Digital transformation processes evolve at an increasingly rapid pace. The age-old saying “I want it all, and I want it now” holds more truth than ever. We’ve all witnessed roadmaps driven by business expectations and timelines that overlook implementation processes and the nuances of the technologies involved. Budgets often deviate significantly from initial expectations, and conflicting priorities arise from various stakeholders.
This situation can be overwhelming, leaving development teams feeling burdened with a myriad of issues to resolve simultaneously. The challenge becomes deciding where to start, what to address first, and how to navigate the path toward the final destination. In these scenarios, the three crucial elements are prioritizing, prioritizing, and prioritizing.
Beyond the linguistic play, the ability to discern the starting point and the subsequent order of execution not only instills a sense of calm but also tends to yield optimal results.
Prioritization Factors
Prioritization itself is a challenge that paradoxically requires some prioritization. Therefore, it’s essential to establish a set of parameters to facilitate this task. Some common factors include:
- Value: Assessing the impact of each initiative on the organization and discerning the most valuable among pending activities at any given time.
- Cost: Calculating the energy, time, or resources required for tasks and understanding the available resources aids in determining how long it would take to achieve a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for certain items, allowing a focus on the most viable ones.
- Risk: Evaluating both the risk of progressing with specific tasks and the risk associated with not pursuing them.
Priorities for all tastes
These are just a few examples, of course. Each organization and development team can choose the set of parameters that best suits its needs.
For instance, you might commence with the project that generates the most knowledge within the team, allowing its members to take ownership and expedite subsequent initiatives.
Alternatively, you could prioritize the one that sparks more interest, curiosity, or engagement among stakeholders. This is likely to boost productivity levels, once again facilitating the acceleration of subsequent developments.
Another approach could be to initiate with what the team excels at. This not only ensures a swift resolution but also fosters confidence and self-esteem among team members.
It is not advisable to make prioritization decisions in isolation…
Prioritizing is not an intuitive process guided by hunches or personal preferences. On the contrary, with the right technology partner, it is possible to prioritize based on data, experience, and professionalism.
At Making Sense, we offer the expert (and external) perspective that is often necessary to see through the fog created by the pressure for immediate results, the stress of the sheer volume of tasks at hand, and the anxiety of the limitations on what can be done.
The best results, when it comes to prioritizing tasks related to digital transformation processes, are also achieved by working collaboratively as a team.