ICE scoring prioritises ideas on three factors: impact, or how much it moves your goal; confidence, or how sure you are; and ease, or how little effort it takes. Sean Ellis popularised it for growth teams choosing which experiments to run first. Instead of multiplying 1-to-10 scores, CleanRanking has people compare ideas two at a time on each factor.
What the result looks like
EXAMPLE
Which experiments should we run this month?
Top ranked
Referral scheme
Impact92% · 1st
Confidence63% · 1st
Ease38% · 3rd
64%
Weighted win rate
Overall
OptionsWeighted win rate
01
Referral scheme
Impact 1st · Confidence 1st · Ease 3rd
64%
02
Pricing page test
Impact 2nd · Confidence 2nd · Ease 1st
57%
03
Onboarding email series
Impact 3rd · Confidence 3rd · Ease 2nd
29%
Overall with the criteria
Rank
Options
Impact
33%
Confidence
33%
Ease
33%
Overall
Weighted win rate
01
Referral scheme
92%
1st
63%
1st
38%
3rd
64%
02
Pricing page test
42%
2nd
58%
2nd
71%
1st
57%
03
Onboarding email series
17%
3rd
29%
3rd
42%
2nd
29%
By the options
01 · Referral scheme64% weighted win rate
–
Impact
92%
1st of 3 · 22 Wins · 2 Losses
–
Confidence
63%
1st of 3 · 15 Wins · 9 Losses
–
Ease
38%
3rd of 3 · 9 Wins · 15 Losses
02 · Pricing page test57% weighted win rate
–
Impact
42%
2nd of 3 · 10 Wins · 14 Losses
–
Confidence
58%
2nd of 3 · 14 Wins · 10 Losses
–
Ease
71%
1st of 3 · 17 Wins · 7 Losses
03 · Onboarding email series29% weighted win rate
–
Impact
17%
3rd of 3 · 4 Wins · 20 Losses
–
Confidence
29%
3rd of 3 · 7 Wins · 17 Losses
–
Ease
42%
2nd of 3 · 10 Wins · 14 Losses
Scoring Explanations
CRITERIA WEIGHTINGS — The % weighting for each criterion is shown in the table header. Unless this was entered in the setup, the weighting is equal across criteria.
WEIGHTED WIN RATE — Each criterion's result, in the measure they share, averaged using the assigned weightings.
When it earns its place
Use it for experiment backlogs, marketing ideas and small product changes: many small bets, decided quickly. It's lighter than RICE, because there's no reach estimate.
The trap is that the person who proposed an idea always rates their confidence high, and scores drift from one meeting to the next. Comparing ideas against each other keeps the judgements consistent.
How to run it with a group
List six to ten ideas, each phrased as a change you could test.
Participants compare the ideas two at a time on impact, confidence and ease. Participants do not need an account to respond.
Read the overall ranking, then the ranking per factor.
Run the top two or three as experiments. Once the results are in, run the ranking again.
Prioritise options across five criteria: Impact, Feasibility, Cost-effectiveness, Equity, and Political Acceptability. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.
Prioritise by Cost of Delay (User & Business Value, Time Criticality, Risk Reduction & Opportunity) against Job Size. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.
Prioritise the customer needs, frustrations, and outcomes that matter most. Useful for innovation, product strategy, service improvement, and customer research. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.
Identify which assumptions, uncertainties, or hypotheses are most important to test first. Useful for innovation, startups, strategy, and experimentation. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.