From the request to the underlying need
A request suggests a solution. Research identifies the outcome customers need and the context in which it matters.
Product Roadmap Prioritization
One customer asking does not mean the market needs it.
The request is legitimate. But does it deserve the product team's development capacity?
A customer's request may be legitimate without justifying a priority for the entire product. The decision is what deserves development now, considering need relevance, impact on the target audience and available capacity.
For CPOs, Product Managers, CTOs and SaaS companies.
Um pedido pode abrir a conversa.O que justifica torná-lo prioridade?
How these teams made their decisions
- 500+Companies served by George Eich
- 650+Startups mentored through Startup SC
- 60+Startups supported through Cubo Itaú
Companies served by George Eich
- Techne
- Climoo
- PSA
- Ambev
- Evous
- Locates
Institutions and startup programs
- Sebrae
- ACATE
- MIDITEC
- Cubo Itaú
- Startup SC
Locates
While switching platforms, the team used customer needs to decide which features to include and which to defer.
EVOUS
The team used customer evidence to decide when to strengthen its core product and when to expand its offering.
“We gained a more strategic view of the product and were able to prioritize the roadmap and the company’s positioning.”Feedback shared with the Institute · English translation
George Eich InstituteDirection for the choice. Evidence for the decision.
500+companies advised by George Eich
10+ yearsof experience in strategy and execution
3 to 6 weeksreference for research and executive analysis, depending on scope
Do pedido à decisão
Real needs. Different priorities.
The customer asks. Sales reinforces the request. The team starts discussing deadlines. But three questions remain: how many customers need it, what benefit would they receive and would they pay for it?
Customers
“This is important to us.”
Sales
“We need to meet this request.”
Product
“Does this matter to our customer base?”
Leadership
“Is it worth the investment and maintenance?”
A need may be real for one customer without justifying investment across the ICP. Decisions require a view of the customer base and the economic outcome.
Da decisão à geração e captura de valor
What moves into the next cycle, what waits and what should stop consuming capacity?
A need may exist without justifying strategic priority. Research tests relevance, while leadership also considers capacity, feasibility and economic returns.
01 / Situação de compra
What is at stake
The team absorbs more commitments than it can sustain without displacing important work.
02 / Strategic Prioritization Study
What to investigate
Competing initiatives keep changing the sequence and expectations around delivery.
03 / Need-Based Value Matrix
How to apply
Urgent requests enter the plan without a sufficiently clear connection to relevant product value.
The Value Matrix guides decisions across three horizons: strengthen Core Business, expand through Expansion and create through Innovation. The Study supplies evidence, while value creation, capture and ROI also depend on economic conditions and execution.
Read more80.32%of needs were not prioritized by 30% of customers in the researched bases.
Eight in ten needs did not demonstrate sufficient relevance to become strategic priorities for their respective customer bases.
The Need Gap 2026 analyzed 1,423 needs. Of these, 1,143 were selected by fewer than 30% of customers. This helps explain why collecting requests is only the beginning of the decision.
A different finding: 528 needs (37.10%) received no selection at the quantitative stage. These two measures are different and must not be added. Research across 59 companies.
Fonte: The Need Gap 2026, estudo de George Eich.
I want evidence-based prioritiesO efeito das escolhas
When every request becomes a priority, the product can lose direction.
Treating one-off requests as if they represented the entire customer base can fragment a product and create difficult maintenance obligations.
Fragmented product
Features accumulate for increasingly diverse audiences and use cases.
Capacidade disputada
Melhorias compartilhadas esperam enquanto pedidos isolados avançam.
Retorno incerto
A entrega entra no roadmap sem clareza sobre receita, margem e manutenção.
How the Institute helps
Transforme pedidos em well-supported decisions.
An executive interpretation that connects evidence to the decision your leadership needs to make. The deliverables reflect the agreed business context and scope.
Relevance and ICAN
Quantitative selection reveals who shares the priority; ICAN measures perceived need fulfillment.
Capacidade e valor
An updateable evidence base guides the roadmap. Feasibility, complexity and opportunities for value capture complete the choice.
I want evidence-based priorities
Tell us what your company needs to decide.
Criteria to choose. Reasons to align teams.
Executive analysis to support decisions across product, engineering, sales and leadership.
Customer-base priorities
Direction on which needs justify concentrating available capacity.
Pedidos que precisam esperar
A rationale for deferring or investigating requests before promising delivery.
Approval criteria
Recommendations for discussing new requests based on relevance and returns.
As entregas específicas são definidas conforme a decisão e o escopo contratado.
When to apply
Before committing o próximo ciclo.
When one contract dictates a sprint
Before turning a negotiation into a permanent product commitment.
When every team wants something different
When shared criteria are missing from decisions about competing requests.
When everything seems important
When the list grows but the team does not know what deserves to move forward.
When one customer has too much influence
When you need to evaluate how broadly a request matters to customers.
About your roadmap prioritization.
How does roadmap prioritization work?
The engagement identifies relevant customer needs and connects them with product decisions. We assess reach, expected benefits, delivery capacity and economic potential to guide what advances, waits or requires reconsideration.
How should we handle a request that matters to only one customer?
Evaluate this customer's strategic and economic importance, the expected benefits and the cost of developing and maintaining the solution. A single request can justify investment when the choice is deliberate rather than automatically treated as a general priority.
Does this engagement replace technical planning?
Priority guidance is built around business context. Estimates, dependencies and schedules are reviewed with the responsible team to turn direction into a feasible plan.
What does the company receive?
Executive analysis of priorities, the reasoning behind choices and recommendations for the development agenda. Specific deliverables depend on the decision and agreed scope.
Quanto tempo leva?
The typical reference is three to six weeks for structured research and executive analysis, depending on scope, information access and participant availability.
O que acontece na primeira conversa?
You describe the product, decision and competing deliverables. The conversation helps us understand the context and define how the Institute can contribute and what scope makes sense.
Does your roadmap represent your customer base ou os pedidos que chegam primeiro?
Bring the requests competing for the next cycle. We will discuss how to separate one-off requests from priorities that justify investment.
I want evidence-based prioritiesRequest a conversation with the George Eich Institute.
NEXT DECISION
Prioritize roadmap and product
Briefly describe the decision, investment or challenge you need to assess. We will follow up to understand your needs and agree on an appropriate scope.
