A better way to decide what belongs in your projects

Hi there,

Over the last two weeks, we’ve built prioritisation step by step.

First, the “Crawl” version:

Create a single ordered list. No equals.

Then the “Walk” version:Add estimates and compare them with the time and effort your team actually has.

Now we come to the “Run” version.

This is where prioritisation becomes a real decision-making tool rather than just a planning exercise.

The Run version adds one simple but crucial question to every item on your list:

What is the business value of this?

For each task or feature, ask:

• Why are we doing this?

• How much benefit does it give our organisation - €€€€ IN EUROs €€€€ 

This can be a bit tricky (which is why I cover it in detail in my training) - But it is immensely powerful!

The magic trick is to put an ACTUAL NUMBER on business value. It doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, as long as you are clear about the assumptions behind it, the debate that putting a number on it creates is exactly what you want.

If someone disagrees with your number, show them the assumptions behind it and ask for their help in making them better.

If you disagree with someone else’s number, ask to see their assumptions and work together to help you understand them (or change them if that's what you decide).

Now it’s no longer “you against me”, it’s “you and me against the problem!

Better!

Without this step, people can throw things into a project very easily. With it, every item has to justify its place, and you can have much better conversations about what should and should not be included.

It also changes how you talk with stakeholders.

Instead of debating opinions, you talk about value.Instead of arguing about effort, you make trade-offs visible.Instead of saying “yes” or “no” to everything, you can say, “Here is what delivers the most value first.”

When you combine:

• a prioritised list

• realistic estimates

• team capacity

• and business value

you move from managing tasks to making decisions.

And that’s what good project management really is.

Try doing this on one or two of the items on your current project that you think might be undervalued, and one or two that you think might be overvalued. 

You’ll find it becomes much easier to negotiate with people about what’s in, what’s out, and why.

Here’s to low-stress success,

James

P.S - I explain this in more detail with a couple of worked examples on Page 74 of Leading Impactful Teams

P.P.S. If you’d like to go deeper, I’m running a 2-hour workshop on 12th March with practical tools, templates, my book, and more.

Details here:https://www.impactfulpm.com/impactful-project-management-masterclass