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 for effort and impact definitions. Use 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 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 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 for roadmap structure.
Step 5: Validate and communicate decisions
Self-check using 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:
-
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
-
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
-
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)
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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:
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)