RICE prioritisation: reach, impact, confidence and effort in an example
RICE is a method for scoring product initiatives on four factors: reach, impact, confidence and effort. The article describes the scales proposed at Intercom, a worked example for four initiatives, how to use the score and the method's limitations.
Amounts and values in the examples are illustrative and show how the calculation works. In projects, we use the client's data.
Dominik Dębski · Lemur Media · · reading time: 4 min
Reviewed by Dominik Dębski, 1 November 2026
What is the RICE method?
RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) is a formula that compares product initiatives by their total impact on customers per unit of team effort. The method used at Intercom was described by Sean McBride in 2018. The aim was to reduce the influence of pet ideas and gut-feel judgements on the order of work, and to force the team to write down the assumptions behind each score.
How do you score each factor?
| Factor | Definition | Scale at Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | Number of people or events affected by the initiative in a given period | Number of customers per quarter |
| Impact | Strength of the effect for an individual person | 3 = massive, 2 = high, 1 = medium, 0.5 = low, 0.25 = minimal |
| Confidence | How far the estimates are backed by data | 100% = high, 80% = medium, 50% = low |
| Effort | Work by all team members | Person-months; 0.5 for work well under a month |
In the author's view, confidence below 50% means an initiative is too uncertain to score; such an idea first needs research or a test.
What does a worked example look like?
The example compares four initiatives of a B2B SaaS company's product team in one quarter.
| Initiative | Reach (customers per quarter) | Impact | Confidence | Effort (person-months) | RICE score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. New data import wizard | 2 000 | 1 | 80% | 2 | 800 |
| B. Reporting module for the board | 500 | 3 | 50% | 3 | 250 |
| C. Simplified sign-up form | 6 000 | 0,5 | 100% | 1 | 3 000 |
| D. Integration with the accounting system | 1 200 | 2 | 80% | 4 | 480 |
Calculations: A = 2,000 × 1 × 0.8 ÷ 2 = 800; B = 500 × 3 × 0.5 ÷ 3 = 250; C = 6,000 × 0.5 × 1 ÷ 1 = 3,000; D = 1,200 × 2 × 0.8 ÷ 4 = 480. Order: C, A, D, B. The reporting module has the highest impact, but low reach and low confidence. Before it goes into delivery, the team can raise confidence in the estimate, e.g. with a prototype shown to 10 customers.
How do you use the score in planning?
The RICE score structures the discussion about order, while the decision is made by the product owner, taking dependencies and commitments into account. Scores are prepared for all initiatives in a single review so that the scales are comparable. Reach and impact assumptions are recorded for each initiative and compared with the outcome after release. RICE complements the assessment of financial impact described in the article on roadmap prioritisation.
The record of assumptions for initiative A in the example might look like this: reach of 2,000 customers, because that is how many new customers import data each quarter; impact of 1, because a shorter import shortens onboarding but does not change the product's core value; confidence of 80%, because support tickets confirm the problem but the solution has not been tested; effort of 2 person-months according to the delivery team's estimate. A record like this makes it possible to check after the quarter which assumption was furthest from reality.
How do you run a RICE scoring session?
The RICE score is prepared by the product owner, and a joint session with the team and a sales representative is used to verify the assumptions.
- A list of initiatives with a one-sentence description of the customer problem and the source of the idea.
- A reach estimate from product data, e.g. the number of accounts using the area in question in the last quarter.
- Impact and confidence scores, with the rationale recorded for each value.
- An effort estimate by the delivery team, covering design, testing and release.
- Ranking the list, reviewing dependencies and a decision by the product owner.
- Comparing assumptions with the outcome after release and adjusting the scoring approach.
| Company size | Who runs the scoring | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 1–49 people | Founder or the only product manager | Monthly |
| 50–249 people | Product managers of individual teams | Quarterly, before planning |
| 250–999 people | Each product team separately, with a review at portfolio level | Quarterly |
What are the limitations of RICE?
- The impact scale is subjective, and the difference between 1 and 2 doubles the score.
- Reach favours changes for all users at the expense of initiatives for a small group of high-revenue customers.
- The method does not account for technical dependencies, regulatory risk or technical debt.
- Scores are comparable only within a single team using the same scales.
- High confidence is sometimes assigned without data; the rule that 100% confidence requires quantitative data limits this problem.