feature-investment-advisor

What this skill does

## 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`](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) 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