ICE

ICE Scoring is a simple framework used to prioritize ideas and projects based on their potential impact, confidence in success, and ease of implementation.

Components

Impact: Potential effect on goals and user benefit
Confidence: Certainty in estimates based on data and experience
Ease: Implementation simplicity and resource requirements

Calculation

ICE Score = (Impact × Confidence × Ease) / 3

Usage

Used for prioritizing ideas and projects when resources are limited. Helps teams make data-driven decisions about what to build next.

A worksheet maps Impact to business effects, Confidence to research and past tests, and Ease to the smallest credible test and delivery estimate. Comparable estimates create a shortlist for discussion, not a guarantee of outcomes. — Conceptual evidence worksheet for ICE’s three judgments. It illustrates what should inform scores and does not validate a particular aggregation formula or imply forecast accuracy. Original diagram based on Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr, Prioritizing High Impact Growth Experiments with ICE.

Best Practices

Use consistent criteria
Regularly review scores
Adjust based on feedback

Examples and Applications

Feature Prioritization: Score potential features for development
Growth Experiments: Rank testing ideas by expected ROI
Resource Allocation: Decide where to invest limited resources
See also: GAME, Kano, Frameworks

All notes