prioritization-advisor

## Purpose
Guide product managers in choosing the right prioritization framework by asking adaptive questions about product stage, team context, decision-making needs, and stakeholder dynamics. Use this to avoid "framework whiplash" (switching frameworks constantly) or applying the wrong framework (e.g., using RICE for strategic bets or ICE for data-driven decisions). Outputs a recommended framework with implementation guidance tailored to your context.

This is not a scoring calculator—it's a decision guide that matches prioritization frameworks to your specific situation.

## Key Concepts

### The Prioritization Framework Landscape
Common frameworks and when to use them:

**Scoring frameworks:**
- **RICE** (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) — Data-driven, requires metrics
- **ICE** (Impact, Confidence, Ease) — Lightweight, gut-check scoring
- **Value vs. Effort** (2x2 matrix) — Quick wins vs. strategic bets
- **Weighted Scoring** — Custom criteria with stakeholder input

**Strategic frameworks:**
- **Kano Model** — Classify features by customer delight (basic, performance, delight)
- **Opportunity Scoring** — Rate importance vs. satisfaction gap
- **Buy-a-Feature** — Customer budget allocation exercise
- **Moscow** (Must, Should, Could, Won't) — Forcing function for hard choices

**Contextual frameworks:**
- **Cost of Delay** — Urgency-based (time-sensitive features)
- **Impact Mapping** — Goal-driven (tie features to outcomes)
- **Story Mapping** — User journey-based (narrative flow)

### Why This Works
- **Context-aware:** Matches framework to product stage, team maturity, data availability
- **Anti-dogmatic:** No single "best" framework—it depends on your situation
- **Actionable:** Provides implementation steps, not just framework names

### Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)
- **Not a universal ranking:** Frameworks aren't "better" or "worse"—they fit different contexts
- **Not a replacement for strategy:** Frameworks execute strategy; they don't create it
- **Not set-it-and-forget-it:** Reassess frameworks as your product matures

### When to Use This
- Choosing a prioritization framework for the first time
- Switching frameworks (current one isn't working)
- Aligning stakeholders on prioritization process
- Onboarding new PMs to team practices

### When NOT to Use This
- When you already have a working framework (don't fix what isn't broken)
- For one-off decisions (frameworks are for recurring prioritization)
- As a substitute for strategic vision (frameworks can't tell you what to build)

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### Facilitation Source of Truth

Use [`workshop-facilitation`](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) as the default interaction protocol for this skill.

It defines:
- session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
- one-question turns with plain-language prompts
- progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
- interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
- numbered recommendations at decision points
- quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include `Other (specify)` when useful)

This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic.

## Application

This interactive skill asks **up to 4 adaptive questions**, offering **3-4 enumerated options** at each step.

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### Question 1: Product Stage

**Agent asks:**
"What stage is your product in?"

**Offer 4 enumerated options:**

1. **Pre-product/market fit** — "Searching for PMF; experimenting rapidly; unclear what customers want" (High uncertainty, need speed)
2. **Early PMF, scaling** — "Found initial PMF; growing fast; adding features to retain/expand" (Moderate uncertainty, balancing speed + quality)
3. **Mature product, optimization** — "Established market; incremental improvements; competing on quality/features" (Low uncertainty, data-driven decisions)
4. **Multiple products/platform** — "Portfolio of products; cross-product dependencies; complex stakeholder needs" (Coordination complexity)

**Or describe your product stage (new idea, growth mode, established, etc.).**

**User response:** [Selection or custom]

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### Question 2: Team Context

**Agent asks:**
"What's your team and stakeholder environment like?"

**Offer 4 enumerated options:**

1. **Small team, limited resources** — "3-5 engineers, 1 PM, need to focus ruthlessly" (Need simple, fast framework)
2. **Cross-functional team, aligned** — "Product, design, engineering aligned; clear goals; good collaboration" (Can use data-driven frameworks)
3. **Multiple stakeholders, misaligned** — "Execs, sales, customers all have opinions; need transparent process" (Need consensus-building framework)
4. **Large org, complex dependencies** — "Multiple teams, shared roadmap, cross-team dependencies" (Need coordination framework)

**Or describe your team/stakeholder context.**

**User response:** [Selection or custom]

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### Question 3: Decision-Making Needs

**Agent asks:**
"What's the primary challenge you're trying to solve with prioritization?"

**Offer 4 enumerated options:**

1. **Too many ideas, unclear which to pursue** — "Backlog is 100+ items; need to narrow to top 10" (Need filtering framework)
2. **Stakeholders disagree on priorities** — "Sales wants features, execs want strategic bets, engineering wants tech debt" (Need alignment framework)
3. **Lack of data-driven decisions** — "Prioritizing by gut feel; want metrics-based process" (Need scoring framework)
4. **Hard tradeoffs between strategic bets vs. quick wins** — "Balancing long-term vision vs. short-term customer needs" (Need value/effort framework)

**Or describe your specific challenge.**

**User response:** [Selection or custom]

---

### Question 4: Data Availability

**Agent asks:**
"How much data do you have to inform prioritization?"

**Offer 3 enumerated options:**

1. **Minimal data** — "New product, no usage metrics, few customers to survey" (Gut-based frameworks)
2. **Some data** — "Basic