Right Speed

Product Workshops - Part-2

Mar 20, 2025By Nick Shiffert

Recap: The Problem with Prioritization Workshops

In Part 1, I discussed how every Product Strategy Workshop follows the same frustrating pattern:

  • Brainstorm ideas
  • Transfer everything into a spreadsheet-based scoring model that drains energy from the room

The spreadsheet is where things fall apart. It slows the process down, alienates less technical team members, and inevitably leads to someone troubleshooting formulas while everyone else checks their emails.

I wanted to create a better solution—something that eliminates spreadsheets while keeping prioritization simple and collaborative.

So I built StackNRank, a tool designed specifically for this purpose. And I built it in just 5 hours using AI-assisted development tools.

The AI Tool Stack I Explored

I've been testing various AI-assisted coding and workflow tools recently. Some that caught my attention include:

Make.com – No-code workflow automation
n8n – Open-source automation alternative
Airtable – Structured data storage
Bolt – Code-generation AI assistant
Cursor – AI-assisted coding environment
Supabase – Solid Firebase alternative for back-end storage

For StacknRank, I needed speed and simplicity, which led me to choose Lovable.app.

Why Lovable.app?

Lovable is an AI-powered development platform that significantly simplifies the process of building and iterating on ideas.

Here's how it works:

  • Describe your vision – Simply explain what you want your app to do
  • Get a working scaffold – Lovable generates a functional base structure. It built for me a landing page, a way to capture 'opportunities' and a way to easily score them using some slick UI sliders.
  • Refine components – Instead of writing code, you adjust UI elements and logic by typing in your request, like you are slacking with an engineer.
  • Connect data sources – I used Supabase for persistent storage, 100% because lovable has a nice 'Supabase' button in their tool.
An actual prompt I provided to Lovable.app

This approach is much faster than coding from scratch while still providing control over important details.

Lessons Learned from the Build Process

💡 AI tools accelerate development but aren't magical

    • Lovable handled about 80% of the work quickly, with the remainder requiring refinement

💡 Start rough, then iterate

    • Instead of aiming for perfection initially, I built a basic version and improved it incrementally

💡 Effective tools reduce friction

    • The challenge in prioritization isn't generating ideas—it's ranking them efficiently
    • By eliminating spreadsheets, StacknRank maintains engagement throughout the process

What's Next?

I'm not trying to monetize StacknRank. It's an experiment built out of curiosity, and I'm happy if people find it occasionally useful.

That said, I welcome your feedback:

👉 Try it here: https://stacknrank.lovable.app

👉 Share your thoughts: Let me know what works well, what doesn't, and what improvements you'd suggest

🚀 In Part 3, I'll officially introduce StacknRank, explain its functionality, and demonstrate how teams can use it to replace spreadsheet-based prioritization.

Stay tuned!