Why RICE breaks when a third of your backlog is mandatory — and the reframe that makes the roadmap honest again.
Mandatory work isn't a priority. It's the shape of the board before you start playing. Teams that score it lose twice: once to the work, and once to the argument about why the roadmap looks thin.
The Product Lens, edition 14 — published Sep 30, 2026, 8 min read. Written by Ambar Utkarsh, product leader at Star Health.