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8 Top Prioritization Frameworks for Tech Leaders

pmartin452

As a tech leader, you're constantly barraged with a firehose of tasks, projects, and priorities vying for your team's attention.




We've been talking all week about "Balancing Priorities" - without a system for prioritization, it's easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus.


That's why having robust prioritization frameworks is critical - it's something I heavily emphasize with my teams.


Here are 8 powerful prioritization models and techniques that I recommend tech leaders adopt:


  1. RICE Prioritization Model - Developed at Intercom, RICE provides an objective scoring system for ranking initiatives based on Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort required. I've found it highly effective for product roadmap planning.

  2. Eisenhower Matrix - This classic framework categorizes tasks into 4 buckets based on Importance/Urgency. The goal is focusing on the "Important/Urgent" items first. It's one of my go-to's for cutting through the noise.

  3. Opportunity Scoring - I like scoring potential projects/initiatives based on criteria like business impact, customer value, revenue impact, strategic alignment, and resource requirements.

  4. Cost of Delay - This approach factors in the cost of not delivering something in addition to implementation costs/effort. It surfaces priorities with compounding costs of delay - something I've seen be super valuable.

  5. Weighted Scoring - Build your own custom prioritization criteria weighted by importance (e.g. customer impact, technical risk, regulatory needs, etc.) to align with your goals. I do this frequently when priorities are very specific to my team's situation.

  6. Pareto Analysis (80/20 Rule) - The Pareto Principle states 80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs. So I focus my teams on prioritizing that 20% of high-impact work over the trivial many.

  7. Impact vs Effort Prioritization - Plot tasks on a 2x2 grid by impact and effort required. Identify high-impact/low-effort priorities ("quick wins") to tackle first. An oldie but a goodie that I've leveraged.

  8. MoSCoW Method - Categorize requirements/tasks into 4 buckets: Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won't Have this time. The "Must Haves" are top priority. Simple but effective.


The right prioritization framework brings clarity and objectivity to your team's efforts. But don't just pick one method - I recommend combining multiple complementary techniques based on the specific prioritization needs. There's no one size fits all model or framework!


✍️ Did I get this wrong or right? Share your experiences and tips on tech-business alignment.

♻️ Reshare if this applies to you!

📞 Reach out if you need a coach who can help unblock you and help you work on these gaps!




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