Prioritisation Canvas

Illustration that represents a light bulb

1. Understand

On the first we stay in the problem space, challenging our understanding of the problem.This is some text inside of a div block.

Illustration that represents some working tools

2. Ideate

On the second day we gather inspiration, ideate and sketch solutions together.

Illustration that represents a futuristic mobile interface

3. Prototype

On the third day we turn the most voted sketches into a prototype and prepare to meet the users.

Illustration that represents some bubble talks

4. Test

On the fourth and final day we test the prototype with users and round off the sprint together.

How it works

A prioritisation canvas is a 2D-visual that shows the relative importance of a set of items based on two weighted criteria.

Define

1-4 hours

Product Owner, Business Analyst, UX Designer, Developer, Quality assurer

Before

1. Establish the items you are prioritising and write them on individual sticky notes. These can for instance be features you are planning to implement.

2. Establish the criteria according to which you will be doing the prioritisation, for instance user value vs. feasibility. Regardless of what items you are prioritising, the criteria should be derived from the overall goals of the project and business needs.

3. Establish the scale. It can be as simple as high and low or use numbers.

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During

4. Prepare for voting. Provide different colour dots for different areas of expertise. When deciding how many votes the team members get, a good rule of thumb is the number of votes per person is half the number of items being prioritised. While each team member gets the same number of votes, they should vote based only on criteria that fall within their domain of expertise. For example, on a matrix plotting user value vs. feasibility, developers may have green dots and rank feasibility, while designers may have orange dots that represent user value.

5. Vote! Team members then silently vote on items. Team members can place multiple votes on one item. The votes should be educated opinions, so time to research or investigate prior to voting may be needed.

6. Place the items on the scale. Using the team’s votes as a guideline, collaboratively place each item onto the scale. There should be little discussion in this step. The goal is only to get the items up based on the votes placed in the prior step.

7. Discuss and negotiate placement. Once everything is placed on the scale, it’s time to discuss the results and compare placements. Does the team agree on where items were placed? Why did certain items not receive any votes? Throughout the discussion, the team is free to collaboratively move items. At the end, there should be agreement on the final placement of all the items.

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After

8. Share and take action. After the session, the prioritisation canvas should be documented and shared with stakeholders. The exercise should lead to a clear action plan and timeline.

Tips

Voting is not always part of this exercise, however, it can make the process more efficient and allow all team members to be heard, as well as reduce the risk of lengthy discussions.
Voting can be done during the exercise using dots or anonymously using the voting tool in e.g. Mural. In some teams it might be better to do the voting in private before the exercise to avoid peer pressure and bias.

Learn more

Using prioritisation matrices to inform UX decisions - Nielsen Norman Group (article)
Prioritisation matrices in UX decision making - Nielsen Norman Group (video)
5 prioritisation methods in UX roadmapping - Nielsen Norman Group (article)

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No items found.

Before

1. Establish the items you are prioritising and write them on individual sticky notes. These can for instance be features you are planning to implement.

2. Establish the criteria according to which you will be doing the prioritisation, for instance user value vs. feasibility. Regardless of what items you are prioritising, the criteria should be derived from the overall goals of the project and business needs.

3. Establish the scale. It can be as simple as high and low or use numbers.

‍

During

4. Prepare for voting. Provide different colour dots for different areas of expertise. When deciding how many votes the team members get, a good rule of thumb is the number of votes per person is half the number of items being prioritised. While each team member gets the same number of votes, they should vote based only on criteria that fall within their domain of expertise. For example, on a matrix plotting user value vs. feasibility, developers may have green dots and rank feasibility, while designers may have orange dots that represent user value.

5. Vote! Team members then silently vote on items. Team members can place multiple votes on one item. The votes should be educated opinions, so time to research or investigate prior to voting may be needed.

6. Place the items on the scale. Using the team’s votes as a guideline, collaboratively place each item onto the scale. There should be little discussion in this step. The goal is only to get the items up based on the votes placed in the prior step.

7. Discuss and negotiate placement. Once everything is placed on the scale, it’s time to discuss the results and compare placements. Does the team agree on where items were placed? Why did certain items not receive any votes? Throughout the discussion, the team is free to collaboratively move items. At the end, there should be agreement on the final placement of all the items.

‍

After

8. Share and take action. After the session, the prioritisation canvas should be documented and shared with stakeholders. The exercise should lead to a clear action plan and timeline.

Tips

Voting is not always part of this exercise, however, it can make the process more efficient and allow all team members to be heard, as well as reduce the risk of lengthy discussions.
Voting can be done during the exercise using dots or anonymously using the voting tool in e.g. Mural. In some teams it might be better to do the voting in private before the exercise to avoid peer pressure and bias.

Learn more

Using prioritisation matrices to inform UX decisions - Nielsen Norman Group (article)
Prioritisation matrices in UX decision making - Nielsen Norman Group (video)
5 prioritisation methods in UX roadmapping - Nielsen Norman Group (article)

Templates

Ultimately, the choice of design tool depends on the specific needs of the designer and the project at hand. Each tool has its strengths and weaknesses, and designers must consider factors such as cost, ease of use, and collaboration features when selecting the best tool for their needs.

No items found.

Tool recommendations

Below you will find some tool recommendations, but please note that you are free to choose whatever tool you prefer. For some tools we have group wide licenses, in which case access can be requested via licenses@visma.com. Remember that you always need cost approval from your immediate manager.