Portfolio Planning

Prioritization

What is Prioritization?

Effective prioritization is critical in agile project management to ensure that teams focus on delivering the highest value. Kiplot offers support for various prioritization frameworks, with WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) being the default method.

This document specifically focuses on WSJF prioritization. For more information on other prioritization techniques used in Agile, feel free to visit our detailed article here.

Where to View Your Prioritization Score in Action?

A prioritization score is assigned to each individual initiative, and you can utilize this score to prioritize your initiatives on the Portfolio Kanban page, specifically under the Initiatives tab.

To view the prioritization score on the Portfolio Kanban page for initiatives, simply toggle on the "Prioritization Score" lens.

To do this:

  1. Click the three dots at the top right of your page

  2. Select the Prioritization Score lens

  3. Each initiative will then display its associated prioritization score, allowing you to easily reorder your Kanban based on the scores

Calculating a prioritization score

How the WSJF Score is Calculated

The WSJF model calculates the "value" of an initiative (the Cost of Delay) and relates this to the effort required to deliver the given initiative.

WSJF Score = Cost of Delay / Job Size

The Cost of Delay is calculated in Kiplot using the Prioritization Components and weightings that have been configured.

Other prioritization methods, such as RICE, are also supported. If you'd like to switch to a different method, please contact support for assistance.

Assigning a Prioritization Score

Prioritization is managed at the initiative level, meaning that each initiative is assigned a prioritization score. To assign this score:

Step-by-step
  1. Access an initiative's detail page

  2. Navigate to the Information tab

  3. Select 'Create Prioritization Score'.

  4. Assign a score to each component (using the fibonnaci scale) and assign the initiative a job size.

    By default, Kiplot estimates component scores and job sizes using Fibonacci values, a common practice in agile methodology. To change this, contact your administrator.

  5. A prioritization score will automatically be calculated based on your scoring

*Fibonacci values represent a sequence where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. These job sizes and Fibonacci values play a crucial role in the WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) prioritization model.

The prioritization components under the prioritization section are configured by your organization's administrator, including the weighting (%) assigned to each element that drives the calculation of the prioritization score. By default, Kiplot provides the following components:

  • User-Business Value (100% weighting)

  • Time criticality (100% weighting)

  • Risk reduction-opportunity enablement (100% weighting)

Visit our article to find out more about the different prioritization techniques used in agile. For information on how to set up prioritization for your organization, visit the Initiative page in our Configuration guide.