Prioritisation Techniques in Scrum

Prioritisation Techniques in Scrum

In Scrum, the Product Owner is responsible for prioritising the Product Backlog. Here are the most widely used techniques:

1. MoSCoW Method

Categorise items into:

  • Must Have – non-negotiable, sprint blockers

  • Should Have – important but not critical

  • Could Have – nice to have

  • Won't Have (this time) – explicitly deferred

2. WSJF – Weighted Shortest Job First (SAFe/Agile)

Priority = Cost of Delay ÷ Job Duration

Favours high-value, short-effort items. Great for balancing urgency vs. effort.

3. Kano Model

Classifies features by customer satisfaction impact:

  • Basic needs – expected, no delight if present

  • Performance needs – more = better

  • Delighters – unexpected features that wow users

4. Value vs. Effort Matrix (2×2 Grid)


Low Effort

High Effort

High Value

✅ Quick Wins

🔨 Major Projects

Low Value

🤔 Fill-ins

❌ Thankless Tasks

Quick Wins go first.

5. Story Mapping

Organise user stories along a horizontal "user journey" axis, then stack by priority vertically. The top slice = MVP.

6. 100-Point Method (Cumulative Voting)

Each stakeholder gets 100 points to distribute across backlog items. Aggregated scores drive priority. Good for team/stakeholder alignment.

7. RICE Scoring

Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) ÷ Effort

Popular in product-led teams for data-driven prioritisation.

Quick Recommendation

Situation

Best Technique

Simple backlog, small team

MoSCoW or Value/Effort Matrix

Multiple stakeholders

100-Point Method

Customer-centric features

Kano Model

PI Planning / SAFe

WSJF

Complex product roadmap

Story Mapping + RICE