20/20 Vision

Effective product teams not only understand which set of features must be present to justify a release, they have carefully enumerated the ranking of each. They also know that different market segments may not agree among these rankings, so they seek to understand differences among the market segments. The 20/20 Vision game can help you collaboratively achieve the best ranking together with your stakeholders. Asking your customers to prioritize a list of features without providing them the opportunity to explore design continuums or dependencies often results in misunderstandings. By facilitating discussions of feature priorities with several customers, you will give them the chance to explore design continuums and relationships that result in a better understanding of market needs.

Activity Overview: Start by writing one feature each on large index cards. Shuffle the pile and put them face down. Take the first one form the top and put it on the wall. Take the next one and ask your customers if it is more or less important than the one on the wall. Place it above or below, depending on its relative importance. Repeat this with all of your feature cards. Your goal is to encourage the debate, but to do so you’ll need to answer their questions about features. Customers often change priorities by adjusting choices on design continuums.