How to Prioritize Your Backlog Quickly in 6 Proven Steps

Define clear criteria for prioritization

Before you start wading through your backlog, you should define what criteria you will use to prioritize each backlog item. Doing so will provide a clear basis for decision-making, including helping you to select a framework in step #2 that is most aligned with your needs.

The criteria you define should be aligned to your project’s overall goals and KPIs. In other words, look at the big picture. Potential prioritization criteria could be:

• Long-term product strategy: Assign different priorities based on how aligned an item is to meeting long-term product strategy goals.
• Customer satisfaction: Organize the backlog based on immediate customer requests or what would provide the most customer value.
• Business value: Prioritize tasks that offer the greatest potential benefit to the business, which typically means bottom-line revenue.
• Development cost: Assign the lowest priority to backlog features and bug fixes that require the highest cost and assign the highest priority to backlog items that require the lowest cost.
• Cost of delay: Take into account the cost to the business if a feature or fix is not implemented.
• Timeframe: Consider the time required to complete tasks as you assign priorities.
• Risk: Assign a low priority if a certain feature comes with a high degree of risk and vice versa.

Use a simple and consistent framework

Now that you’ve defined the criteria that will be used to set priorities, you need to select a product backlog prioritization framework that will dictate how you actually complete the backlog prioritization work, day in and day out.

Let’s look at a few frameworks that are available:

MoSCoW method (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won't Have) When using the MoSCoW Method, Must Have items must be features that are considered essential to deliver the product. Should Have items are those that are desired but not essential to the product's success. Could Have items are those that could be included if there is enough time and resources. Won't Have items are backlog items that are not going to be included in the product.

Eisenhower matrix: This model uses a 2x2 matrix to categorize a given feature into one of four quadrants depending on its urgency and importance. Urgent and important tasks should be done first, followed by important tasks that are not urgent. Tasks that are urgent but not important should be delegated, and tasks that are neither urgent nor important should be eliminate

Kano model: This model relies on the idea that customer satisfaction is determined by a combination of both expected features and unexpected features. Features that are expected should be prioritized higher than those that are unexpected.

RICE method (Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort). When using this model, Reach is a measure of how many users will be affected by the feature. Impact is a measure of how much value the feature will provide. Confidence is a measure of how confident the development team is that the feature will be successful. Effort is a measure of the amount of time and resources needed to develop the feature.

Stack ranking: This prioritization technique is used to prioritize a backlog by ranking features based on their importance and urgency, with the most important and urgent features being placed at the top of the stack. Features are then placed in descending order of importance and urgency.

Weighted shortest job first (WSJ): This approach to prioritization prioritizes work based on the relative cost of delay for each job, weighted against its size. This method emphasizes the importance of delivering early outcomes to customers, by considering the value of the job, the cost of delay, and the size of the job. The cost of delay is the estimated negative impact of delaying a job, such as lost revenue or customer dissatisfaction.

Focus on long-term product strategy

With your prioritization criteria defined and a working model selected, it’s time to deep dive into your long-term product strategy. As a product manager, it is your job to ensure the long-term success of your product, and so this is a critical piece of the equation when you are working through product backlog prioritization.

If you don’t already have a product strategy in place, you should analyze customer feedback, research industry trends, and develop a product roadmap that reflects the organization’s overall strategy. Use this to identify the most important features that will have the greatest impact on the product’s success and ensure that the product roadmap is focused on long-term goals and not just short-term wins.

Don’t be afraid to say “no”

You are the gatekeeper for your product, and as such, you can’t be afraid to tell people “no.” Not every proposed feature or request can be a high priority. It is your job to establish clear boundaries around the product backlog, so you can tightly control what does and does not get to land in the next sprint backlog.

To begin embracing this mentality, you can:

• Create a culture of transparency by communicating your criteria for evaluating requests and ideas, a timeline for responding to requests, and what your decision-making framework looks like.
• Establish clear channels for stakeholders to provide input and feedback, and make sure this feedback is documented and shared with the appropriate stakeholders.
• Always provide feedback to stakeholders on why their request has been declined and emphasize the importance of focusing on the most important items in the product backlog.
• Stand firm in your decisions. Be clear and firm when you do need to say “no.”

Consider dependencies

Not all items in your backlog are independent from each other. In fact, most probably aren’t! Considering dependencies is a crucial backlog prioritization technique to ensure priorities are set in a logical order for actual implementation.

Dependencies fall into two main categories:

• Task A must be completed before it is possible to complete Task B. In this case, Task A is in the critical path - in other words, Task B is dependent on Task A.
• Task A, Task B, and Task C must all be completed before a particular Feature is considered complete. In this case, a particular Feature is dependent on a group of tasks being completed.

Communicate with stakeholders

As a product manager, you are no stranger to communication. When handling backlog prioritization it is essential to have a formal communication plan established to avoid confusion or frustration from the various groups involved in product development. We recommend:

• Establishing a clear understanding of the stakeholders’ goals and objectives on an ongoing basis. Knowing what each person cares about and what their needs are will help you to tailor your communication strategies accordingly.
• Communicating the product roadmap, timeline and milestones to the stakeholders. This should include any changes or updates that may affect the product’s features or capabilities.
• Keeping stakeholders informed of progress on the backlog. This can include providing regular updates on the progress of tasks and schedules. The more consistent you are, the better.
• Seeking feedback on the backlog. This can include soliciting feedback on the prioritization of tasks and requesting feedback on any changes that may need to be made. Opening yourself up to feedback helps establish a culture of transparency and collaboration.
• Explaining why certain tasks are being prioritized over others. This should include providing a rationale for why certain tasks are more important than others and why they must be completed before others.