How to Use a Project Prioritization Matrix for Decision Making

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Organizing multiple projects can be overwhelming, which is why a project prioritization matrix can help you categorize tasks with specific levels of importance. This technique allows you to identify and prioritize the most critical activities that need to be addressed first. With this tool, efficiently allocating resources becomes more manageable because it will enable everyone on your team to understand what needs immediate attention and what tasks can wait until later stages of development.

Understanding the Project Prioritization Matrix

Project prioritization is a critical part of project management because it determines the order in which projects are executed. The tool helps project managers prioritize projects according to the potential impact, feasibility, and resource requirements. It allows project managers to objectively compare projects and allocate resources to those that offer the most value with the least risk.

Typically, the matrix is divided into four quadrants, each representing a different combination of impact and feasibility. Those projects in the upper-left quadrant, known as "Quick Wins," offer a high return on investment and are easy to execute, making them ideal for prioritization.

The lower-left quadrant represents projects that have low impact and high feasibility, called Fill-Ins. These projects are easy to execute but offer relatively low returns on investment, which makes them less critical than Quick Wins.

The upper-right quadrant represents high-impact and low-feasibility projects, known as "Big Bets." These projects offer a high return on investment but are difficult to execute, making them riskier than Quick Wins or Fill-Ins.

Finally, the lower-right quadrant represents low-impact and low-feasibility projects, known as "Thankless Tasks." These projects are classified as those with comparatively lesser ROI.

Benefits of using the Project Prioritization Matrix in Project Management

Here are 5 benefits of using the Project Prioritization Matrix:

It focuses on outcomes instead of tasks. This will allow you to see how each project contributes to the overall success of your company or organization.
It allows you to determine which projects are most important based on the results they generate or their impact on other projects or departments within your organization (such as strategic planning).
It allows you to see where there may be holes in your current processes and systems so that these can be improved upon before they become problematic issues down the road (such as customer service).
It provides clarity regarding who is responsible for each task within your project plan — which makes it easier to track progress and hold people accountable for their responsibilities throughout their assignments.
It also helps organizations manage their resources more effectively by providing them with a single source of information about all active and planned projects so that team members can easily see what needs doing next and what’s been completed already.

Effective Steps for Project Management Using the Project Prioritization Matrix

Here are some effective steps to use the project prioritization matrix:

Understand the points for evaluation

The first step is to clearly define and understand the criteria for evaluation. It is very important to present the factors that will help to determine the acceptability of the project.

Score Each Project

Once the criteria are defined, assign a score to each project based on the defined criteria. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents low impact/feasibility/resource requirements/risk and 5 represents high impact/feasibility/resource requirements/risk.

Plot Projects on the Matrix

After scoring each project, plot them on the Project Prioritization Matrix. Use the X-axis to represent feasibility and the Y-axis to represent impact. This will create four quadrants that represent the different combinations of impact and feasibility.

Review and Prioritize Projects

Review the plotted projects on the matrix and prioritize them based on their position in the matrix. The projects in the upper-left quadrant, representing high impact and high feasibility, should be given the highest priority. Projects in the lower-right quadrant, representing low impact and low feasibility, should be deprioritized or eliminated.

Allocate Resources

Resources are the people who will be working on each project. You should allocate resources as per their skill sets and availability. For example, if you have a team of five people and your project requires a developer, then you should allocate this developer to only one project at a time and not multi-task him/her with multiple projects.

3 Ways to Use Project Prioritization Matrix to Manage Resources and Deliver Successful Projects

Here are 3 ways to use the project prioritization matrix:

1. Prioritize Your Requirements

Projects can be grouped into four categories:

Must-do – Projects that have the highest priority and must be completed.

Should-do – Projects that have a high priority but do not need to be completed immediately.

Could-do – Projects that are not urgent but could be done if there is time left over after all the Must-do, Should-do, and Want-to-do projects are completed.

Want-to-do – Projects that are low priority or less important than other tasks, but still interesting to perform when there is extra time available.

2. Identify the Best Strategy for Each Requirement Category

If you have multiple requirements from different departments, you can use this method to identify which category each requirement falls into. Then, based on your findings, decide how to prioritize them accordingly.

3. Manage Resources Efficiently

If you have too many resources working on one project or not enough room in your budget for another, then you may end up with problems down the line. A good way to manage your resources is through using a project prioritization matrix.

Wrapping Up

You have a lot to juggle as a project manager (or team lead), but maybe you never felt that you had enough help. Maybe you are stuck in a queue of projects from other leaders and can't keep up with them. In either case, what can you do? You need a way to prioritize your tasks, not just for today or tomorrow, but for the entire project life-cycle. The Project Prioritization Matrix will help make this happen. Take your project management skills to the next level and earn a PMP certification. Enrol in our PMP certification training course today. Gain the skills and knowledge you need to excel in your career and become a certified project management professional.