100-Dollar Test (Cumulative Voting)

The 100-Dollar Test, also known as Cumulative Voting, is a requirements prioritization technique that involves stakeholders distributing a fixed budget (typically represented as 100 units of currency) across a set of requirements. Each stakeholder "spends" their allocated budget on the requirements they value most, assigning more "money" to higher-priority items. This method quantifies the perceived value of each requirement from the stakeholders' perspectives. By aggregating the amounts allocated to each requirement, the project team can rank the requirements based on their total "investment." The requirements receiving the most funds are considered the highest priority. The advantages of the 100-Dollar Test include: - **Stakeholder Engagement**: It actively involves stakeholders in the prioritization process, ensuring their needs and preferences are considered. - **Quantitative Data**: Provides a measurable way to gauge the importance of each requirement. - **Conflict Resolution**: Helps in resolving differences by highlighting which requirements have the highest overall value to the group. To implement this technique, each stakeholder is given an imaginary budget of 100 units. They cannot exceed this budget, forcing them to make trade-offs and think critically about what is most important. The collected data is then analyzed to prioritize the requirements accordingly. This method is especially useful when dealing with a diverse group of stakeholders with varying interests. It democratizes the prioritization process, giving equal weight to each participant's input. However, it's important to ensure that all stakeholders understand the requirements thoroughly to make informed decisions. In conclusion, the 100-Dollar Test is an effective tool for prioritizing requirements based on stakeholder value assessment. It leverages quantitative input to guide decision-making and helps ensure that the most valuable requirements are addressed first, aligning the project deliverables with stakeholder expectations.