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A millennial way of emphasizing the importance of a task, a person, or a thing like work-life balance is the phrase’ priorities.’ Priorities matter, but the decisions you make to arrive at your project prioritization list are the real make-or-break factors. Project prioritization is the key skill that businesses need to get right for optimum productivity.
Of the half-a-dozen projects that a project manager could be handling at a time, how does he/she decide on the order in which these are to be taken up for implementation?
Project prioritization involves taking critical, big-ticket decisions. There is ample reward for getting project prioritization right and a lot of flak in store if you get trapped into handling non-issues and happen to get it wrong.
Businessman, educator, author, and keynote speaker Stephen Covey was spot-on when he said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”
Project prioritization (in project and portfolio management) revolves around the theory that a business needs to prioritize projects based on parameters, which can be applied to overarching organizational operations.
Increase Project Report Success Rate
A survey that the Project Management Institute conducted found that project prioritization techniques and methods increase the success rate of projects to 72% from 52%. Project prioritization ensures strategic alignment between goals and business metrics. Project prioritization also helps businesses find their ‘True North’ and ensure that the direction they are proceeding is right.
Organizations are able to use their resources and workforce on more important and high-revenue projects if they get project prioritization right.
What Are The Project Priorities?
Project priorities are factors that impact execution and expected results from any work that organizations get into. At all times, it is important to have a set of relevant priorities or variables that impact the projects at hand. These priorities should be standardized and, typically, do not change with the type of project.
For example, consider a scenario where you can draw up your Project prioritization list based on the three financial resources, project value to the organization, and risk levels (often stated in percentage terms). Of course, these priorities will differ from one organization to another in terms of importance, depending on the industry they are in.
Over a fixed time period, however, these can be other decisive factors for projects.
In today's competitive landscape, getting high value projects is an uphill work. Save your time and effort in bagging big projects using these pre-designed one-page project proposal templates.
How Do You Prioritize Projects?
1. Impact: Analyze ongoing and potential project business values and prioritize. How will this project impact your business is the key question to start with. An easy way to measure impact is by considering the bottom line and also the end-users of the product and services. You can include stakeholders, clients, and other managers in the discussion for impact analysis.
Pro Tip: Don’t be hesitant to ask detailed questions to understand the impact of a project on your business.
2. Importance vs. Urgency: After making a list of important (impactful) projects, keep an eye on how urgent these are. Know the difference between ‘importance’ and ‘urgency.’ An important project brings value to your business — either next month (short-term) or ten years (long-term). On the other hand, an urgent project needs your immediate attention to keep the business running and on track. You can use a Project Prioritization Matrix (PPM) to assign a priority level.
3. Assess Your Bandwidth: Another (out of the box) way to go about project prioritization is to weigh the efforts you have to put into each of these. You can tackle the heavy projects (which need a lot of effort) first and then move to lighter projects or vice-versa.
Pro Tip: We recommend alternating the light and heavy projects. It will save your team from being drained out (as it would be if you stack heavy projects back-to-back).
4. The Art of saying ‘NO’: Please get it straight, ‘No’ is not a bad word. To succeed as a project manager, learning to use this two-letter word is a crucial skill. Saying yes to every other project coming to your table is a recipe for disaster. Taking on projects more than your team is capable of delivering will cost you reputation, time, and dime. Missed deadlines and below-par results can upset your clients.
Pro Tip: Saying no is always a tricky part of client communication. Even after you have said ‘No,’ please explore delegating the task to another team with sufficient resources to deliver on time.
5. Be Agile: Being a project manager, you need to be agile and open to change. An emergency can alter your project prioritization list in a significant manner. A key stakeholder might feel that a particular project is not bringing value to the business. There can be a dent in your team bandwidth due to personal/professional reasons of team members. As a project manager, it’s your job to stay alert and reassess your project prioritization list periodically.
Kano Model is one such method that will help you prioritize projects with agile requirements. This model was created in 1984 by Dr. Noriaki Kano, A professor at the Tokyo University of Science. It prioritizes products/projects based on customer satisfaction (results) vs. the cost of implementation.
What Are the Three Best Ways to Go About Project Prioritization?
The key input in a project prioritization process is the decision, backed with evidence, to commit resources only to important projects. Here are three popular ways or components of project prioritization:
1. ABC list: American author Alan Lakein developed this method. It is used for time and project management in a list format. Here Alphabet “A” donates a ‘Must-Do’ priority to important and urgent projects. On a similar note, “B” donates important projects which are not urgent. Their priority status is “Should do.” The third priority status is “nice to do,” marked as “C.” These projects are neither urgent nor important and can be delegated for now.
2. Scoring Model: It is also known as the portfolio scoring model and is a quantitative method of project prioritization. A numerical score “value” is assigned to each project. The project allocation team, key stakeholders, clients, etc., take a call on this. Based on this numerical value, a priority status — urgent, important, critical, delayed — is assigned to projects. This method helps compare multiple projects at a glance.
3. Matrix: Different matrix models are available for project prioritization. Project managers can choose from these pre-developed matrices like the traditional Four Quadrant Matrix that author Stephen Covey developed. In this method, project prioritization is decided based on the ‘urgency’ and ‘importance’ of the project. Another option is to develop a prioritization matrix from scratch.
For the best option that fits your need for project prioritization needs, please use our pre-designed Project Prioritization Matrix Templates and save your time and effort.
1. Project Prioritization and Management Methods PowerPoint Presentation
This impactful Project Prioritization PowerPoint Presentation will help you drive your efforts in a strategic, thoughtful, and goal-oriented manner. It will eliminate your firm’s primary challenges, such as poor workflow management or high-cost inventory. Employ this project management PowerPoint Theme to understand suitable project prioritization tools. Grab this definitive PPT set today!
2. Project Prioritization Scoring Model: A Tool For Evaluating Project Value PowerPoint Presentation
This strategically valuable presentation deck will help you evaluate and score projects using quantitative analysis. It will help you align big projects with the organization’s vision and goals. Using this state-of-the-art Prioritization Scoring Model PowerPoint Presentation slide, you will maximize project value with little effort.
3. Project Prioritization Scorecard PowerPoint Presentation
This Presentation Deck will help you improve the success rate of projects. It will help you compare and contrast projects based on a numerical value. Build an execution mindset among the whole management team and, at the same time, clear doubts or apprehensions related to operational resources and cost using this Project Prioritization Scoreboard preset.
4. Project Prioritizing Model PowerPoint Presentation
This illustrative presentation deck on the Project Prioritization model will help get your team focus. You will understand elements like project criteria, project portfolio analysis, project self-assessment survey, ranking and prioritization model, etc. You will find solutions for challenges organizations face in Project Prioritization, such as wastage of resources, poorly-defined goals, lack of communication, etc. Use our content-ready Project Prioritization model PowerPoint Deck to identify urgent and important projects based on business value.
5. Prioritizing Project Workflow Matrix PowerPoint Presentation
This exclusive PowerPoint Presentation Deck will help you decide on project prioritization and workflow. In this template, project prioritization decisions are calculated calls based on the company’s current financial position and resources. Use Project Prioritization Matrices provided in this PPT set to make sound decisions. Grab this today!
6. Project Prioritization And Selection PowerPoint Presentation
With the help of this treat-to-the-eyes PPT slideshow with its fantastic visuals, it helps the organization manage the workload on teams and meet deadlines. This project prioritization and selection deck will help you identify top priority projects and plan to complete them. Get this now!
7. How To Prioritize Business Projects PowerPoint Presentation
Share your deep knowledge of project management with your colleagues with this all-inclusive project prioritization Presentation. It will be useful in a detailed discussion of the process from introduction, impact assessment, initiation, building roadmap, and selection of a team to creating a dashboard. Get this encyclopedic design now!
8. Project Priority Assessment Model PowerPoint Presentation
This template will help you assess your project prioritization against your team’s capability to deliver it on time. It has an aesthetic design to catch the audience’s attention and is perfect for your next project management presentation. Understand and tabulate your project requirements, urgency, and business impact with this Project Prioritization Assessment Model Presentation deck. Download now!
9. Project Selection And Ranking Model PPT Presentation
Pick a high-value project for your team with the help of this Project Selection and Ranking Model Presentation Deck. It will also help you to divide project roles and responsibilities, estimate project cost, exhibit project process summary, and more. This presentation deck also has Gantt chart slides for efficient project management.
10. Project Prioritization And Evaluation Framework PPT Presentation
This template has a story about project prioritization that will thrill your audience and compel them to listen to it in an interesting visual manner. Share the use and significance of different project prioritization frameworks like Kano, key product features, effort and impact score, etc. Evaluate priorities and develop a step-by-step process for project prioritization with this PowerPoint Presentation deck.
11. Quarterly Project Prioritization Roadmap PPT Template
This vibrant template will help you prioritize projects and design a roadmap to achieve these within the deadline. Your organization can plan projects on a quarterly basis, saving your team’s efforts. Our world-class design team has developed the color scheme of this template to ensure project managers remain vigilant about important projects and progress. Get it now!
12. Project Prioritization Gantt chart PowerPoint Template
This PPT template is based on one of the most popular project management tools — the Gantt Chart. Like the tool, it will help you showcase the project lifecycle and value. You can monitor the progress of activities using this template and prioritize ongoing and potential projects. Grab this template now!
Charts are efficient visual tools to showcase the data in a readily understandable manner. Know the importance and uses of various charts in this guide and use exclusive templates for project management.
13. Project Validation And Prioritization Approach-Avoidance Theory Template
This easy-to-read template will help you prioritize projects based on criteria like strategic fit, economic impact, and feasibility. It has a pre-designed scoring model to compare five projects and more. This PPT Design will be an asset for the project validation team and help them conduct a thorough quantitative analysis.
14. Four Quadrant Matrix Displaying Project Prioritization Template
Use this four-quadrant project prioritization matrix template to decide whether to prioritize, consider, investigate or drop a project. The four axes of this matrix are risk, effort, cost, and the business value associated with the project. Take this matrix as an example and customize this template to fit your organizational goals and project intent.
15. Project Portfolio Management Process With Prioritization PowerPoint Template
This diligent template will help you put the spotlight on the association of project prioritization with portfolio management. Use it to share the key steps under project prioritization in the process of portfolio management. With the assistance of this PPT Slide, your audience will understand how project prioritization can lead to better use of resources. Get it now!
Bonus Designs
1. Project Prioritization Matrix With Resource Ability Scorecard Template
Deploy this project prioritization matrix template to assign unique, customized values to each project based on your Key Result Areas. It has space for assigning weightage to each matrix, making the process short and easy. You have more than ten project prioritization matrices to choose from in this customizable PowerPoint Design.
2. Project Prioritization Scorecard With Strategic Value PPT Template
Assign a value to each project based on the most accepted scoring matrices — strategic value, ease, financial benefits, and resource impact. Use the ready-made scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important) to evaluate projects. This PowerPoint layout is customizable to help you edit text, color, icons, etc., as required.
The Final Word
Project Prioritization is the first step of portfolio management and an essential part of team management and strategic planning. By implementing the best practices and methods with these custom-made project prioritization templates, your team will be on the path to glory. These PowerPoint Slides will add muscle to your ideas and practices as a project manager and bring a new perspective to traditional practices.
Let’s break the chain of closing unimportant projects and ensure our efforts are always in the right and most impactful direction. After all, priorities matter!
FAQs on Project Prioritization
Q1. What Is a Project Prioritization Framework
A project prioritization framework is a consistent set of rules businesses use to make strategic decisions. These avoid indecision and evident confusion. The criteria for project prioritization vary according to the business and industry.
Q2. Which Comes First, Goals or Strategy?
The order of doing business has remained the same over time. It starts with an idea, then a strategy or project prioritization phase to ensure the idea is translated into products and services, and you set goals on things like profits, assets, and so on.
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