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RICE Calculator
RICE is a prioritisation framework for product teams that want to make data-driven decisions instead of going with gut feeling. By combining four variables into a single score you can compare features fairly and transparently — broad reach with high impact beats a niche fix full of uncertainty.
RICE Calculator: how does it work?
RICE = (Reach × Impact × Confidence%) ÷ Effort. Reach is the number of users you expect to affect in a given period, for example per quarter. Impact expresses the effect on each individual user using a fixed scale: 0.25 (minimal), 0.5 (low), 1 (medium), 2 (high) or 3 (massive). Confidence reflects how certain you are of your estimates; use 50% when data is scarce, 80% for well-reasoned assumptions, and 100% for hard evidence. Effort is the total work required in person-months. Dividing by Effort ensures that large, resource-heavy features do not automatically beat smaller, highly effective improvements.
Example
Feature A: Reach 500 users/quarter, Impact 2, Confidence 80%, Effort 2 person-months → RICE = (500 × 2 × 0.80) ÷ 2 = 400. Feature B: Reach 200, Impact 3, Confidence 50%, Effort 0.5 → RICE = (200 × 3 × 0.50) ÷ 0.5 = 600. Feature B wins despite lower reach because the impact is high and the investment is small. This is how RICE steers you away from blindly choosing 'big' over 'efficient'.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RICE and ICE?
ICE uses only Impact, Confidence and Ease. RICE adds Reach and replaces Ease with Effort. This means RICE also accounts for how many people you reach and how much work is involved, giving a more complete prioritisation than ICE.
Which scale should I use for Impact?
Intercom, who created RICE, recommends a fixed scale: 3 = massive impact, 2 = high, 1 = medium, 0.5 = low, 0.25 = minimal. Applying this scale consistently makes scores comparable across features.
What should I do if Effort is nearly zero?
Never use 0 for Effort as it causes a division by zero. Set a minimum value, for example 0.1 person-months (roughly 2 working days). This keeps small tasks visible and comparable without making the score explode.
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