Suitable for
- ✓Inexperienced designers,
- ✓Project Management,
- ✓Use in various parts of the design process.
A UX method for organizing requirements or aspects of a problem based on their importance, helping teams prioritize and allocate resources accordingly.
Priority is the process of determining the importance, urgency, or sequence of tasks, goals, or decisions. By setting clear priorities, teams and individuals can focus on what matters most, allocate resources effectively, and achieve desired outcomes. Priority setting is essential in project management, strategic planning, time management, and decision-making, where aligning efforts with objectives, managing constraints, and navigating competing demands guides success and efficiency.
A clear, concise description of the primary issue or challenge that users are facing or the product needs to address.
Transcripts, recordings, or written summaries derived from conversations with target users that reveal their needs, frustrations, and preferences.
Fictional but realistic representations of target users that include demographic details, user goals, frustrations, and preferences to help empathize with users and keep them in mind during the design process.
Visual representations of the end-to-end experience users go through when interacting with the product – from discovery to adoption – that highlight pain points, needs, and opportunities.
A detailed breakdown of the steps users take to complete a task within the product, highlighting potential pain points or areas for improvement.
A visual framework that organizes features, tasks, or enhancements based on their importance to users and ease of implementation to help guide decision-making during design and development.
Results from usability tests performed with target users interacting with prototypes or existing versions of the product, identifying areas for improvement and enhancement.
An expert assessment of the product's usability, accessibility, and consistency based on established heuristics or design principles.
A comparison of competing products in the market that showcase strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as well as ideas for product differentiation.
Actionable insights for improving the user experience based on research findings, such as UI/UX design changes, functionality additions, and performance optimizations.
A comprehensive document that synthesizes all UX research activities and deliverables, including insights, recommendations, and next steps, for internal stakeholders and decision-makers.
Identify Objectives and Scope
Define the goals and scope for the prioritization process. Ensure that every stakeholder understands what's expected and how the outcomes will be used.
Gather Features and Requirements
Collect all possible features, improvements, and requirements to be prioritized. These can be derived from user research, product backlog, customer feedback, and internal suggestions.
Define Prioritization Factors
Establish the criteria you're going to use to prioritize the features. Common criteria include business value, user impact, effort, and technical risk. These factors represent the dimensions by which items will be evaluated.
Weight the Factors
Assign weights to each prioritization factor based on its importance to the project's goals. This may involve a voting process or a consensus-building exercise among stakeholders.
Score the Items
Rate each item based on the prioritization factors, using a consistent and agreed-upon scale (e.g., 1 to 5). Calculate a weighted score for each item, taking into account the weights assigned to each factor.
Rank the Items
Sort the items according to their weighted scores. This will give you the overall prioritized list. Confirm the accuracy of the list with the project stakeholders before proceeding.
Review and Adjust
Discuss the prioritized list with the stakeholders, as they might have insights or additional criteria to consider. Adjust the rankings based on feedback, taking into account any new information or factors.
Create a Roadmap
Translate the prioritized list into a visual roadmap, charting the development timeline for the items. Share this roadmap with the stakeholders for transparency and ongoing feedback.
Monitor and Iterate
Regularly update the priority list and roadmap based on any changes in goals, resources, or circumstances. Continue to gather feedback from users and stakeholders to continually refine and improve the product.
30 minutes or more
post-its, writing tools
1 designer or more
Donate to UX Methods today. As the largest UX method database on the web, your contributions will help maintain our platform and drive exciting new features. Keep the resource free, up-to-date, and comprehensive for everyone. Make a difference in the UX community!