Prioritisation inputs

Degree of certainty in decision making and handling ambiguity

Businesses are frequently told to be more data-driven in their decisions, but the how and why of this idea is often not well explained. Data-driven decision making, in current mainstream digital philosophy, is about increasing the certainty of inputs to reduce the risk in the above equation.

However, data for decision making is a spectrum and a business's data maturity can ultimately be measured by where they sit on a scale of data availability and integrity (the emphasis for assessing maturity should be less on the number of data systems and more on the ability to produce outputs).

For businesses with low-volumes of information to input into decision making (or low-quality information), the ability to confidently act on tasks to deliver “value” will likely be lower than those with access to high amounts of information.

In businesses with high-volumes of information, the ability to confidently predict the outcome is improved. (It’s worth noting that by no means does this guarantee success!)

Fortunately prioritisation is relative. Therefore whilst businesses with high-volumes of data can benefit from detailed prioritisation techniques, low-data businesses can use simple techniques such as a basic value/effort matrix to assign relative priorities to their tasks.

If data inputs increase the degree of certainty (hopefully objectively), the remainder of the equation - value and effort - must also be clear in order to complete prioritisation.

Measuring effort

Beginning with the more simple input; effort can generally be defined by a series of variables. Cost, time, resources, complexity, operational disruption and more can all impact the effort assigned with completing a task. This shows how quickly a simple matrix can expand to become a complex prioritisation spreadsheet.

Considering a wide range of variables and aligning on the most relevant aspects of effort will help to deliver the best outcomes when assigning effort.

Reasons businesses struggle to prioritise

Goals are not well defined

If goals are critical to interpreting and identifying the value of a task, it is clear that a lack of specific goals will make agreeing on value difficult.

Misalignment can paralyse decision making and undermine the objective progress of projects towards outcomes. Having specific, measurable goals will help everyone to identify where you are heading, even if opinions differ on how to get there.

Tasks lack information

Assigning effort or understanding how a task drives value can be difficult if that task is left open to the readers’ interpretation.

Tasks should be clear on the desired outcome first in order to inform the intended execution. Having visibility of these steps will improve the ability of contributors to accurately assess the task.

Businesses don’t devote time to doing it

Businesses operate in the real-world with competing demands, persistent challenges and changing landscapes. All of that ‘noise’ can make it difficult to dedicate time to review information that has already been ‘captured’.

However businesses caught up in the noise can find themselves in a reactive cycle, constantly responding to external demands. Taking stock of goals, current data inputs and applying that lens to tasks, can help businesses be proactive in shaping the external environment to facilitate their goals and objectives.

Takeaways

1. Articulate clear goals and align on value
2. Ensure ideas have the appropriate level of information for people to understand them and align on what constitutes effort (and its magnitude).
3. Allocate time to the process of assigning goals and prioritising tasks towards them