Value-based Prioritization

5 minutes 5 Questions

Value-based Prioritization is a way to decide on the order of the development of features or functionalities based on the value each one brings. In Scrum, teams prioritize items in the Product Backlog based on their perceived customer or business value. It allows teams to focus their efforts on what matters most, making the most efficient use of their resources and time.

Guide to Value-Based Prioritization in Scrum

Value-Based Prioritization is a vital aspect of Scrum methodologies that defines priorities of features based on their yield of business value.

Importance: It is useful for facilitating quick decision-making in complex and quick-moving project environments, by highlighting the tasks that provide the highest value.

What is It: In the Value-Based Prioritization, various features or aspects of a product that need to be created are assigned values based on their potential return on investment or their importance to the project. These could be based on customer value, business value, learning value or risk value.

How It Works: A common method is the MoSCoW method, which is an acronym for Must have, Should have, Could have, and Will not have. Other method is Priority Poker. Also High-Medium-Low prioritization strategy can be used.

To answer questions about Value-Based Prioritization in an exam, follow these tips:
  • Understand the concept: Be clear about the importance, process and benefits of Value-Based Prioritization.
  • Application-Oriented: Questions may need you to apply this method in a given situation. So understanding of real-time scenarios is important.
  • Revise Terminologies: Revisit all relevant terms like ROI, MoSCoW, etc.
  • Practice: Finally, practice is essential for mastering this concept. Use sample questions, mock tests, etc. to enhance accuracy and speed.
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CSM - Value-based Prioritization Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Value-based Prioritization

Question 1

Your Scrum Team is always busy but stakeholders are discontent with value delivery. What could be a probable reason?

Correct Answer: The team might be focusing on activities not aligned with value-based prioritization

The most probable reason why the Scrum Team is always busy but stakeholders are discontent with value delivery could be that 'The team might be focusing on activities not aligned with value-based prioritization'. Scrum teams follow value-based prioritization to ensure they are always working on the tasks providing the most value. If they focus on other activities, they may be busy, but not delivering as much value as expected. The other options 'Stakeholders have unreasonable expectations', 'The team is inefficient and unable to deliver', and 'The Scrum Master is not managing properly' could be reasons, but those assume errors or inadequacies in the stakeholders, team or Scrum Master. The original question does not provide enough evidence to assume these issues, making them less probable reasons.

Question 2

The team is debating between two features: one aligns closely with the product vision but has less immediate business value, while the other has high immediate business value but doesn't fit the long-term vision as well. As the Scrum Master, what should you do?

Correct Answer: Facilitate a discussion with the Product Owner and team to weigh the long-term strategic value against the short-term business value, and come to a consensus decision.

The best approach is to facilitate a discussion with the Product Owner and the team to weigh the long-term strategic value against the short-term business value, and come to a consensus decision. As a Scrum Master, your role is to coach and guide the team, not to make decisions for them. Prioritizing only the long-term vision or only the immediate business value may not lead to the best outcome. The decision should not be escalated to senior management, as it is within the scope of the Scrum Team to make product decisions collaboratively. The Scrum Master should encourage the team to consider both aspects and find a solution that balances the short-term and long-term goals.

Question 3

There are two important features to develop – one requires less effort and has a lower value, the other requires more effort but has a higher value. How should the Scrum Master guide the team's decision-making?

Correct Answer: Discourage the team from picking the easy item first and advise on valuing items based on potential ROI

In Agile Scrum, it's not always about just ease of implementation. Factors like return on investment (ROI) also play a significant role in prioritizing features. The Scrum Master should guide the team in being disciplined about prioritizing tasks based on value, not just based on ease of implementation. Hence, 'Discouraging the team from picking the easy item first and advising on valuing items based on potential ROI' is the correct route 'Suggesting the team to develop the less effort feature first' can lead to a quick win, but might not be strategically best if the feature's value is much lower. 'Insisting the team to tackle the more complex feature first despite the effort required' might not necessarily be the best approach either, unless that feature has a much higher return on investment and is strategically important. 'Asking the team to work on both features at the same time' might not be practical. The idea in Scrum is to work on a small set of features to completion. This ensures a product increment is always potentially shippable and provides the ability to release value to customers at the end of each sprint.

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