Pain-to-Importance Matrix

Use this matrix to solve for the most painful, most important points and avoid feature priority creep.

When to Use the Pain-to-Importance Matrix

A Pain-to-Importance Matrix is a helpful visual and facilitative tool to use any time decisions need to be made and prioritization needs to happen.

We find it especially useful when working with product teams who need help prioritizing features during the early stages of new product development to help avoid feature creep and focus on what is most important to the success of the product.

How Does the Pain-to-Importance Matrix Work?

This Pain-to-Importance Matrix works best as a facilitated exercise with a team. The process results in a visual representation that helps teams understand what features or solutions are most important to their users. By seeing features/solutions in relation to each other, teams can quickly understand and prioritize which ones to focus on first.