Insight Prioritization Templates: ICE, RICE, 6R, and Opportunity Scoring

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader

Prioritizing insights effectively can transform how teams make decisions and allocate resources. With many ideas and data points competing for attention, choosing what to focus on next becomes a challenge. Insight prioritization templates like ICE, RICE, 6R, and Opportunity Scoring offer structured ways to evaluate and rank ideas based on clear criteria. These methods help teams move beyond gut feelings and guesswork, enabling smarter, faster decisions.

This post explores these four popular prioritization templates, explaining how each works, when to use them, and practical examples to guide your next project.

Sticky notes arranged for insight prioritization on whiteboard

Prioritization Templates:

ICE Template

The ICE template scores ideas based on three factors: Impact, Confidence, and Ease. Each factor is rated on a scale (usually 1 to 10), and the scores are multiplied to give an overall ICE score.

• Impact measures how much the idea will move the needle toward your goal.

• Confidence reflects how sure you are about the impact and feasibility.

• Ease gauges how simple or quick it is to implement the idea.

  
  

When to use ICE

ICE works well when you need a quick, straightforward way to rank ideas without complex data. It’s especially useful in early stages of product development or marketing campaigns when you have limited information.

Example

Imagine a team deciding which feature to build next for a mobile app:

| Feature | Impact (1-10) | Confidence (1-10) | Ease (1-10) | ICE Score (I×C×E) |

|------------------|---------------|-------------------|-------------|-------------------|

| Push notifications | 8 | 7 | 6 | 336 |

| Dark mode | 6 | 9 | 8 | 432 |

| Social sharing | 7 | 6 | 5 | 210 |

Here, Dark mode scores highest, suggesting it should be prioritized.

RICE Template

RICE adds two more dimensions to ICE: Reach and Time. The formula is:

RICE score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Time

• Reach estimates how many users or customers the idea will affect within a time frame.

• Impact measures the effect on each user.

• Confidence shows how certain you are about your estimates.

• Time is how long the idea will take to complete, usually in weeks or months.

  
  

When to use RICE

RICE is ideal when you want to balance potential benefits against the time investment. It’s common in product management to decide which features to build next.

Example

A product team considers three features:

| Feature | Reach (users) | Impact (1-10) | Confidence (1-10) | Time (weeks) | RICE Score |

|------------------|---------------|---------------|-------------------|--------------|--------------------|

| Feature A | 1000 | 7 | 8 | 4 | (1000×7×0.8)/4=1400|

| Feature B | 500 | 9 | 7 | 2 | (500×9×0.7)/2=1575 |

| Feature C | 2000 | 4 | 6 | 6 | (2000×4×0.6)/6=800 |

Despite Feature A’s higher reach, Feature B scores highest due to its strong impact and shorter time.

6R Framework

The 6R framework evaluates ideas across six dimensions: Reach, Revenue, Resources, Risk, Relationships, and Reputation. Each factor is scored, and the total helps prioritize ideas.

• Reach: Number of people affected.

• Revenue: Potential financial gain.

• Resources: Amount of effort and cost required.

• Risk: Possible downsides or uncertainties.

• Relationships: Impact on partnerships or stakeholders.

• Reputation: Effect on brand or public perception.

  
  

When to use 6R

This framework suits complex decisions involving multiple stakeholders and business goals. It helps balance financial, operational, and strategic factors.

Example

A company evaluates three projects:

| Project | Reach | Revenue | Resources | Risk | Relationships | Reputation | Total Score |

|------------------|-------|---------|-----------|------|---------------|------------|-------------|

| Project X | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 36 |

| Project Y | 6 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 39 |

| Project Z | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 32 |

Project Y scores highest, indicating it offers the best balance of benefits and risks.

Opportunity Scoring

Opportunity scoring focuses on identifying gaps between customer importance and satisfaction. It helps prioritize features or improvements that customers value but feel are currently lacking.

How it works

• Customers rate how important a feature is.

• They also rate how satisfied they are with the current solution.

• The difference between importance and satisfaction highlights opportunities.

  
  

When to use Opportunity Scoring

Use this method when customer feedback is available and you want to focus on areas with the greatest potential to improve user experience or product value.

Example

A survey asks users to rate features on importance and satisfaction:

| Feature | Importance (1-10) | Satisfaction (1-10) | Opportunity Score (Importance - Satisfaction) |

|------------------|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------|

| Feature A | 9 | 6 | 3 |

| Feature B | 7 | 7 | 0 |

| Feature C | 8 | 4 | 4 |

Feature C has the highest opportunity score, suggesting it needs urgent attention.

Notebook with handwritten prioritization scores and notes

Choosing the Right Template

Each prioritization method has strengths depending on your context:

• Use ICE for quick, simple ranking when you lack detailed data.

• Choose RICE when time and reach matter most.

• Apply 6R for complex decisions involving multiple business factors.

• Opt for Opportunity Scoring when customer feedback guides priorities.