prioritization techniques for agile teams

Beyond MoSCoW: Prioritization Techniques for Agile Teams

Tarang Baxi Chirag Doshi @gnarat @chiragsdoshi

In this session... 1.  Explore a variety of prioritization techniques

o  From simple to sophisticated

o  1 game and 2 exercises to get your hands dirty

2.  Understand: o  Common pitfalls

o  Tips for making them effective

o  When to use a technique

© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

Exercise 1

Client Context •  Online-only seller of premium wood furniture

•  Just started TV & newspaper ad campaign

•  Already has a reasonable inventory, ready to ship

•  A couple of big industrial houses are rumoured to be eying the market


Project Context •  Basic shopping experience already in place

•  A whole bunch of new features required – derived from market & competitor research

•  Budget available may not even cover half the desired items

•  'Smart Recommendations' is the CEOs pet feature


Simulation 1 - Feature list (with size)

1.  Product Ratings & Reviews (M)

2.  Live Agent Chat (S)

3.  Interactive 3D models of products (L)

4.  ‘Smart’ Recommendations (L)

5.  Social Media Integration (S)

6.  Daily Deals (M)

7.  Loyalty Points (M)

…and 15 more such features of varying sizes


A. Classification-based Techniques

Common Variants •  High-Medium-Low

•  MoSCoW

•  1-2-3-4-5

•  Stacked Ranking


Common Pitfalls •  Everything is High Priority!

•  How can you call this Low Priority?

•  Priority 1 for one stakeholder, Priority 3 for another

•  Can't remember why this was a Must Have…

•  Time consuming discussions on low value features


Tips •  Make it Visual, Tactile, Collaborative

•  Use positive category labels

•  Agree on category definitions first

•  Impose forced limits

•  Show suggested priorities

•  Use a combinations of techniques


B. Value-Mapping Techniques

Mapping Value - Priority Quadrants

Effort

Reve

nue

Impact

x

x x

x

x x

x x

x x

x x


Revisiting iFurniture Inc…


Client Context •  Online-only seller of premium wood furniture

•  Just started TV & newspaper ad campaign

•  Already has a reasonable inventory, ready to ship

•  A couple of big industrial houses are rumoured to be eying the market


Project Context •  Basic shopping experience already in place

•  A whole bunch of new features required – derived from market & competitor research

•  Budget available may not even cover half the desired items

•  'Smart Recommendations' is the CEOs pet feature


Suggested Dimensions

Time to Market

Impact

on Conve

rsion

s

x

x x

x

x x

x x

x x

x x


Extending quadrants further...

Credit:(Des(Traynor,(Intercom.io5

Other Value-Mapping Techniques •  Systemico model

Credit:(Barry(O’Reilly,(ThoughtWorks5

Other Value-Mapping Techniques •  AARRR Mapping

o  Acquisition

o  Activation

o  Retention

o  Referral

o  Revenue

Credit:(Dave(McClure,(500hats.com5

C. Marketplace Simulation Techniques

Buy a Feature Game •  Each group is a family, who've just bought a car

•  Want to buy accessories

•  Total cost of all accessories is $1200

•  Budget per family $430, i.e. $86 per person.

Credit:(Innovation(Games®,(innovationgames.com5© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

Add-ons for your car


Why it works... •  Factors in scarcity

•  Cost v/s value evaluation

•  Encourages negotiation amongst stakeholders

•  Builds consensus


D. Context Evaluation Techniques

Story Maps

Credit:(Jeff(PaIon,(agileproductdesign.com5

Prune The Product Tree

Credit:(Innovation(Games®,(innovationgames.com5

Wrap Up

Questions? Comments?

[email protected] [email protected] @chiragsdoshi @gnarat

prioritization techniques for agile teams

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