How to Prioritize when Everything is High Priority: the Data-Driven Approach

At a company where data is core to business, to help make data-driven decisions, I recommend the following 5-step prioritization approach, which builds on the RICE prioritization method, to determine which initiative to move forward with.

Step 1: List all possible initiatives  you're considering, from pie-in-the-sky to the short-term.

Step 2: Decide what the timeline to deliverable is, e.g. next quarter, next board meeting, etc.

Step 3: Score each item in the list on the following 4 attributes, each on a low/medium/high scale:

• • Impact: Expected business impact -- in profit/savings or towards mission

    • Note: If it solves an (internal/external) client pain point, how does that translate into business impact?

  • Confidence: Data availability

  • Effort: Timeline to deliverable, including feasibility in hitting the timeline specified in Step 2

    • • This includes considering whether the solution is a product/service that already exists and that you can buy (e.g. the "build vs buy" consideration). Especially if the deliverable won't be core to main product/service the company's offering, consider the "buy" route.

  • Interconnectedness to (or dependencies on) other products/projects [Hilary Mason]? e.g. How much easier the other initiatives will be if this one is done first? [Harvard Business Review]

Step 4: Sort according to those that score high on business impact, breaking ties with those products that are more interconnected.

Step 5: Discuss results of Step 4 based on the other attributes to determine the next initiative. 

Step 6: Repeat all of the above towards the end of the timeline (specified in Step 2) to plan the next phase, e.g. potentially quarterly.

Keywords: Data products, prioritization, productivity

You may also like: 

• Dear Advisor: I’d like to make data-driven decisions. Where do I start? 

• Column: Your Business Has Lots of Ideas on What To Work On. Here’s How To Decide on What’s Next 

• How to Deliver Business Impact with Data

• The 6 Decision-Making Frameworks That Help Startup Leaders Tackle Tough Calls, by First Round Review

• On Prioritization:

  • • Making the Most of Your Data Team: Questions to Ask When Prioritizing Projects, by TJ

    • How to prioritize features in your product backlog by Adam Bader

    • Hacking the Eisenhower Matrix, by NOBL Academy

    • How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Important, by Jessica Greene

    • How to Prioritize your Work when your Manager Doesn't by Amy Jen Su

    • My Team Constantly Back-Burners My Priorities, by quickbase

• On Roadmapping:

  • • Roadmapping as a Tool for Data Leaders, by Brittany Bennett

    • The Fundamentals of Roadmapping by Julia Austin

• 3 Steps to Creating a Minimum Viable Launch by Ilana Brown

• How to Take Personal Development Off the Backburner — Tactical Frameworks for Leveling Up by Adam Grant

• You Need a not-to-do List by Alison Green 

• How Basecamp does this: Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters, by Ryan Singer