Task priority matrix excel template how to#

But Agile teaches us how to quickly estimate on a relative basis. With regard to the numerator, CoD is an estimate at best it’s hard for anyone to know the actual value of a new job (a new feature) that has yet to be delivered to market. In practice, however, both numbers can be extremely difficult to estimate.

Applying WSJF for prioritization delivers the best overall economics Estimating the Cost of DelayĪs described above, the calculation of WSJF assumes one can determine the CoD (numerator) in absolute financial terms per unit of time, and the job time can be estimated with some degree of accuracy. As the figure shows, ‘picking the next best job to do’ can have a dramatic financial impact.įigure 1. The jobs with the highest WSJF deliver the best economic outcomes. The blue-shaded areas illustrate the total CoD in each case.

If you only quantify one thing, quantify the Cost of Delayįigure 1 shows the impact of applying Reinertsen’s WSJF for prioritizing jobs to be done.

Using decision rules to decentralize decision-making and control.

As applied in SAFe, the WSJF model supports the economic principles of Lean product development flow: Jobs that can deliver the most value in the shortest duration provide the best economic return. In the SAFe context, jobs are the Features, Capabilities, and Epics contained in their respective backlogs. For example, if implementing a prospective feature would be worth 100,000 per month, and there was a delay of three months, the total CoD would be 300,000. It’s a measure of the economic value of a job over time. Simply put, CoD is the money lost by delaying or not doing a job for a specific time. In Principles of Product Development Flow, Reinertsen describes a model (WSJF) for prioritizing jobs based on the Cost of Delay. WSJF also conveniently and automatically ignores sunk costs, a fundamental principle of Lean economics. Backlogs are continuously prioritized based on a WSJF algorithm that uses relative user and business value, time criticality, risk reduction and/or opportunity enablement, and job size. To that end, SAFe applies WSJF to prioritize backlogs. In other words, job sequencing produces the best results rather than prioritization based on a theoretical return on investment for each job. In a flow-based system, priorities must be continuously updated to provide the best economic outcomes.

In SAFe, WSJF is estimated as the relative cost of delay divided by the relative job duration. Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic benefit. Don Reinertsen Weighted Shortest Job First If you only quantify one thing, quantify the Cost of Delay.