Prioritization Techniques in Agile (MOSCOW, KANO, PAIRED COMPARISON, WSJF, 100 POINT/100 DOLLAR)

Requirement prioritization techniques help in determining the most important requirements to focus on during a project. This is crucial for optimizing resources, managing timelines, and delivering value to stakeholders. Here are some of the most common techniques used for requirement prioritization:

1. MoSCoW (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won’t Have)
Must Have: Critical requirements that are non-negotiable for project success.
Should Have: Important but not critical; project can still succeed without them.
Could Have: Desirable but not necessary; included if time and resources allow.
Won’t Have: Least important; won't be included in this phase but might be revisited later.
When to use: Best for stakeholders and teams who need clear categories and want a simple way to distinguish core features from nice-to-haves.

2. Kano Model
Basic Needs: Must-haves, the absence of which causes dissatisfaction.
Performance Needs: The more you have, the better, and directly correlated with satisfaction.
Excitement Needs: Unspoken requirements that delight customers when fulfilled but don’t cause dissatisfaction if absent.
When to use: Best for customer-centered projects where understanding how features impact user satisfaction is essential.

3. Weighted Scoring
Assign weights to different criteria (e.g., cost, business value, risk).
Score each requirement based on these criteria.
Multiply scores by their respective weights and rank based on the total score.
When to use: Best for data-driven environments where quantitative analysis helps guide decisions.

4. 100-Point Method
Each stakeholder is given 100 points to allocate across all requirements.
Requirements with the highest point allocation are prioritized.
When to use: Best for involving multiple stakeholders to collaboratively decide priorities.

5. Value vs. Cost
Plot requirements on a two-dimensional chart: value to the business vs. cost to implement.
Focus on high-value, low-cost requirements first.
When to use: Best for optimizing ROI, balancing business value with development effort.

6. Prioritization by Ranking
Each requirement is ranked based on its importance.
All stakeholders or team members collaboratively rank them from most to least important.
When to use: Simple but effective for small projects or when the number of requirements is manageable.

7. Business Case Approach
Prioritize based on the business case, including cost-benefit analysis, ROI, and impact on business goals.
When to use: Best when focusing on the strategic business value of requirements is critical.

8. Risk-Based Prioritization
Prioritize requirements based on their risk: those that carry higher risks (technical or business) are addressed first.
When to use: Best for projects with significant uncertainties, where mitigating risks early can save time and effort later.

9. Relative Weighting (Analytic Hierarchy Process - AHP)
Compare requirements in pairs based on different criteria (e.g., value, cost, complexity).
Use these comparisons to determine a final prioritization ranking.
When to use: Best for when a structured and methodical approach is needed to balance multiple competing criteria.

10. Dot Voting
Stakeholders or team members place dots or stickers on the most important requirements.
The requirements with the most dots get the highest priority.
When to use: Best for informal prioritization sessions where consensus is required quickly.

11. Theme Screening
Group related requirements into themes or categories and prioritize these themes.
When to use: Best for large projects with many related requirements, making it easier to handle higher-level prioritization.

12. Cost of Delay (COD)
Prioritize based on the cost of delaying each requirement. This considers both the business value and the urgency of each requirement.
Formula: Cost of Delay ÷ Duration (time to deliver the requirement).
When to use: Best for Agile and Lean environments to manage priorities by considering time-to-value trade-offs.

13. Eisenhower Matrix (Urgency-Importance Matrix)
Categorize requirements into four quadrants: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, neither urgent nor important.
When to use: Best for prioritizing based on time constraints and immediate business needs.

14. Buy a Feature
Stakeholders are given a budget and can "purchase" features based on their importance.
When to use: Ideal for getting direct input from stakeholders on what they value most.

Choosing the Right Technique
For Small Projects: MoSCoW, Dot Voting, and Ranking.
For Large Projects: Weighted Scoring, AHP, Risk-Based.
For Customer-Centric Projects: Kano Model, Buy a Feature.
For Business-Value Focused: Business Case Approach, Value vs. Cost, Cost of Delay.
These techniques can be used individually or combined, depending on the complexity of the project and the number of stakeholders involved.