featurering

Featurering is a practice in product management and software development that describes organizing product features into concentric rings around a central core. The term is informal and a portmanteau of "feature" and "ring," used primarily in industry discussions rather than formal standards. In a featurering model, features are grouped into layers that reflect importance, readiness, and dependency.

Typically, a core ring contains must-have features essential to the product’s basic function. Surrounding rings add differentiating capabilities, integration points, or platform features, while outer rings host optional, experimental, or future enhancements. Dependencies are represented by relationships between rings and features, guiding release planning and scope negotiation. The model supports incremental delivery by clearly signaling what must go in a given release versus what can be deferred.

Practitioners tailor the number and naming of rings to their context; some use three rings (core, platform, optional), others use more granular naming such as base, extended, and premium. Featurering also informs feature toggling and staged rollouts, enabling experiments without committing to broad releases.

Origins of the term are informal; it appears in product-management literature and blogs from the 2010s onward. Because it is not standardized, interpretations vary across organizations.

Related concepts include feature modeling, roadmapping, modular design, and release planning. Featurering aims to improve clarity of scope, prioritization, and risk management in product development.