Have you ever been in a prioritization discussion where the only priorities are High, Higher, and Highest? Or tried using MoSCoW to prioritize user stories only to find that 80% of the cards are 'Must Have'? In this tutorial, we introduce a gamut of different prioritization methods, ranging from simple techniques like stacked ranking or MoSCoW that classify items along a single dimension to multi-dimensional techniques like priority quadrants, Story Maps, and Innovation Games®. We cover pruning feature trees, spending fake currency, and using visual metaphors, while truly identifying what the most important stuff really is. This was most recently presented at the Agile India 2013 conference in Bangalore.

1. Beyond MoSCoW:
Prioritization Techniques for Agile Teams
Tarang Baxi Chirag Doshi
@gnarat @chiragsdoshi

2. 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

3. Exercise 1

4. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

5. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

6. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

7. A. Classification-based Techniques

8. Common Variants
• High-Medium-Low
• MoSCoW
• 1-2-3-4-5
• Stacked Ranking
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

9. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

10. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

11. B. Value-Mapping Techniques

12. Mapping Value - Priority Quadrants
x x
x
x
x
Revenue Impact
x
x
x x x
x x
Effort
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

13. Revisiting iFurniture Inc…
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

14. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

15. 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
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

16. Suggested Dimensions
x
Impact on Conversions
x x
x
x
x
x
x x x
x x
Time to Market
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

17. Extending quadrants further...
Credit:(Des(Traynor,(Intercom.io5

18. Other Value-Mapping Techniques
• Systemico model
Credit:(Barry(O’Reilly,(ThoughtWorks5

19. Other Value-Mapping Techniques
• AARRR Mapping
o Acquisition
o Activation
o Retention
o Referral
o Revenue
Credit:(Dave(McClure,(500hats.com5

20. C. Marketplace Simulation Techniques

21. 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

22. Add-ons for your car
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

23. Why it works...
• Factors in scarcity
• Cost v/s value evaluation
• Encourages negotiation amongst stakeholders
• Builds consensus
© 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

24. D. Context Evaluation Techniques

25. Story Maps
Credit:(Jeff(PaIon,(agileproductdesign.com5

26. Prune The Product Tree
Credit:(Innovation(Games®,(innovationgames.com5

27. Wrap Up

28. © 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

29. © 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

30. © 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

31. © 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

32. © 2013 Tarang Baxi & Chirag Doshi

33. Questions? Comments?
chirag@thoughtworks.com tarang@thoughtworks.com
@chiragsdoshi @gnarat