prioritization-effort-impact
$
npx mdskill add lyndonkl/claude/prioritization-effort-impactRank backlog items by effort and impact for clear decisions.
- Transforms overwhelming backlogs into actionable priorities.
- Uses 2x2 matrix scoring to categorize features and bugs.
- Identifies quick wins, big bets, time sinks, and fill-ins.
- Delivers a prioritized roadmap with validated decisions.
SKILL.md
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--- name: prioritization-effort-impact description: Transforms overwhelming backlogs into clear, actionable priorities by mapping items on a 2x2 effort-vs-impact matrix, identifying quick wins (high impact, low effort), big bets, time sinks, and fill-ins. Use when ranking backlogs, deciding what to do first, prioritizing feature roadmaps, triaging bugs or technical debt, allocating resources across initiatives, identifying low-hanging fruit, evaluating strategic options, or when user mentions prioritization, quick wins, effort-impact matrix, high-impact low-effort, big bets, or "what should we do first?". --- # Prioritization: Effort-Impact Matrix ## Workflow Copy this checklist and track your progress: ``` Prioritization Progress: - [ ] Step 1: Gather items and clarify scoring - [ ] Step 2: Score effort and impact - [ ] Step 3: Plot matrix and identify quadrants - [ ] Step 4: Create prioritized roadmap - [ ] Step 5: Validate and communicate decisions ``` **Step 1: Gather items and clarify scoring** Collect all items to prioritize (features, bugs, initiatives, etc.) and define scoring scales for effort and impact. See [Scoring Frameworks](#scoring-frameworks) for effort and impact definitions. Use [resources/template.md](resources/template.md) for structure. **Step 2: Score effort and impact** Rate each item on effort (1-5: trivial to massive) and impact (1-5: negligible to transformative). Involve subject matter experts for accuracy. See [resources/methodology.md](resources/methodology.md) for advanced scoring techniques like Fibonacci, T-shirt sizes, or RICE. **Step 3: Plot matrix and identify quadrants** Place items on 2x2 matrix and categorize into Quick Wins (high impact, low effort), Big Bets (high impact, high effort), Fill-Ins (low impact, low effort), and Time Sinks (low impact, high effort). See [Common Patterns](#common-patterns) for typical quadrant distributions. **Step 4: Create prioritized roadmap** Sequence items: Quick Wins first, Big Bets second (after quick wins build momentum), Fill-Ins during downtime, avoid Time Sinks unless required. See [resources/template.md](resources/template.md) for roadmap structure. **Step 5: Validate and communicate decisions** Self-check using [resources/evaluators/rubric_prioritization_effort_impact.json](resources/evaluators/rubric_prioritization_effort_impact.json). Ensure scoring is defensible, stakeholder perspectives included, and decisions clearly explained with rationale. ## Common Patterns **By domain:** - **Product backlogs**: Quick wins = small UX improvements, Big bets = new workflows, Time sinks = edge case perfection - **Technical debt**: Quick wins = config fixes, Big bets = architecture overhauls, Time sinks = premature optimizations - **Bug triage**: Quick wins = high-impact easy fixes, Big bets = complex critical bugs, Time sinks = cosmetic issues - **Strategic initiatives**: Quick wins = process tweaks, Big bets = market expansion, Time sinks = vanity metrics - **Marketing campaigns**: Quick wins = email nurture, Big bets = brand overhaul, Time sinks = minor A/B tests **By stakeholder priority:** - **Execs want**: Quick wins (visible progress) + Big bets (strategic impact) - **Engineering wants**: Technical debt quick wins + Big bets (platform work) - **Sales wants**: Quick wins that unblock deals + Big bets (major features) - **Customers want**: Quick wins (pain relief) + Big bets (transformative value) **Typical quadrant distribution:** - Quick Wins: 10-20% (rare, high-value opportunities) - Big Bets: 20-30% (strategic, resource-intensive) - Fill-Ins: 40-50% (most backlogs have many low-value items) - Time Sinks: 10-20% (surprisingly common, often disguised as "polish") **Red flags:** - ❌ **No quick wins**: Likely overestimating effort or underestimating impact - ❌ **All quick wins**: Scores probably not calibrated correctly - ❌ **Many time sinks**: Cut scope or reject these items - ❌ **Effort/impact scores all 3**: Need more differentiation (use 1-2 and 4-5) ## Scoring Frameworks **Effort dimensions (choose relevant ones):** - **Time**: Engineering/execution hours (1=hours, 2=days, 3=weeks, 4=months, 5=quarters) - **Complexity**: Technical difficulty (1=trivial, 5=novel/unprecedented) - **Risk**: Failure probability (1=safe, 5=high-risk) - **Dependencies**: External blockers (1=none, 5=many teams/approvals) - **Cost**: Financial investment (1=$0-1K, 2=$1-10K, 3=$10-100K, 4=$100K-1M, 5=$1M+) **Impact dimensions (choose relevant ones):** - **Users affected**: Reach (1=<1%, 2=1-10%, 3=10-50%, 4=50-90%, 5=>90%) - **Business value**: Revenue/savings (1=$0-10K, 2=$10-100K, 3=$100K-1M, 4=$1-10M, 5=$10M+) - **Strategic alignment**: OKR contribution (1=tangential, 5=critical to strategy) - **User pain**: Problem severity (1=nice-to-have, 5=blocker/crisis) - **Risk reduction**: Mitigation value (1=minor, 5=existential risk) **Composite scoring:** - **Simple**: Average of dimensions (Effort = avg(time, complexity), Impact = avg(users, value)) - **Weighted**: Multiply by importance (Effort = 0.6×time + 0.4×complexity) - **Fibonacci**: Use 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 instead of 1-5 for exponential differences - **T-shirt sizes**: S/M/L/XL mapped to 1/2/3/5 **Example scoring (feature: "Add dark mode"):** - Effort: Time=3 (2 weeks), Complexity=2 (CSS), Risk=2 (minor bugs), Dependencies=1 (no blockers) → **Avg = 2.0 (Low)** - Impact: Users=4 (80% want it), Value=2 (retention, not revenue), Strategy=3 (design system goal), Pain=3 (eye strain) → **Avg = 3.0 (Medium-High)** - **Result**: Medium-High Impact, Low Effort → **Quick Win!** ## Guardrails **Ensure quality:** 1. **Include diverse perspectives**: Don't let one person score alone (eng overestimates effort, sales overestimates impact) - ✓ Get engineering, product, sales, customer success input - ❌ PM scores everything solo 2. **Differentiate scores**: If everything is scored 3, you haven't prioritized - ✓ Force rank or use wider scale (1-10) - ✓ Aim for distribution: few 1s/5s, more 2s/4s, many 3s - ❌ All items scored 2.5-3.5 3. **Question extreme scores**: High-impact low-effort items are rare (if you have 10, something's wrong) - ✓ "Why haven't we done this already?" test for quick wins - ❌ Wishful thinking (underestimating effort, overestimating impact) 4. **Make scoring transparent**: Document why each score was assigned - ✓ "Effort=4 because requires 3 teams, new infrastructure, 6-week timeline" - ❌ "Effort=4" with no rationale 5. **Revisit scores periodically**: Effort/impact change as context evolves - ✓ Re-score quarterly or after major changes (new tech, new team size) - ❌ Use 2-year-old scores 6. **Don't ignore dependencies**: Low-effort items blocked by high-effort prerequisites aren't quick wins - ✓ "Effort=2 for task, but depends on Effort=5 migration" - ❌ Score task in isolation 7. **Beware of "strategic" override**: Execs calling everything "high impact" defeats prioritization - ✓ "Strategic" is one dimension, not a veto - ❌ "CEO wants it" → auto-scored 5 ## Quick Reference **Resources:** - **Quick start**: [resources/template.md](resources/template.md) - 2x2 matrix template and scoring table - **Advanced techniques**: [resources/methodology.md](resources/methodology.md) - RICE, MoSCoW, Kano, weighted scoring - **Quality check**: [resources/evaluators/rubric_prioritization_effort_impact.json](resources/evaluators/rubric_prioritization_effort_impact.json) - Evaluation criteria **Success criteria:** - ✓ Identified 1-3 quick wins to execute immediately - ✓ Sequenced big bets into realistic roadmap (don't overcommit) - ✓ Cut or deferred time sinks (low ROI items) - ✓ Scoring rationale is transparent and defensible - ✓ Stakeholders aligned on priorities - ✓ Roadmap has capacity buffer (don't schedule 100% of time) **Common mistakes:** - ❌ Scoring in isolation (no stakeholder input) - ❌ Ignoring effort (optimism bias: "everything is easy") - ❌ Ignoring impact (building what's easy, not what's valuable) - ❌ Analysis paralysis (perfect scores vs good-enough prioritization) - ❌ Not saying "no" to time sinks - ❌ Overloading roadmap (filling every week with big bets) - ❌ Forgetting maintenance/support time (assuming 100% project capacity) **When to use alternatives:** - **Weighted scoring (RICE)**: When you need more nuance than 2x2 (Reach × Impact × Confidence / Effort) - **MoSCoW**: When prioritizing for fixed scope/deadline (Must/Should/Could/Won't) - **Kano model**: When evaluating customer satisfaction (basic/performance/delight features) - **ICE score**: Simpler than RICE (Impact × Confidence × Ease) - **Value vs complexity**: Same as effort-impact, different labels - **Cost of delay**: When timing matters (revenue lost by delaying)
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