In our earlier article, we offered some key fundamental notions associated to prioritization in product growth. Subsequent, we’ll give attention to particular frameworks which might be typically used to spice up the method of prioritization. Right this moment let’s discuss concerning the Eisenhower matrix.
A backlog is a listing of duties {that a} product crew completes throughout a time interval. This record is linear, and its most pressing duties are situated on the high of it. The Eisenhower matrix defines the order of duties. It offers a classification based mostly on such parameters as urgency and significance. Based on this framework, duties could be:
- Pressing, vital
- Not pressing, vital,
- Pressing, not vital
- Not pressing, not vital
This scheme presents an apparent downside: when you have something pressing + not vital, you’ll prioritize it over not pressing + vital. You’re going to dedicate your assets to vital stuff solely when it turns into pressing.
In case you have an pressing + vital process, it turns into your №1 precedence. No matter is pressing + not vital is out of the system.
Balancing between pressing and vital duties is the best downside of any prioritization course of. Pressing duties have a deadline and managers push them ahead within the backlog. Essential duties are essential for the enterprise, as they transfer it in the direction of reaching its objectives — however they aren’t time-limited.
Lean manufacturing philosophy states: when your startup continues to be small and you’ve got virtually nothing to threat, you’ll be able to skip most of your pressing duties. When you give attention to the vital ones, you’ll get nearer to your objectives. Simply embrace the potential of dangers and give attention to rising.
Prioritizing is all about discovering the proper stability between vital and pressing duties.
Nevertheless, when your organization grows, you’ve got extra staff, processes, shoppers, and companions. In different phrases, you’ll have extra dangers, obligations, and duties that can take away your assets from the vital duties. It’s a lot more durable to decide on priorities if there’s quite a bit at stake.
The largest query is how will we deal with vital duties with out suspending them? The bottom line is to delegate pressing + not vital duties to others. Take it as a floor rule: a product crew’s capability is all the time restricted by its leaders’ focus of consideration.
On this scenario, you must outsource all duties that aren’t essential to the enterprise objective. Manage your workflow in a method that permits leaders to pay much less consideration to unimportant duties.
