Last month, I met with a client who was about to invest $250,000 in developing their first AI product.
They spent months brainstorming features, researching the tech, and creating elaborate roadmaps. I loved their enthusiasm, but I noticed a red flag when I reviewed their AI project plan.
They had mapped out 9 different AI-powered features, each requiring a significant amount of time and resources to develop. The team was already stretched thin, timelines were aggressive, and their budget was at its limit.
When I asked which features would deliver the most customer value, they hesitated – they were prioritizing the shiny features over business impact.
After our deep dive, we discovered something that transformed their approach: just 3 of those 9 features would deliver over 80% of the customer value. They scratched the other 6 before spending a penny. Close call.
I see this same pattern across companies implementing AI. Everyone wants the shiny AI capabilities, but few take the time to identify which features truly drive ROI.
Want free AI guides to level up?
|
|
The 80/20 rule is your superpower
You’ve probably heard of the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule – the idea that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. This principle is surprisingly universal. Like 20% of your clothes get worn 80% of the time.
Well, I find that AI is no different. 20% of your AI features will typically deliver 80% of the business value.
When companies ignore this principle in their AI development strategy, the symptoms are predictable:
- Development resources stretched thin
- Constantly extended timelines
- Engineering team burnout and quality issues
The organizations that succeed with AI focus relentlessly on identifying and prioritizing the critical set of features that drive maximum business impact.
Identifying your critical 20% of AI features
Finding that high-impact 20% doesn’t require complex frameworks or AI expertise. Here’s a straightforward approach (one of many) that any team can apply.
- List every planned feature and ask: “What specific business problem does this solve for our users?” If you can’t articulate a clear problem with measurable impact, it’s likely not in your critical 20%.
- Score each feature on two simple scales: Business Impact (1-5) and Implementation Effort (1-5). For impact, consider revenue potential, cost savings, and customer experience improvement. For effort, evaluate development time, technical complexity, and resource requirements.
- Create a simple Impact/Effort matrix. The high-impact, lower-effort features are your “quick wins” – the heart of your critical 20% that should be prioritized in your AI roadmap.
- Validate with data, not assumptions. “This feature would be totally rad dude” is not the same as “Our customers have explicitly asked for this” or “This feature will reduce costs/time/friction by X%.”
Returning to real-world results
Remember my client from earlier? When we applied this simple AI feature prioritization process, we discovered that just 3 capabilities would deliver transformative value: their AI-powered recommendation engine, automated data processing system, and a personalized user onboarding experience.
Meanwhile, features like their multilingual support (for markets they hadn’t entered yet) were pushed to later phases of their AI roadmap.
By reallocating 80% of their development resources to those 3 core features, they launched their AI product in 4 months instead of the projected 9. Even more impressive, they achieved a 72% customer satisfaction score – significantly above their industry average of 58% – while using only 60% of their original budget.
If you’re planning or already implementing an AI solution, take a step back and ask: “Am I spreading my resources across too many features? Which few capabilities would truly transform my business or product?”
Ready to identify the 20% of AI features that will deliver 80% of your results?
Request an AI strategy audit today. This 30-minute investment could save you months of wasted development time and thousands in misallocated resources.