Step-by-Step Guide

RICE Scoring Template: How to Set Up RICE for Your Team

Five numbered steps to score your backlog with RICE. Formula and scoring rubric included.

Last updated: April 2026

1
List every candidate item you want to score

Score a fixed batch of items in one sitting so the numbers are comparable. Quarterly planning or a roadmap review is the usual moment.

›Pull every idea from your backlog, intake forms, and recent retrospectives.
›Cap the list at a number you can discuss in a single working session.
›Group obvious duplicates into one entry.
›Drop items that haven't been validated as real problems worth solving.

Formula

Candidate list = curated set of well-defined initiatives with clear scope

Pro tip: If your backlog has 100+ items, run a quick triage first. Score only the top 20-30 in RICE and shelve the rest until next cycle.

2
Score Reach

Reach is the number of people or events affected by the initiative within a fixed time window. Pick a window once and use it for every item so scores are comparable.

›Choose your time window. Per quarter is the most common pick for product backlogs.
›Pull data from analytics, billing, or your customer database.
›For new features, estimate based on the segment that would touch the feature in the window.
›Example: A checkout improvement that 12,000 users hit per quarter has a Reach of 12,000.

Formula

Reach = number of users or events affected in the chosen time window

Pro tip: Use real data wherever you can. If you're guessing, your Confidence score in step 4 should drop accordingly.

3
Score Impact

Impact captures how much each affected person benefits from the initiative. Use a fixed multiplier scale so the math is consistent across items.

›Massive = 3, High = 2, Medium = 1, Low = 0.5, Minimal = 0.25.
›Anchor the score in a specific outcome, not vibes.
›Ask "what fraction of users would say this materially helped them?"
›Default to Medium (1) when you lack data.

Formula

Impact = multiplier from {3, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25}

Pro tip: Reaching for Massive on every item is the fastest way to make RICE meaningless. Default to Medium when you don't have data.

4
Score Confidence

Confidence is how sure you are about your Reach and Impact estimates, expressed as a percentage. When you're guessing, it pulls the score down.

›100% = high confidence, backed by analytics, A/B test results, or user research.
›80% = medium confidence, backed by some data and analogous projects.
›50% = low confidence, mostly intuition or one-off anecdotes.
›Below 50%, gather more evidence before shipping.

Formula

Confidence = percentage tier reflecting evidence quality

Pro tip: If your team scores everything at 100%, your scoring is broken. Honest Confidence numbers are how RICE catches over-eager bets.

5
Score Effort and compute the RICE score

Effort is the total person-months it takes to ship the item across product, design, and engineering. Bigger projects need to earn their cost back in Reach and Impact.

›Include design, engineering, QA, and any cross-functional time.
›Round to the nearest half person-month.
›Treat partial allocations honestly: 4 weeks of two engineers half-time = 1 person-month.
›Example: 12,000 reach x 1 impact x 80% confidence / 2 effort = 4,800.

Formula

RICE Score = (Reach x Impact x Confidence) / Effort

Pro tip: Sort by score and discuss the top 10 with stakeholders. The score is an input to that conversation. Don't ship strictly off the ranking.

Score Your Backlog in the Browser

Skip the spreadsheet. The free RICE calculator has the scoring helpers built in and the rankings sort themselves as you go.

Open Free RICE Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

Who created RICE scoring?

RICE was developed by Sean McBride at Intercom as the team searched for a prioritization technique that fit their backlog. They published the framework on the Intercom blog in 2017 and it has since become a standard prioritization model for product teams.

How is RICE different from ICE?

ICE drops the Reach factor and uses Impact, Confidence, and Effort only. RICE adds Reach because it forces you to quantify how many users actually benefit, which keeps small-but-shiny features from beating large-but-boring ones. Use ICE for fast triage and RICE when the stakes are higher.

What time window should I use for Reach?

Pick one window and use it consistently. Per quarter is the most common choice because it matches typical planning cycles. The absolute number doesn't matter. Consistency does. If half your scores are per-month and half are per-year, your rankings are meaningless.

Can I use RICE for non-feature work like tech debt?

Yes. Score tech debt items the same way. Reach is the team or downstream user base affected. Impact is how much faster or safer the team gets. Confidence reflects how sure you are about the payoff. Effort is the work to do it.

What's a good RICE score?

There's no universal threshold. Scores are only useful relative to other items in the same scoring round. A score of 500 might be your top item this quarter and your seventh item next quarter. Always compare scores within the same batch.

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