Lean Prioritization Matrix (or Bang For Your Buck Matrix)

There are many ways to prioritize work…

• MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have)
• WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)
• HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion…not recommended but it happens).

We work with organizations that have used all of the above, but our favorite ways to prioritize, and the ones that we recommend, have an undeniable connection to business value or value drivers.

Value drivers are the levers that strongly correlate to the attainment of business outcomes and create tangible measurements of success. Value drivers should be specific so that they provide direction and are therefore usable. For example, “decrease cost” is too vague. Instead, use “decrease costs by reducing customer support calls.” 

This Lean Prioritization (“Bang For Your Buck”) Matrix is another way to effectively prioritize investments across a diverse group of stakeholders. It allows the leadership team to make quick, neutral, knowledge-driven decisions collaboratively. 

Watch this 5-minute video to start using the Lean Prioritization Matrix

How to Use this Matrix to Establish Healthy Lean Portfolio Management Practices

1. Gather the right group of business and technology executives with the authority to make  business decisions
2. Align on a set of value drivers and weigh the relative importance of each one in achieving your strategic goals
3. Make a list of all portfolio investment options 
4. Establish regular, cross-stakeholder (the team you gathered) scoring sessions to continuously review and prioritize portfolio initiatives, taking into account recent insights that may change the expected value or investment to complete in-flight work
5. Make the prioritized list visible and accessible to all stakeholders and teams, and update the roadmap based on decisions made in each review session 

If your portfolio team is using the matrix correctly, the prioritized list will change over time. After all, initiatives are completed, new information is learned, and organizational capabilities will change. If you have questions about how to use this matrix or about Lean Portfolio Management, you can watch this webinar by the creators of the matrix, Randy Hale and Sally Tait.

Ready to dive into Lean Portfolio Management? Check out our next SAFe Lean Portfolio Management class.