feature-investment-advisor

Purpose

Guide product managers through evaluating whether to build a feature based on financial impact analysis. Use this to make data-driven prioritization decisions by assessing revenue connection (direct or indirect), cost structure (dev + COGS + OpEx), ROI calculation, and strategic value—then deliver actionable build/don't build recommendations with supporting math.

This is not a generic prioritization framework—it's a financial lens for feature decisions that complements other prioritization methods (RICE, value vs. effort, user research). Use when financial impact is a key decision factor.

Key Concepts

The Feature Investment Framework

A systematic approach to evaluate features financially:

1. Revenue Connection — How does this feature impact revenue?

   • Direct monetization (new tier, add-on, usage charges)
   • Indirect monetization (retention, conversion, expansion enablement)

2. Cost Structure — What does it cost to build and run?

   • Development cost (one-time investment)
   • COGS impact (ongoing infrastructure, processing)
   • OpEx impact (ongoing support, maintenance)

3. ROI Calculation — Is the return worth the investment?

   • Direct monetization: Revenue impact / Development cost
   • Retention features: LTV impact across customer base / Development cost
   • Factor in gross margin, not just revenue

4. Strategic Value — Non-financial value that might override pure ROI

   • Competitive moat (prevents churn to competitor)
   • Platform enabler (unlocks future features)
   • Market positioning (needed for enterprise deals)
   • Risk reduction (compliance, security)

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not feature scoring alone: Combines financial analysis with strategic judgment
• Not revenue-only thinking: Considers margins, costs, and ROI, not just top-line revenue
• Not ignoring retention: Indirect revenue impact (churn reduction) is equally valid
• Not building without validation: Assumes you've done discovery; this is the financial lens

When to Use This Framework

Use this when:

• Prioritizing between features with quantifiable revenue/retention impact
• Evaluating expensive features (>1 engineer-month of work)
• Making build/buy/partner decisions
• Defending feature prioritization to stakeholders or leadership
• Choosing between direct monetization (add-on) vs. indirect (retention)

Don't use this when:

• Feature is table stakes (must-have for competitive parity)
• Impact is purely qualitative (brand, UX delight without measurable retention effect)
• You haven't validated the problem (do discovery first)
• Feature is < 1 week of work (just build it)

Facilitation Source of Truth

Use workshop-facilitation as the default interaction protocol for this skill.

It defines:

• session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
• one-question turns with plain-language prompts
• progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
• interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
• numbered recommendations at decision points
• quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include Other (specify) when useful)

This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic.

Application

This interactive skill asks up to 4 adaptive questions, offering 3-5 enumerated options at decision points.

Step 0: Gather Context

Agent asks:

"Let's evaluate the financial impact of this feature investment. Please provide:

Feature description:

• What's the feature? (1-2 sentences)
• Target customer segment (SMB, mid-market, enterprise, all)

Current business context:

• Current MRR/ARR (or customer count if pre-revenue)
• Current ARPU/ARPA
• Current monthly churn rate
• Gross margin %

Constraints:

• Development cost estimate (team size × time)
• Any ongoing COGS or OpEx implications?

You can provide estimates if you don't have exact numbers."

Step 1: Identify Revenue Connection

Agent asks:

"How does this feature impact revenue? Choose the option that best describes the revenue connection:

1. Direct monetization (new revenue stream) — We'll charge for this (new pricing tier, paid add-on, usage-based fee)
2. Retention improvement (reduce churn) — Addresses key churn reason; keeps customers from leaving
3. Conversion improvement (trial-to-paid) — Helps convert free/trial users to paid customers
4. Expansion enabler (upsell/cross-sell) — Creates upsell path or drives usage-based expansion
5. No direct revenue impact — Table stakes, platform improvement, or strategic value only

Choose a number, or describe a custom revenue connection."

Based on selection, agent adapts:

If 1 (Direct monetization):

• "What pricing are you considering?"
• "What % of customers do you expect to adopt this?" (conservative, base, optimistic)
• Calculate: Potential Monthly Revenue = Customer Base × Adoption Rate × Price

If 2 (Retention improvement):

• "What % of churn does this feature address?" (e.g., "30% of churned customers cited this gap")
• "What churn reduction do you expect?" (e.g., "5% → 4% monthly churn")
• Calculate: LTV Impact = Increase in Customer Lifetime × Customer Base × ARPU × Margin

If 3 (Conversion improvement):

• "Current trial-to-paid conversion rate?"
• "Expected conversion lift?" (e.g., "20% → 25% conversion")
• Calculate: Additional MRR = Trial Users × Conversion Lift × ARPU

If 4 (Expansion enabler):

• "What expansion opportunity does this create?" (upsell tier, usage growth, add-on)
• "What % of customers will expand?"
• Calculate: Expansion MRR = Customer Base × Expansion Rate × ARPU Increase

If 5 (No direct revenue impact):

• Skip to strategic value assessment

Step 2: Assess Cost Structure

Agent asks:

"What's the cost structure for this feature?

Development cost (one-time):

• Team size: ___ engineers
• Time estimate: ___ weeks/months
• Estimated dev cost: $___

Ongoing costs (if any):

• COGS impact: $___ /month (hosting, infrastructure, processing)
• OpEx impact: $___ /month (support, maintenance)

If no ongoing costs, enter $0."

Agent calculates:

• One-time investment: Development cost
• Ongoing monthly cost: COGS + OpEx
• Contribution margin impact: (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue

Agent flags:

• If COGS is >20% of projected revenue: "⚠️ This feature significantly dilutes margins"
• If ongoing costs are high relative to revenue: "⚠️ Consider if this is sustainable"

Step 3: Evaluate Constraints and Timing

Agent asks:

"What constraints or timing considerations apply?

1. Time-sensitive competitive threat — Competitor launched this; we're losing deals
2. Limited budget/team capacity — We can only build one major feature this quarter
3. Dependencies on other work — Requires platform improvements or other features first
4. No major constraints — We have capacity and flexibility

Choose a number, or describe your constraints."

Based on selection:

If 1 (Competitive threat):

• Strategic value increases (churn prevention)
• Urgency factor in recommendation

If 2 (Limited capacity):

• Compare ROI against other features in backlog
• Recommend stack ranking

If 3 (Dependencies):

• Flag dependency risk
• Suggest sequencing

If 4 (No constraints):

• Proceed to recommendations

Step 4: Deliver Recommendations

Agent synthesizes:

• Revenue impact (from Step 1)
• Cost structure (from Step 2)
• Constraints (from Step 3)
• ROI calculation
• Strategic value assessment

Agent offers 3-4 recommendations:

Recommendation Pattern 1: Strong Financial Case

When:

• ROI >3:1 (direct monetization) or LTV impact >10:1 (retention/expansion)
• Positive contribution margin
• No major red flags

Recommendation:

"Build now — Strong financial ca