Requirements Prioritization

Requirements Prioritization Skill

Purpose

Systematically prioritize requirements to ensure the most valuable features are delivered first, managing scope and stakeholder expectations effectively.

When to Use

• Managing product backlog
• Planning releases or sprints
• Resolving conflicting stakeholder needs
• Allocating limited resources
• Defining MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

Prioritization Frameworks

1. MoSCoW Method

Best for: Fixed deadlines, scope negotiation

• Must Have (M): Critical for success. Non-negotiable. If missed, launch fails.
• Should Have (S): Important but not vital. Can be worked around painfully.
• Could Have (C): Desirable/Nice-to-have. Low impact if left out.
• Won't Have (W): Agreed to leave out of this release (maybe later).

Example: E-commerce Checkout

• Must: Guest checkout, Credit card payment.
• Should: PayPal integration, Address autocomplete.
• Could: Gift wrapping options, Crypto payment.
• Won't: Voice-activated checkout (for now).

2. RICE Scoring

Best for: Data-driven decision making, comparing disparate features.

$$ RICE Score = \frac{Reach \times Impact \times Confidence}{Effort} $$

• Reach: Number of people/events per period (e.g., 1000 users/month).
• Impact:
  • 3 (Massive)
  • 2 (High)
  • 1 (Medium)
  • 0.5 (Low)
  • 0.25 (Minimal)
• Confidence:
  • 100% (High - have data)
  • 80% (Medium - some data/intuition)
  • 50% (Low - wild guess)
• Effort: Person-months (e.g., 2 months).

3. Kano Model

Best for: Customer satisfaction and differentiation.

• Basic (Threshold): Must be present. Customer neutral if there, dissatisfied if absent. (e.g., Car brakes).
• Performance (Linear): The more, the better. (e.g., Car gas mileage).
• Excitement (Delighters): Surprise features. High satisfaction if present, neutral if absent. (e.g., Free sunroof).

4. WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)

Best for: Agile/SAFe environments, maximizing economic flow.

$$ WSJF = \frac{Cost of Delay (CoD)}{Job Size (Duration)} $$

Cost of Delay components:

1. User-Business Value (Value to user/business)
2. Time Criticality (Is there a deadline/decay?)
3. Risk Reduction/Opportunity Enablement (Does it reduce risk/unlock future value?)

Facilitating Prioritization Workshops

Preparation

1. List Requirements: Ensure all requirements are gathered and clear.
2. Invite Stakeholders: Decision makers, technical leads, business owners.
3. Define Criteria: Agree on the framework (e.g., "We will use MoSCoW").

Process (e.g., Buy a Feature)

1. Give stakeholders "play money" budget (e.g., $100).
2. Assign "prices" to requirements based on effort/cost.
3. Ask stakeholders to "buy" the features they want.
4. Discuss results: What was bought? What was ignored?

Process (e.g., $100 Test)

• Give each stakeholder 100 points.
• Ask them to distribute points across requirements based on importance.
• Sum up points to see group consensus.

Common Challenges & Solutions

Challenge	Solution
Everything is a "Must"	Force ranking (1 to N). Use "Buy a Feature" with limited budget.
HIPPO (Highest Paid Person's Opinion)	Use data-driven methods (RICE). Visualize trade-offs.
Conflicting priorities	Link back to business goals/KPIs. Facilitate negotiation.
Dependencies ignored	Technical team must review to identify dependency chains (A must be done before B).

Business Value vs. Technical Necessity

• Business Priority: Value provided to the customer/business.
• Technical Priority: Architectural needs, dependencies, debt reduction.
• Final Priority: Start where Business Value is high AND Technical Risk is managed.

Output

• Prioritized Backlog: Ordered list of requirements.
• Release Map: What goes into Release 1, 2, 3.
• Descope List: Explicit list of what is NOT being done.

Reference

• Wiegers, K. & Beatty, J. (2013). Software Requirements.
• Intercom on Product Management (RICE).
• SAFe Framework (WSJF).