per month). A larger reach means more potential value.
- Impact: Rate how much the feature will benefit users or the business. This can be scored on a simple scale (e.g., 1-10, with 10 being high impact).
- Confidence: Assess how sure you are about your estimates for reach and impact. A higher confidence score means you have solid data or experience supporting your estimates. If confidence is low, you might lower the score or gather more information before moving forward.
- Effort: Estimate how much time and resources are needed to develop the feature. This could be measured in person-months or some other unit of work. Features that require more effort typically score lower.
To calculate a score for each feature, multiply the Reach, Impact, and Confidence scores, then divide by Effort.
Features with higher RICE scores are typically more valuable to prioritize, as they deliver high impact relative to the resources needed to implement them.
Example:
Let’s say you’re deciding between two features for your SaaS product:
- Feature A: Reach = 500 users, Impact = 5, Confidence = 80%, Effort = 4 months
- Feature B: Reach = 200 users, Impact = 8, Confidence = 70%, Effort = 2 months
Using the RICE model, Feature A has a higher potential reach but takes more effort to implement, while Feature B has a more substantial impact and lower effort. After applying the RICE formula, you can compare the results and decide which feature should be prioritized based on the combined factors of reach, impact, confidence, and effort.
Knowing When to Say No: Avoiding Feature Bloat
Effective prioritization also means knowing when to say no to certain feature requests. Not every suggestion will align with your product’s core value. Swashata warns that trying to copy every competitor’s features can lead to a “race to the bottom,” where the product loses its unique appeal. He advises focusing on what truly differentiates your product. “When you understand the real competition — like traditional pen and paper versus digital form builders — you realize that copying features isn’t always beneficial.”
Blocksy takes a similar approach, being selective about which features to add in order to avoid unnecessary complexity. They stay focused on the core value that makes Blocksy unique, rather than trying to replicate every feature competitors offer.
“Your product can’t be everything to everyone,” Andrei says, emphasizing the importance of keeping a focused product with only the most essential features.
This approach is also highlighted in a Success Story with Ivan Halaka and Tauras Sinkus from Webba Booking, where Ivan explains why it’s important not to include every feature request from customers.
While feature prioritization is often driven by customer feedback, strategies, and frameworks, it’s also crucial to trust your instincts. Sometimes, your gut feeling about your product and users can guide decisions that data alone may not reveal.
Product Sense: Developing Intuitive Prioritization Skills
“Product sense” is the ability to blend intuition with data to identify high-impact features. It’s a skill that develops over time through experience and learning from user feedback.
Swashata describes it as a mix of “learning as you go” and adapting through experience.
“Early on, I prioritized features just because they seemed fun or interesting,” he shares. “But when they didn’t gain traction, I realized I needed to focus more on what users were asking for.” This balance between intuition and user needs helps develop the product sense that guides feature prioritization.
Swashata stresses that product sense comes from working closely with your product over time. “It’s an intuitive skill that grows as you learn what will have the most impact,” he explains. While frameworks like MoSCoW or RICE can guide prioritization, much of the decision-making comes from judgment developed through experience.
However, it’s important to remain humble. “You need data to confirm your instincts and be willing to admit when you’re wrong.”
Building a Software Product Roadmap for Focused Growth and Lasting Success
Successful software product roadmaps are built on a balance of creativity, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of user needs.
A well-prioritized roadmap is more than a to-do list — it’s a growth tool that guides product development and ensures every feature adds value to the user experience and business goals. Feature prioritization is an ongoing process that demands flexibility, responsiveness, and a focus on what drives value.
With the right approach, you can transform your vision into a product that delights users, leading to growth, loyalty, and long-term success.
For more insights:
- Check out our Product-Market Fit video and explore the importance of balancing feature requests with strategic goals
- Dive deeper into how pre-release versions can help with feature prioritization with beta programs
