Value-Driven Delivery - Part 2
After assessing the value of the project, as discussed in Part 1, the next step is to determine the priority of the project work. This section will discuss prioritizing project work and what methods might help us do so.
Customer-Valued Prioritization
Customer-valued prioritization is an agile concept that guides project work by determining what features will yield the highest value to the customer. These features shape a product backlog, feature list, or prioritized requirements list and represent the project's highest to lowest valued items. Typically, the product owner is responsible for adding and revising prioritized product backlog items in response to change requests or defect fixes. By aligning with stakeholders around project priorities, we will better understand their motivations, risks, and acceptance criteria, better align ourselves with the customer who will serve as our ally throughout the project, and determine what aspects of the project are successful. The act of prioritizing the backlog is ongoing, with each project increment as an opportunity to communicate with stakeholders and realign if necessary.
Prioritization Schemes
There are several methods we can use to help us prioritize project work, and they should be decided based on the project's needs and organization. Keep in mind that the facilitation of these methods should not hinder the overall objective of determining prioritization.
Simple Prioritization
This method seeks to label work in a simplistic way, such as "Priority 1," "Priority 2," "Priority 3," or "small," "medium," and "large." While straightforward, stakeholders might avoid lower category labels and brand everything as a high priority, lowering the method's effectiveness. Creating a shared understanding of the factors that differentiate the agreed-upon labels is also essential.
MoSCoW
This method provides clear definitions for labeling project work more efficiently and is generally more effective than simple schemes.
Must-have features are fundamental - without them, the solution would not work or have no value.
Should-have features are essential for the system to work correctly - if they are not there, we will need to add a costly or cumbersome workaround.
Could-have features are valuable additions that would ass tangible value.
Would-like-to-have features are requests duly noted but unlikely to make it into development on this project.
100-Point Method
Each stakeholder is given 100 points to vote for the most critical requirements. Each stakeholder can distribute their points in any way, spreading them across multiple features or assigning them to a single feature if that is their only priority.
Monopoly Money
Like the 100-point method, this is another approach for prioritizing business features. Here we give stakeholders play money equal to the project budget and ask them to distribute those funds amongst the system features they wish. This method provides insight into customer priorities by demonstrating what they are willing to pay for each task.
Dot Voting (aka Multi-Voting)
Each person gets a set number (typically 20% of the total number of items) of sticky dots to distribute among a list of items on a whiteboard. After everyone has voted, the facilitator sums the votes and ranks the options based on how many each received. The voting can be done either openly or privately. The advantage of this method is that it is fast and efficient, and the dots provide a record of the votes.
Kano Analysis
This method classifies features into four categories based on customer needs and satisfaction. This method can provide context for questions about the priority of the features and help us develop a release plan to increase customer satisfaction.
Exciters/Delighters: New Features or high-value items for the customer
Satisfiers: Features that bring value to the customer
Dissatisfiers: Features that are likely to cause a user to dislike the product but do not necessarily impact satisfaction if they are present
Indifferent: Features that have no impact on the customer. These should be eliminated, minimized, or deferred.
Relative Prioritization/Ranking
A simple listing of tasks in order of priority effectively determines the desired tasks for each iteration and removes the need for other prioritization methods. The list would provide a baseline for incorporating changes and identifying risks by assigning priority based on the other tasks. Usually, these tasks would rank highest in priority. Defining the Minimum Marketable Features (MMF) is extremely important during this process so that the first release or iteration happens as early as possible, leading to increased ROI.
In the next section, we will discuss the process of delivering value in agile projects incrementally.
