Why MaxDiff Is the Gold Standard Prioritization Method

If you’re a product manager, you know how high the stakes are when you’re setting the product roadmap. The team has so many ideas of what to build, and each idea has its own development and manufacturing requirements. And let’s not forget about the delta between what the team wants to build and what customers actually want or need.

For example, you may have 20-40 different features on the product roadmap. And you, as the product manager, are tasked with prioritizing what to work on. Wouldn’t it be great to have data that showed feature X is 2x as impactful as feature Y for encouraging sign-ups?

But this is where traditional prioritization methods fall short. Asking consumers to rate how appealing each feature is on a 5-point scale can result in all the features having mean scores between 4.2 and 4.7. With very few, if any, “statistically significant differences.”  

And if you had a list of 20-40 features, you certainly couldn’t ask prospects and customers to rank their preferences. They’d be so overwhelmed by the length of the list, they’d give up—or worse, give you bad data just to complete the task.

In both cases, you end up with tons of data points, but zero clarity on what to actually prioritize.

These scenarios are all too common. Rating scales where everything scores high, ranking tasks that overwhelm respondents, leaving the decision up to whichever teammate is the most vocal.

The good news? These problems are preventable with MaxDiff analysis, a prioritization method that forces meaningful trade-offs.

Why This Prioritization Method Matters for Research Teams

Before we discuss MaxDiff, it’s important to understand why prioritization matters.

Just like in the product management example above, every team—regardless of vertical, industry, product, etc.—has more ideas than they can execute. Without a robust prioritization method, nothing gets the focus it deserves, because your attention and resources are spread too thin.

Prioritization research answers high-stakes questions: Which messages resonate with target audiences? Which features do customers value most? Which SKU should we launch next?

And when done right, the impact is measurable. Here are a few examples from our clients:

• A tech company narrowed 50+ launch messages to five and saw conversion rates jump 27%. 

• A CPG brand chose three features for packaging, and test market sales outpaced control by 12%. 

• A SaaS firm prioritized integrations and reduced churn by 18%.

  
  

Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short

Rating scales and rankings are common market research methods, but they don't help you prioritize effectively.

Rating scales: Respondents score everything as 4 or 5 on a five-point scale, leaving no clear signal on what actually drives decisions. People also use scales differently across cultures and contexts.

Rankings: The task becomes nearly impossible for the survey taker once you get past 10 items, and the researcher is left deciding whether to report the percentage of those who ranked each item number one or the top two, etc. There’s no industry standard when it comes to reporting rankings, and depending on which you choose could lead to different business conclusions.

Stakeholders need clear, defensible, measurable priorities. That's where MaxDiff analysis comes in.

What is MaxDiff Analysis?

MaxDiff, also known as Best-Worst Scaling, answers one question: If people can't have everything, what do they value most?

Instead of rating items independently, MaxDiff shows respondents four or five items at a time and asks them to pick which ONE is most important and which is least. This task is repeated multiple times (usually 10-15), and patterns start to emerge.

The output is a clear priority ranking with scores that show relative importance. A score of 10 is twice as strong as a score of 5. That precision is what you need when defending budget decisions.

In short, MaxDiff gives you sharper discrimination than ratings, more practicality than rankings, and it works even with relatively small sample sizes.

But the real power of MaxDiff analysis becomes clear when you see it in action.

MaxDiff Example: Mill Food Recycler Launch

While the examples above have been specific to feature prioritization, MaxDiff can also be used for messaging prioritization.   

Take, for example, when sustainability startup Mill launched their food waste recycler, it had dozens of potential product claims but limited marketing space. Which claims would actually drive purchase?

We used MaxDiff analysis to test claims with target audiences. Respondents saw four claims at a time, choosing which would make them most and least likely to buy.

The insights were revealing. For sustainability enthusiasts, one specific benefit scored significantly higher than for mainstream consumers.

This gave Mill a clear strategy: lead with the sustainability-focused claim at launch to capture early adopters, then shift messaging as they moved mainstream.

That's MaxDiff analysis in action: showing what matters, to whom, and when.

Master MaxDiff Methodology with The Numerious Way

Now that you see the potential of MaxDiff analysis over traditional prioritization approaches, you're ready for the next step: execution that delivers results.

The Numerious Way is our comprehensive training program built for research professionals who want to master advanced quantitative methods like MaxDiff and Conjoint Analysis.

We go beyond theory to give you practical tools for research that drives real business decisions. The program includes frameworks, templates, and case studies from researchers who've worked with Google and Meta. Here are a few things you’ll learn: 

• Translate vague requests into testable objectives. Turn something like "We want to understand why growth is slowing" into a precise research plan that ladders back to business decisions.

• Master MaxDiff from design to analysis. Learn rules of thumb for list length, number of items per screen, and what to look for in a balanced experimental design. Learn how to calculate the right sample size and report results to drive action.

• Leverage advanced analysis techniques. Build simulators, run TURF analysis to optimize portfolio mix, and create preference-based segments. Then translate MaxDiff scores into stakeholder presentations that reveal the "why" behind the data.

  
  

The training is bite-sized and on-demand. Plus, you get access to a community of research professionals and regular support from MaxDiff methodology experts.

Ready to master MaxDiff analysis and execute studies with confidence? Join The Numerious Way and strengthen your approach to prioritization research.

Need expert support for your next MaxDiff study? Contact us to partner on research that delivers clear, defensible priorities.