One of the principles of agile is simplicity, which also includes the “art of maximizing the amount of work not done.” An effective way in which agile teams achieve this is through prioritization.
Across agile, Scrum project management , lean development, extreme programming, and other such engineering models, prioritization is a fundamental component. Let’s see what it is, how it works, and how you can optimize your work with good agile prioritization.
Understanding Agile Prioritization
Agile prioritization is the process of systematically assessing and ranking tasks/features/requirements based on business value, customer needs, dependencies, risks, and stakeholder feedback.
Why is agile prioritization important?
Prioritization forms the foundation of what agile teams work on during each iteration. This helps in:
- Choosing features that offer maximum customer value
- Building increments that address customer needs
- Optimizing resource allocation towards what matters
- Mitigating project risks with early and consistent delivery of high-value features
- Adapting to market changes
How is agile prioritization different from traditional development planning models?
Though outcomes are the same, the agile methodology is fundamentally different in its approach. Here’s how.
| Traditional prioritization | Agile prioritization |
|---|---|
| All features are must-haves, only with different timelines | Only a small set of features are must-haves, with the rest iterated on continuously |
| Built around making unwelcome ‘changes’ to pre-determined plans | Built around adapting to the evolving market demands |
| Based on pre-established criteria to fit into the plans | Based on dynamic and iterative processes |
| Focus on predictability | Focus on adaptability |
| Treats feedback as a disruption to the journey | Welcomes feedback as an opportunity to course-correct |
Differences between traditional prioritization and agile prioritization
Learn more about the differences in ClickUp’s beginner’s guide to agile methodologies .
Four priority levels
Across most models, teams prioritize their tasks bucketing them into four levels.
- Critical/urgent: Tasks that demand immediate attention due to their importance and time sensitivity
- High: Tasks that are important but less time-sensitive than critical tasks
- Medium: Tasks that are important but can be deferred if necessary
- Low: Tasks that are less urgent or critical than others
Before we get into how you can apply an agile prioritization technique in your team, let’s see what it entails.
Components of Agile Prioritization
Agile prioritization considers various components to determine what the team works on.
Customer needs: The needs and demands of the customer as seen in UX research, user feedback, or observation of tickets/bug reports
Market trends: Evolution of the market, trends, best practices, and security vulnerabilities
Business value: Revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and other business value derived from each feature
Usability: Any concerns or gaps in the customer’s ability to use the product entirely and effectively
Trade-offs: What should the team give up as a result of choosing a particular feature?
Statistics: Agile teams use a number of statistical techniques such as Pareto analysis, cost-benefit analysis , and risk analysis to help them prioritize. They also use various time-tested models in the process.
Prioritization Models in Agile Development
Despite having the decision parameters clear, prioritization can be hard. For instance, UX research might suggest that customers demand two things—a mobile app and personalization—equally. When faced with such situations, how do you prioritize?
Using the various agile prioritization models available. Let’s discuss a few below.
1. Requirement Prioritization Model
The requirements prioritization model helps evaluate and rank features based on their importance, value, and impact on project goals.
In this model, teams typically rank the feature under consideration on a scale of low, medium, high, and urgent based on its potential to move the needle on the project goals.
2. Kano Model
Kano model prioritizes features that will have maximum impact on customer satisfaction scores.
Like most other models, Kano focuses strictly on the customer. It helps teams identify high-satisfaction features, which can then be prioritized by conducting a cost-benefit analysis.
3. MoSCoW Prioritization
MoSCoW prioritization categorizes requirements into four priority levels: Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have, and Won’t-Have.
With this framework, teams can clearly segregate what matters immediately to those that can be built over the long-term. It also helps in agile capacity planning .
ClickUp’s Agile Project Management Template
4. Priority Poker
Also known as planning poker, priority poker is a gamified strategy where each team member uses cards to estimate the time/effort/story points for each task in the product backlog.
Incorporating everyone’s estimates and inputs, priority poker is a transparent way of making group decisions.
5. 100 Dollar Test
The 100-Dollar Test is similar to priority poker with some differences. Each team member is given a hypothetical $100 budget, which they can spend on features based on their perceived value. It is a weighted prioritization method great for group settings.
The primary focus of the 100-dollar test is customer value, which helps teams focus on allocating limited resources on things that produce maximum ROI.
6. Stack Ranking
Stack ranking sorts each task by priority, with essential items assigned the highest ranks and the least important items assigned the lowest ranks. For each sprint, the team pulls items with high ranks for development.
Whenever a new item is added to the backlog, the product owner compares it with the existing tasks and assigns a rank, inserting it into the priority list.
7. Cost of Delay
The cost of delay prioritization model focuses on consequences instead of pay-offs.
In the cost of delay model, teams quantify the impact of postponing tasks or features. They then prioritize tasks based on the potential cost of delayed delivery. Considering the financial consequences of delay helps make informed prioritization and resource allocation decisions.
8. Priority Matrix
The agile priority matrix is a visual tool for Scrum teams to prioritize tasks by importance and urgency. It conveys priorities to stakeholders and ensures organizational alignment by giving teams a clear picture of priorities, helping them focus on completing high-value tasks first.
Now that you’re comfortable with a few agile prioritization models, let’s explore a few more techniques you can apply to your sprint planning meetings.
Allocate resources and plan sprints effectively with ClickUp’s Workload view
Agile Prioritization Techniques
Some of the most popular project planning techniques have been adapted to the agile way of working to produce extraordinary results. Some of the common ones are as follows.
The Eisenhower Matrix: 4 Quadrants Agile Time Management
The Eisenhower Matrix divides tasks into four quadrants: Urgent and important, neither urgent nor important, not urgent but important, and urgent but not important.
This simple model helps teams clarify answers to two questions: Is it important to be done? Does it have to be done now?
RICE: Balanced Agile Prioritization Techniques
RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort) ranks features according to their potential impact and effort.
- Reach: How many people do you expect to reach in the given time frame?
- Impact: How many conversions/sales/actions do you expect?
- Confidence: How confident are you about your estimates on the above two factors?
- Effort: How much effort would it take to complete this feature?
Weighted Shortest Job First [WSJF]
Agile philosophy believes that tasks with the highest value and shortest duration need to be completed first. Weighted shortest job first builds on that theory.
WSJF (estimate) = Relative cost of delay / relative job duration
Value vs Complexity/Effort Matrix
The value versus complexity model simply compares the potential business value (revenue, profits, customer acquisition, etc.) of a new feature against the effort/complexity of developing it.
This model also lays options on four quadrants, prioritizing those with high value and low effort to begin with.
Agile Prioritization in Scrum
Just because we’ve been speaking on this as ‘agile’ prioritization doesn’t mean it’s not applicable to software development teams following other methods.
Prioritization in Scrum Agile Scrum teams use
prioritization templates and techniques regularly as part of their work. Teams pull features/bugs from the product backlog for work during each sprint. The decisions around which items to pull from the backlog are made using an agile prioritization method.
Use the ClickUp Prioritization Matrix Template to evaluate tasks based on their impact and effort levels
Here, the product owner evaluates available items with some backlog grooming. They use any of the prioritization models/techniques we discuss below to rank tasks.
For instance, if they use the Kano model, they will look at user stories for features that are in most demand. If they use the WSJF model, they consider the person-hours available, so they can optimize time management.
Prioritization in lean development
Lean software development regards value over volume, flexibility, and continuous improvement. Prioritization plays a key role in sticking by these principles.
It helps teams find the most valuable tasks instead of merely increasing velocity. Regular re-prioritization helps build adaptability into the process. Lean teams also use review meetings to refine the prioritization process itself, weaving continuous improvement into everything.
If that feels like a lot of theory, let’s see how they work in practice.
Agile Prioritization: Real-world Instances
Prioritization is a fundamental part of agile software development. It helps separate the wheat from the chaff. It is useful and valuable in a wide range of instances. We discuss a handful of them below.
Achieving a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A minimum viable product is one with just enough features that are attractive to an early adopter, who can use it, validate the idea, and give meaningful feedback.
But how do you know what features make a product minimum viable? That’s where prioritization techniques can help.
- The feature prioritization matrix helps identify what features need to be developed now and what later
- WSFJ helps identify features that will deliver maximum benefits in the shortest time
- The value vs. complexity matrix helps identify features that will deliver maximum impact in the shortest duration
Creating user-centered design in Agile prioritization
Every agile team intends to create user-centered design. They start with the intent to meet the needs of the customer. Yet, over time, when all the product management complexities set in, budgets, resources, and competition demands take over. As a result, teams may get distracted.
Agile prioritization offers a framework for teams to stay on their chosen track. Tools like personas, user stories, and feedback sessions help bring the focus back to the customer. Teams can play priority poker or give story points from their 100-dollar test to user stories they believe will matter the most.
Using the Kano model for customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is always thought of as a post-facto event. Organizations conduct surveys to understand satisfaction levels after the product/service has been delivered. This delays your ability in developing agile products that proactively meet user needs.
Agile prioritization reverses this trend. It pushes teams to focus on tasks they believe the customer might need and want. The Kano prioritization model is especially effective to create user-centered design by focusing on features that most impact customer satisfaction.
Determining ROI in agile product development through prioritization
All along we’ve been talking about creating business value with agile prioritization. One of the ways in which teams measure business value is through ROI. At the end of each sprint or quarter, teams can ask:
- What new features have contributed to new customer acquisition?
- What features are most used, contributing to customer satisfaction?
- What differentiating features are leading to customer retention?
This way, you can quantify ROI, learn from past decisions, and continue to prioritize effectively.
Agile prioritization for security features
One of the critical aspects of prioritizing features to build is understanding their cybersecurity impact. Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSPs) identify and prioritize security-related features that need the most attention.
They focus on security features as well as the security aspects of every feature across code, network, and integrations, to build a robust line of defense for the customer.
Throughout these processes, agile teams gain a number of benefits and face challenges with prioritization. Let’s see what.
Benefits of Agile Prioritization
Clarity for increased customer satisfaction: Agile prioritization brings the entire team together to make decisions around what is important to the customer. This creates clarity of thought, which leads to consistency of action, resulting in a smooth customer experience.
Collaboration: Prioritization is not a one-person task. Agile teams come together with business stakeholders to make collective decisions. This strengthens collaboration and creates community ownership.
Focus on return on investment: Agile teams use prioritization to calibrate their focus towards return on investment, be it customer validation, revenue, or profitability. For instance, a team building an MVP might be focused on minimum viable features.
Adaptable and dynamic changes: When teams prioritize features to build for each sprint, they are able to respond to market demands, customer needs, security incidents, or watershed moments.
Retrospectives: Making informed decisions using prioritization techniques helps monitor performance. In retrospectives, teams can discuss the intent and the outcomes to adjust the future course of action. Over time, they can create agile templates for repeatability and consistency.
Create sprints that span from one week to one month long with the Agile approach in ClickUp
Challenges of Agile Prioritization and How to Overcome Them
Too many cooks: Often, when you involve every stakeholder, it can lead to too many opinions, unrealistic expectations, and unresolved debates.
A product owner or Scrum master must set clear standards, facilitate productive conversations and time-box discussions to move towards a decision.
Confusion in context: It is common for team members to understand the same feature differently, causing each one to rank/prioritize it in their own way.
Product owners must invest time and energy in building clear context. Writing detailed user stories, outlining acceptance criteria, and clarifying what ‘must have’ and ‘should have’ mean are great ways to achieve this.
Balance: With all prioritization, balancing short-term gains with long-term objectives can be a challenge.
Project management tools like ClickUp Goals help draw a clear line of sight from one to the other while also tracking progress.
Set goals and track progress on ClickUp Goals
Resource allocation: Being adaptable might sometimes seem like we’re working towards a moving goalpost. This affects resource allocation and team morale.
Team managers must communicate proactively to help the teams understand the benefits of being adaptable. Whenever you make a pivot, take the team along the decision-making journey so they can see why it is important.
With that out of the way, here’s how you can implement effective agile prioritization methods in your organization.
Implementing Agile Prioritization
Agile prioritization is fundamentally the ability to clearly and effectively make decisions about what not to do. This can create fears and regrets that can only be alleviated with a strong process.
Here is an outline of the process you can follow.
Establish your goals
Goals, as the name suggests, is where you intend to reach with your product. Understanding this helps plan the right roadmap with prioritization. At this stage, also outline your boundaries/constraints, such as budgets, resources, timelines, etc. ClickUp Docs is a great way to document this qualitatively, based on which you can set up targets on ClickUp Goals .
Document every goal with ease using ClickUp Docs
Identify stakeholders
Good project prioritization needs the right decision-makers. Identify and include stakeholders in the process. Typically, the stakeholders include:
- Business team, project sponsor, or client representative
- Product owner
- Scrum masker
- Engineering teams
- Most importantly, users
Set up backlogs
To prioritize, you need a bunch of options. The product and sprint backlogs in the agile/Scrum methodology are designed to enable precisely this.
Setting up a list of to-be-considered features on ClickUp’s agile project management tool helps visualize all tasks in one place. Use the ClickUp Whiteboard to collaborate. Drag and drop features into various stages using the Kanban view.
Collaborate effortlessly with ClickUp Whiteboards
Choose your prioritization model
Like you’ve seen above, there are dozens of ways in which you can prioritize items for your sprint. Choose one that works for you. Onboard stakeholders and ensure they all understand the process. Conduct a couple of mock prioritization sessions to iron out teething troubles, if any.
Review and revise
Closely monitor the outcomes of your prioritization. Collect feedback from stakeholders and optimize continuously.
Not sure where to start? Fire up the ClickUp agile Scrum management template and customize it as you need.
Prioritize and Build Successful Products With ClickUp
If you see any prioritization framework, it’s more about what not to build than what to build. From the Eisenhower Matrix to the MoSCoW model, only one of the many levels is about taking action now.
Yet, development teams regularly struggle with agile prioritization. ClickUp’s project management tool wants to prevent exactly that. ClickUp’s comprehensive features for software development teams enable you to build the right product in the right way at the right time.
Feature lists, task types, dependencies, Kanban board, checklists etc., are all designed to give you the power of information to make decisions.
Prioritize what matters. Try ClickUp for free today .
FAQs About Agile Prioritization
1. What is the prioritization model in Scrum?
Prioritization in Scrum refers to choosing or ‘pulling’ the right items from the product backlog to work on during a sprint. The most frequently used models are risk-based, value-based, opportunity-based, and dependency-based prioritization.
2. What is the method of prioritization in Agile?
Agile prioritization uses various methods such as Kano, MosCoW, priority poker, cost of delay, RICE, etc.
3. What is the priority matrix in Agile?
The priority matrix in Agile categorizes tasks on a quadrant based on importance and the urgency/effort involved.
4. What is the requirement prioritization model?
The requirements prioritization model helps evaluate and rank features based on their importance, value, and impact on project goals.
5. What is the highest priority in Agile methodology?
The highest priority in agile methodology is ‘critical.’ If you’re using a different prioritization model, such as MoSCoW, your higher priority would be ‘must have.’
6. What is prioritization of system requirements?
Prioritization of system requirements is identifying the most valuable features your system must deliver. This helps avoid scope creep, prioritizing low-value items, wasting resources, etc.
7. What is prioritized in Agile?
Agile teams prioritize what to build in the next sprint/iteration. This could be new features, enhancements, or bug fixes.
8. What are the 4 levels of prioritizing tasks?
Critical/urgent, high, medium, and low