Methods, Not Methodology (6): Priority Matrix

The Problem: Lady First or Senior First?

We all do prioritizing, but “we” means only customers sometimes. The common problem is when development team needs to plan the next release or iteration, or even just needs to pick up next story, they have different opinions on which feature should go first. The reason is the development team and the customer have different assumptions on the factors which determine the priorities.

We have simple tools like the value-risk quadrants to help prioritizing. But it’s not enough. The problem is what does the “value” mean? What does the “risk” mean?

The Method: Priority Matrix

To prioritize better, we need to visualize the factors behind the decision, so everyone can understand why others have different opinions on priorities. Below is an example from a real project. We need to decide the priority for regression test. There are 4 factors that will impact the priority. We can see them in the picture.

It’s Not a Calculator

It’s a communication tool, not a calculator. The purpose is to put everyone on the same page by visualizing the mental models, is to facilitate the communication, not calculate a precise priority list. It helps the development team to understand the factors behind business decision like politics which are never mentioned publicly. (They won’t put it to the table too, but if they give a feature higher priority while from any known factors it does not deserve it, you will know it…). It also helps the customer to understand some technique constraints from the implementation perspective.