Everything You Need To Know About Agile Prioritization Techniques

 

In software development, Product Backlog is the most important artifact used especially in Agile-based systems. The tasks from a planning meeting are placed into the sprint backlog to be used as sources of story points or to-do items for the next iteration. However, before a task is placed in the backlog, you should prioritize which tasks are most meaningful to do next.

Prioritizing tasks in other projects is part of the Product Manager's job. While you can trust your instincts, it often puts your project at risk. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss the most common ways of prioritizing methods in agile for their use.

 

What Is Prioritization And Why?

Prioritization is the process of identifying and ranking the backlog items.

There are several factors that contribute to prioritization like risk, business value, return on investment (ROI), and customer value. These factors are assessed for each item in the backlog to help make an informed decision about which item should be dealt with first.

To properly prioritize your goals, you must be able to identify what is most important for you. For example, if improving customer experience is very important but maintaining an accurate product roadmap takes more time than you can afford, then it becomes clear that improving customer experience should take priority over ensuring the accuracy of your product roadmap.

Top 3 Agile Prioritization Techniques

1. MoSCoW

It stands for “Must, Should, Could, Won’t” and this is one of the easiest ways to judge each task’s relative importance. As part of the DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method) approach which helps companies adapt their practices of business agility, it is also very popular with waterfall utilizing companies.

1.      Must: These features are required. When failing to pay attention to these then your current sprint is likely to be unsuccessful.

2.      Should: Features can be described as great here. Simply put, they do not have much of an impact on delivery success, although they will have to be implemented someday.

3.      Could: These are small improvements that do not require significant resources but are not significant. Their absence will have almost any, or at least it will not affect their release.

 

4.      Won’t: These elements are the least important. They do not correspond to the current challenges, requirements, and needs of stakeholders. Thus, they can simply be retained or transferred to future releases.

 

2. Kanos Analysis

This was developed Noriaki Kano in 1980. In short, it is based on different levels of consumer satisfaction with the characteristics and behaviour of the products and so Kano surveys and consumer interviews must be conducted before prioritizing.

It is proposed to divide the user's balances according to five criteria as mentioned below.

1.      Must-be: Customers only consider a product to be functional if it incorporates these features.

2.      One-dimensional: The category is related to meeting the needs and expectations of customers. If the product is what the customers want, they will stay satisfied.

3.      Attractive: This feature provides additional satisfaction, and even fun and enjoyment. In short, these are unexpected but enjoyable features. On the other hand, their lack does not cause customer dissatisfaction.

4.      Indifferent: This has the smallest possible impact on customer satisfaction. In short, they are of no value.

5.      Reverse: This category is considered the most frustrating. Their presence negatively affects customer satisfaction.

3. Bubble Sort Technique

In order to prioritize requirements using this method, take the requirements of two and compare them. If you feel that one requirement should take precedence over another, change it accordingly. Then continue until the last claim is properly sorted. The result is a list of requirements.

Final Thoughts

The Product Owner uses all three prioritization methods listed above to improve customer satisfaction and value. When the common flexible agile prioritization procedure is strictly followed, you create customer value by achieving originality, lean delivery, and targeted implementation.

To learn the techniques, enroll in an Agile Project Management training course on scrum (CSM Certification), and SAFe framework like Leading SAFe Certification.

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