Agile Prioritization Techniques

Agile is the most iterative method related to project management and software development. It enables teams to provide value to all stakeholders easily and instantly. 93% of businesses had already adopted the Agile model ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. This speaks for the popularity of this framework. 

If you are a part of the Agile team, you get to work with the most modest increments. Continuous evaluation of needs and the subsequent results provide teams with the reasons to respond rapidly to change. This is what makes the Agile prioritization techniques important.

Definition of Agile Prioritization

Agile prioritization refers to the act of determining the specific order in which a particular Agile team will work on some project. This process is a key idea to all the Agile approaches. Understanding prioritization is important because all Agile projects have a defined set of resources that require prioritizing the time and budget restrictions. 

The Agile prioritization process further assists the team in considering all the bare minimum functionalities needed to consider client value. 

Key Agile Prioritization Techniques

You must understand the factors that a product owner needs to consider before determining the priorities to process Agile prioritization. Here is a list of the key Agile prioritization techniques that you can apply across organizations and industries:

• Kano Model
• MoSCow Model
• Opportunity Scoring
• Stack Ranking
• Priority Poker
• Cost of Delay
• 100 Dollar Test
• Relative Weighting Method

 Agile Prioritization Factors

Several factors determine Agile prioritization techniques and their implementation as discussed below:

• The financial value of the requirements must be considered when prioritizing requirements. The value can act as a  new revenue or operational efficiency.
• The cost of developing the requirements must also be considered by the product owner. Value and cost indicate the ROI for all requirements.
• The amount and significance of knowledge and capabilities that the team will gain when working is another significant Agile prioritization factor. 
• Understanding the risks involved in introducing the new features is important in the process of Agile prioritization.

8 Popular Prioritization Techniques - Explained

Agile prioritization techniques help different teams determine the tasks to work on priority. It enables them to deliver the highest quality product with the limited resources they have at their disposal. Here are the most important Agile prioritization techniques that you must know:

• Kano Model

This model is used for product development and customer satisfaction. It is categorized based on user satisfaction and has two major levels: 

• Satisfaction: It depends on the priority features that make the customers delighted.
• Dissatisfaction: It considers positive and negative feedback from the customers.

The Kano model also considers two important factors that impact customer satisfaction. The first one is feasibility. Here, the level of prioritization and the degree of implementation always impact satisfaction. The second factor focuses on customer satisfaction at a basic level. 

• MoSCow Model

This particular method describes each requirement which makes it easier to prioritize. The MoSCoW model theory says that the prioritization technique used in business analysis and software development helps in enhancing common understanding with the stakeholders. 

This particular Agile technique represents four different categories of initiatives,

• Must-have: It involves giving priority to the most needed necessities.
• Should-have: It features only the highly needed requirements that are optional.
• Could-have: It gives priority to a good-to-have requirement.
• Won't-have: It means not having requirements that may not work at that point in time.

• Opportunity Scoring

This highly effective prioritization technique that can be used by any organization to develop Agile products. It uses data from user research to learn about the various expectations of the product needed by the users. 

Opportunity scoring helps shape the product as per the user’s choice. This also helps solve the problems quickly as per user expectations. There will be opportunities to analyze the product based on customer feedback. It represents both low and high satisfaction levels. This results in improving and featuring a better product for all customers.

• Stack Ranking

It is one of the best methods among all the Agile prioritization techniques. You can use stack ranking when rating product features and the ones that are unnecessary. You also need to determine and prioritize by comparing the features of products with this particular technique. 

This method aims to understand the customer’s expectations of the particular product. Analyzing such customer needs will help the Agile team prioritize and give better outcomes to the specific product.

Stack ranking further simplifies the process and provides a more accurate product to the end-user or customer. 

• Priority Poker

It is a quick and easy design game for prioritizing items collectively. It features objectives, usability issues, business requirements, and bugs. Priority poker is an efficient Agile prioritization technique that is derived from actual game cards. 

All Agile team members should be involved and equally contribute to the prioritization process by removing bias in a priority poker. Hence, the team and the stakeholders are involved when deciding. It is because the outcome will be much more effective in the presence of the end-users or the stakeholders. 

Also, check: Stakeholders in Project Management

• Cost of Delay

Cost delay is a key metric because it combines both urgency and value. It is considered to be one of the backlog prioritization techniques that acts as a model. Its purpose is to determine the amount of money at stake if some features are unavailable.

Here, the main focus is on the profit and loss of the respective company. You must plan the budget and use the money precisely when working with the cost of delay technique in project management. 

• 100 Dollar Test

Participants assign relative value to a list of items by sending a $100 in this Agile prioritization technique. Here, they use the concept of cash to grab audience's attention. This makes the latter more engaged than an arbitrary point or ranking system. This 100 Dollar Test prioritization method can be used to prioritize items in a particular group environment. 

• Relative Weighting Method

This Agile prioritization matrix technique considers the value and cost of a particular job. It intends to provide a priority order depending on a weighted score between the same value and cost.

Here, the specific value is determined through benefits. Hence, each organization may choose a theme suitable for them to weigh. Moreover, the final cost is determined by estimating the Fibonacci number. It is usually based on a relative proxy for how long the particular job may take to develop.

Real-World Examples

Implementing Agile prioritization techniques in real-world scenarios has showcased their effectiveness in optimizing project workflows and delivering value. Let us explore some practical examples of how organizations have successfully applied these techniques:

• MoSCow Model: Features like user authentication might be a "Must-have" in a software development project. On the other hand, a specific color scheme might be a "Should-have."
• Kano Model: A surprise feature that customers did not expect but find delightful could be prioritized based on the Kano model in any product development setting. 
• Relative Weighting: Different channels may be assigned weights based on their expected impact in a marketing channel. This also involves tasks related to the highest-weighted channels that are prioritized.

Tools for Agile Prioritization

Just like the Agile techniques, there are several tools for Agile prioritization like the ones mentioned below:

• Prioritization by Personas

Personas is a broad brush prioritization tool that works on stories that will benefit the most important customers. The commendation for these customers will be as per the list described by the top persona.

• Buy a Feature

You usually use Buy a Feature with a specific backlog of user stories. Initially, you must estimate the price for each story. Remember - the bigger the story the higher the price will be. You might also want to use Planning poker to estimate the same price.

Write each story on a card along with its specific price. Later, add up the total cost of all the features. Then dole out money sufficient enough to cover about half this cost. Players then decide which features they want to buy from the same with their limited budget.

Also, know: Planning poker estimation techniques

• Risk Quadrant Prioritization

Another effective tool for Agile prioritization is the Risk Quadrant. This approach involves categorizing tasks or user stories into a quadrant based on their impact and likelihood of occurrence. The four quadrants represent the following:

• High Impact-High Likelihood
• High Impact-Low Likelihood
• Low Impact-High Likelihood
• Low Impact-Low Likelihood

Tasks falling in the High Impact-High Likelihood quadrant are prioritized first. It is because they pose both significant impact and a high probability of occurrence. This helps teams address critical issues early on. Conversely, Low Impact-Low Likelihood tasks are deprioritized. This tool assists in focusing efforts on mitigating high-impact risks while managing resources.

 Overcoming Common Challenges

Let us explore the typical challenges that you may often encounter in practical scenarios. It is mostly due to the limited understanding of Agile prioritization techniques: 

• Unrealistic change requests and scope driven by the respective customers or product owners.
• Insufficient understanding among different development teams regarding their contribution to Backlog refinement.
• Conflict among the cross-functional team members when they fail to share accountability and ownership over several projects. 

Future Trends in Agile Prioritization

The future of Agile prioritization promises exciting advancements to help teams deliver more value with greater efficiency and adaptability. Here are some key trends:

• AI and Machine Learning Integration:Algorithms will analyze user data, market trends, and team performance. This helps them suggest priorities and optimize backlogs automatically.
• Predictive Analytics: Tools will forecast the impact of features on business metrics. This will guide teams towards items of higher values. 
• Metrics-based Decision Making: Quantifiable data will play a more prominent role in prioritizing work. Examples include conversion rates and user engagement. 
• Value-Based Prioritization: MoSCoW and Kano Analysis frameworks will be combined with data insights to ensure maximum value delivery.
• Scenario Planning: Teams will consider multiple future scenarios and prioritize work based on potential impact in each.
• Micro-Prioritization:Continuous backlog refinement will involve smaller, more frequent prioritization exercises within sprints.

Conclusion

Agile prioritization techniques are an important part of project planning and management. You might end up spending a lot of money on the project without an effective prioritization strategy. Moreover, the project may not be able to impact the intended customers. Therefore, you must use an objective prioritization grading system that contributes to a successful Agile product development project.
Now, the question is - how do you prioritize your ideas in Agile? Simpliaxis can help you excel in all the Agile prioritization techniques through its effective certification courses. You can go for the Agile and Scrum training courses that can help you enhance your skills in these methodologies.