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Lesson 7: Workshop 5 - Feature Impact

Score Features by Strategic Impact

Overview

Workshop 5 is where strategy becomes actionable roadmap. You'll systematically score your feature ideas against the prioritized psychological drivers from Workshop 4, creating a data-driven feature prioritization.

Duration: 20-30 minutes
Format: Conversational with Saga
Output: Scored and ranked feature list

What You'll Do

1. List Features

Brainstorm all potential features:

Ideas from Product Brief
Stakeholder requests
Competitive features
User feedback
Team suggestions

Aim for: 10-20 features to evaluate

2. Score Each Feature

Rate against top 5-7 prioritized drivers:

How well does this feature address each driver?
Use 0-3 scale for each driver
Be honest (don't inflate scores)

Scoring scale:

3 = Directly addresses this driver (core solution)
2 = Significantly helps with this driver
1 = Somewhat related to this driver
0 = Doesn't address this driver

3. Calculate Total Scores

Sum scores across all drivers:

Add up the scores for each feature
Higher total = higher strategic impact
This becomes your prioritization data

4. Rank and Create Roadmap

Sort features by total score:

Highest scores = Phase 1 (highest impact)
High scores = Phase 2
Medium scores = Phase 3
Low scores = Backlog or cut

Key Questions Saga Asks

Listing Features

"What features are you considering for this product?"
"What ideas came up in your Product Brief?"
"What have stakeholders requested?"
"What do competitors offer that you're considering?"
"Are there any features you're unsure about?"

Scoring Each Feature

"How well does [feature] address [top driver]?"
"Does this feature create gain or reduce pain for this persona?"
"On a scale of 0-3, how much impact does this have on [driver]?"
"Why that score? What specifically does it address?"
"Is this a 2 or a 3? What's the difference?"

Validation

"Are there features that would score higher that we haven't listed?"
"Could we modify any features to increase their impact?"
"Do these scores match your intuition? If not, why?"
"Which features are you surprised scored high or low?"

Generic Example: Scoring Matrix

Context

Top 5 Prioritized Drivers (Remote Team Leads):

Fear of team burnout without noticing (NEGATIVE)
Want to demonstrate effective leadership (POSITIVE)
Fear of losing top performers (NEGATIVE)
Want to build strong team culture (POSITIVE)
Fear of missed deadlines (NEGATIVE)

Features to Score

Feature	Burnout Fear	Leadership	Retention	Culture	Deadlines	Total
Daily team pulse check	3	2	2	1	1	9
Team workload dashboard	3	2	2	0	2	9
Recognition system	1	1	2	3	0	7
1-on-1 scheduling assistant	2	2	1	1	0	6
Meeting summaries	0	1	0	1	2	4
Async video updates	1	1	0	2	0	4
Team chat	0	0	1	2	0	3

Detailed Scoring Example

Feature: Daily Team Pulse Check

Against "Fear of team burnout without noticing" (Score: 3)

Directly addresses the fear
Provides daily visibility into team health
Early warning system for burnout indicators
Core solution to the problem

Against "Want to demonstrate effective leadership" (Score: 2)

Provides data to show proactive management
Enables evidence-based leadership decisions
Significantly helps but not the primary purpose

Against "Fear of losing top performers" (Score: 2)

Early warning helps prevent burnout-driven turnover
Identifies at-risk team members
Significantly helps with retention

Against "Want to build strong team culture" (Score: 1)

Shows you care about team wellbeing
Somewhat related but not primary benefit

Against "Fear of missed deadlines" (Score: 1)

Can identify capacity issues early
Somewhat helps but not main purpose

Total: 9 points (Highest strategic impact)

Feature: Team Chat

Against "Fear of team burnout" (Score: 0)

Doesn't address burnout visibility
No impact on this driver

Against "Want to demonstrate leadership" (Score: 0)

Doesn't provide leadership insights
No impact on this driver

Against "Fear of losing performers" (Score: 1)

Helps with connection (minor retention factor)
Somewhat related

Against "Want to build team culture" (Score: 2)

Enables team connection
Significantly helps with culture

Against "Fear of missed deadlines" (Score: 0)

Doesn't address deadline management
No impact on this driver

Total: 3 points (Low strategic impact for this persona)

Prioritized Roadmap

Based on scores, create phases:

Phase 1: Highest Impact (8-10 points)

Daily team pulse check (9)
Team workload dashboard (9)

Why first: Directly address top fears, highest strategic value

Phase 2: High Impact (6-7 points)

Recognition system (7)
1-on-1 scheduling assistant (6)

Why second: Good strategic value, support top priorities

Phase 3: Medium Impact (4-5 points)

Meeting summaries (4)
Async video updates (4)

Why third: Some value but lower priority

Backlog: Low Impact (0-3 points)

Team chat (3)

Why backlog: Doesn't address top strategic drivers for this persona

Why This Works

It's Strategic

Every score connects to:

A prioritized psychological driver
A prioritized target group
A business goal

Not arbitrary - traceable to strategy

It's Objective

Traditional approach: "I think Feature A is more important"

Feature Impact approach: "Feature A scores 9, Feature B scores 4"

Data beats opinions

It's Defensible

When stakeholders ask "Why aren't we building X?"

You can show:

Here's our Trigger Map
Here are our top prioritized drivers
Here's how features score against them
Feature X scores lower than our current roadmap

Strategic reasoning, not politics

It's Flexible

When priorities change:

Update driver rankings
Re-score features
New roadmap emerges automatically

Strategy drives features, not the reverse

Scoring Guidelines

Be Honest

Don't:

Inflate scores to justify pet features
Score based on what you want to build
Let politics influence scoring

Do:

Score based on actual impact
Accept that some features score low
Challenge your own assumptions

Be Specific

When scoring, ask:

"How SPECIFICALLY does this address the driver?"
"What about this feature reduces that pain?"
"What evidence supports this score?"

Use the Full Scale

0-3 scale exists for a reason:

0 is okay - not everything addresses everything
3 should be rare - only direct solutions
1-2 is where most scores land

Consider Both Positive and Negative

Features can address:

Negative drivers (reduce pain, prevent fears)
Positive drivers (enable goals, create gains)
Both (most powerful features)

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: High Scores Across Multiple Drivers

What it means: High-leverage feature addressing multiple needs

Example: Daily pulse check scores high on burnout fear, leadership goals, retention fear

Action: Prioritize - strategically valuable

Pattern 2: High Score on Top Driver Only

What it means: Laser-focused solution for most important need

Example: Workload balancing scores 3 on burnout fear, low on others

Action: Still high priority if that driver is #1

Pattern 3: Moderate Scores Across Many

What it means: Nice-to-have that helps a bit with everything

Example: Team chat scores 1-2 on multiple drivers

Action: Lower priority - not solving urgent problems

Pattern 4: Low Scores Everywhere

What it means: Feature doesn't connect to strategy

Example: Fancy animations score 0-1 across all drivers

Action: Cut it or deprioritize significantly

Beyond the Numbers

The Conversation Matters

Questions that emerge:

"Why doesn't this feature score higher?"
"Could we modify it to address more drivers?"
"Are we missing a feature that would score higher?"
"Do these scores match our intuition?"

Insights from discussion:

Features can be refined to increase impact
Missing features can be identified
Assumptions can be challenged
Strategy can be sharpened

Combining with Other Factors

Feature Impact = Strategic value

Also consider:

Feasibility: How hard to build?
Dependencies: What's required first?
Market timing: Competitive urgency?
Resources: Do we have capacity?

Combined formula:

Priority = (Strategic Impact × Feasibility) + Urgency Bonus

What You Get from Workshop 5

✅ Scored feature list - Quantified strategic impact
✅ Ranked roadmap - Clear prioritization
✅ Strategic justification - Defensible decisions
✅ Data-driven priorities - Not opinions
✅ Traceable reasoning - Feature → Driver → Group → Goal

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Inflating Scores

Problem: Scoring pet features higher than deserved
Why it fails: Undermines the whole system
Fix: Be brutally honest, challenge yourself

Mistake 2: Scoring Too Many Features

Problem: Trying to score 50+ features
Why it fails: Takes too long, loses focus
Fix: Start with 10-20 most viable features

Mistake 3: Ignoring Low Scores

Problem: "But we still need to build it"
Why it fails: Wastes resources on low-impact features
Fix: Accept that some features should be cut

Mistake 4: Not Re-Scoring

Problem: Never updating scores as you learn
Why it fails: Roadmap becomes stale
Fix: Re-score quarterly or when strategy shifts

Mistake 5: Forgetting Feasibility

Problem: Prioritizing impossible features
Why it fails: Can't actually execute
Fix: Combine strategic score with feasibility

Using the Scored Feature List

For Sprint Planning

Each sprint:

Reference the scored list
Focus on highest-impact features
Validate against Trigger Map
Make trade-offs based on strategy

For Stakeholder Communication

When presenting:

Show the Trigger Map
Show the scoring matrix
Show the prioritized list
Explain the strategic reasoning

Stakeholders appreciate:

Clear methodology
Traceable decisions
Strategic foundation
Data-driven approach

For Design Decisions

During design:

Reference the scores
Focus on high-impact features first
Ensure design addresses the drivers
Validate against scoring

Example: "We're designing the pulse check (score: 9). It needs to address burnout fear, so let's include early warning indicators and actionable suggestions."

The Complete Chain

Now you have the full Trigger Mapping system:

Workshop 1: Business Goals (Vision + Objectives)
    ↓
Workshop 2: Target Groups (3-5 prioritized personas)
    ↓
Workshop 3: Driving Forces (positive + negative for each)
    ↓
Workshop 4: Prioritization (ranked groups and drivers)
    ↓
Workshop 5: Feature Impact (scored feature list)
    ↓
Strategic Roadmap (data-driven priorities)

Every feature traces back to:

A psychological driver
A target group
A business goal

No orphaned features. No guesswork. Strategic clarity.

What's Next

You're ready to create your own Trigger Map. The tutorial walks through all 5 workshops step by step with Saga, and the next lessons cover how to create and use the visual Trigger Map.

Key Takeaways

✅ Systematic scoring - Features rated 0-3 against prioritized drivers
✅ Data-driven roadmap - Total scores determine priorities
✅ Strategically defensible - Every decision traces to strategy
✅ Flexible and updateable - Re-score when strategy shifts
✅ Beyond numbers - The conversation reveals insights
✅ Complete traceability - Feature → Driver → Group → Goal

← Back to Lesson 7 | Next: Lesson 9 - Positive & Negative Drivers →

Part of Module 05: Trigger Mapping

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