Brainstorming and selecting Feature Candidates for the Product Feature Backlog | Product Development Process

Continuing the discussion from Overview: End to end OFN Product Development Process:


Brainstorming and selecting Feature Candidates for the Product Feature Backlog

This step in the process takes the items in the Product Development Backlog and turns them into Feature Candidates that are prioritised in the Product Feature Backlog.

The process is fairly simple. Whoever has taken responsibility to own the item in the Backlog will gather a group of people in the community who have a particular/relevant interest in the item to brainstorm how to solve the problem.

The session runs along these lines:

1. Set context

  • Discuss the problem to be solved, make sure everyone understands the goal to be achieved and the other details written in the icebox item.

2. Brainstorm all possible feature ideas

  • Discuss all potential ways you could solve the problem. They can be small, enormous, leading edge or bleeding edge, not idea is stupid and all are worthy of consideration.

3. Prioritise these ideas on a value matrix

  • As you work through the ideas, place them on the matrix by considering how easy the idea is likely to be to implement, and also how much value you believe the idea will have in solving the problem.

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4. Select the feature candidate/s for the Product Feature Backlog

  • As you can see on the example matrix above, the ideas that are in the top right hand corner (ie. those with the most value that are the easiest to implement) are the most valuable ideas to choose from first. Discuss and select which of these to add to the Product Feature Backlog to be properly scoped and implemented.
  • Note: When adding the winning idea/s to the feature backlog be sure to assign the person responsible for coordinating the scoping (inception) for the delivery train. The people involved in the Inception process should ideally be those who will go on to build and test the feature.