SUNDAY REWIND: Enter the matrix – lean prioritisation

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a post from Andy Wicks, then Strategy Lead at digital product transformation consultancy Red Badger, that looks at why poor prioritisation occurs, and at a lean solution that ensures you deliver the most value to customers.

Effective prioritisation can be the difference between the success or failure of a product, says Andy, but a few factors can get in the way. These include decision makers who have a negative impact on the prioritisation process, business tools that are not fit for purpose, and too many items in the backlog.

He suggests using and tweaking a simple 2 x 2 matrix to sort the wheat from the chaff: he says that although it’s primarily used in Lean Startup to help entrepreneurs make decisions, it can also be used to great effect for product development prioritisation.

Andy then runs through the steps needed to create a 2 x 2 matrix for product development prioritisation, essentially balancing the value generated for your customers against the effort required to deliver.

Andy says you should revisit the matrix regularly and rebalance it when necessary. He concludes: “The 2×2 matrix is a quick and simple tool that will transform the way you prioritise your product backlog. It helps you to focus on features/enhancements that add the most value to your customers compared to the effort required to deliver them. Working best in a collaborative environment, it helps galvanise stakeholder buy-in and gives the ability to easily communicate (and in some cases defend) the decisions you make.”

Read the original post in full: Enter the matrix – lean prioritisation