How mislabeling features hurts product prioritization

Throughout my career, I’ve observed that the labels we assign, such as “backend optimization,” “core banking,” “nice-to-have,” or “engagement driver”, can either amplify a feature’s importance or bury its potential.

Here’s how I think about the hidden power of labeling opportunities and feature today and how product leaders can use labels to improve their product strategies.

How labels can undermine value

Early on, I noticed that features tagged as “technical improvements” or "tech debt" often slipped down the priority list. Meanwhile, features labeled “engagement drivers” shot to the top. This was no coincidence. Our roadmap labels sent the message that one set of features was purely operational, while the other was essential for growth. When a technical improvement "accidentally" ended up boosting user activation by 15 percent, it became obvious that we were missing great opportunities due to how we were categorizing our work.

In a neobank where I worked, similar issues emerged. Features classified as purely “user delight” were sidelined, even though they were the number one requested feature for a very long time. By rethinking these labels and viewing them as part of our “retention and activation initiative,” we changed the conversation and gained support for bringing the feature (dark mode for the mobile apps) to life.

Challenging your labels

To avoid these labeling pitfalls, I have a few recommendations that you could apply today to discover real value behind opportunities and communicate it better.

• Question your assumptions. Take a fresh look at your categories. Are you labeling potentially game-changing features as “technical tasks” or “nice-to-have” add-ons?
• Map feature value end-to-end. Connect each opportunity to user impact and business goals. E.g. for AI-enabled recommendations, instead of saying “algorithm optimization,” show how it leads to better content matching, higher engagement, and long-term retention.
• Test for clarity. Ask if a newcomer, someone unfamiliar with your product, could read the label and instantly see why it matters. If not, rewrite it.

The main point here is not to tweak or sell features, but to ensure each feature is categorized in a way that highlights its true value.

You could also encourage your team to perform a “labeling audit” and share insights about how different labels influence their sense of priority or urgency.

• When was the last time you reviewed your labels?
• Are your “engagement” or “delight” labels accidentally diminishing real business impact?
• Are you using words that resonate with stakeholders, or are you obscuring strategic potential with vague jargon?

Labels aren’t just words on a roadmap. They shape the way people think and talk about features, request resources, and measure success. A few examples:

At the social network, my team worked on a feature we labeled as “similarity matching algorithms”. We had a very hard time selling it, but once we called it a “contact recommendation enhancement,” we saw a shift. Teams became excited to see how it would improve first visit engagement and overall retention, and stakeholders understood it was more than a background tweak.

At the neobank, my team were slow to champion an experimentation series for the onboarding experience until we reframed it as essentially saving millions of dollars to the business. This one change sparked interest and discussions about how those experiments could be run and supported by multiple teams. Words matter.

Constantly work on the way you label and communicate

The best product leaders I’ve worked with never stopped iterating on how they classify and communicate what their team is working on or trying to achieve.

A label can rally a team, secure funding, or move a feature to the top of the backlog. They continually ask, “Is our labeling system, the way we describe features, still helping us or is it holding us back?” Labels can be powerful tools for clarity, alignment, and momentum, or they can quietly stifle innovation. It’s up to you to decide how to wield them.

Review your way of thinking and how the people around you label and talk, challenge your and their assumptions, and watch how reframing a few simple words can reshape the way you think.