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DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — IMPACT VS EFFORT PRIORITISATION
Prioritization matrix | 45–75 min | 4–12 people | Difficulty: Low
discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/impact-vs-effort-prioritisation
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BEFORE YOU START
  Opportunities / initiatives to prioritize: ______________
  ________________________________________________________
  Date: _______________  Facilitator: _____________________
  Decision this matrix must inform: ______________________

⚠ Include an engineering or ops estimator.
  Effort scores without technical input are guesses.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STEP 1 — CALIBRATE SCALES  [0–10 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Agree what High/Low means before scoring anything.

  IMPACT — High means: ___________________________________
  IMPACT — Low means: ____________________________________

  EFFORT — High means: ___________________________________
  EFFORT — Low means: ____________________________________

  Calibration item (one well-understood initiative):
  Item: _________________________ | Impact: ___ | Effort: ___
  (Use this as the reference point for all other placements.)

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
2×2 CANVAS  [10–40 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Place each initiative. Brief rationale for each placement.

                    HIGH IMPACT
                        │
          ┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
          │             │             │
 LOW      │  STRATEGIC  │  QUICK WIN  │  LOW
 EFFORT   │    BETS     │  Do first   │  EFFORT
          │ Plan these  │             │
          ├─────────────┼─────────────┤
          │             │             │
          │  FILL-IN    │  HARD       │
          │  Low value  │  SLOG       │
          │  deprioritize│ Avoid now  │
          └─────────────┴─────────────┘
                    LOW IMPACT

  Placement log:
  Initiative                     | Impact | Effort | Quadrant
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________
  _______________________________ | H/M/L  | H/M/L  | ________

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STEP 3 — CHALLENGE OUTLIERS  [40–60 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Items with high disagreement (± 2 positions):
  Item: ___________________________ | Disagreement: ________
  Resolution: ___________________________________________

  Item: ___________________________ | Disagreement: ________
  Resolution: ___________________________________________

⚠ Do not confuse urgency with impact.
  "We need to do this now" is urgency. "This moves the needle" is impact.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STEP 4 — PRIORITY TIERS  [60–75 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  NOW (Quick wins + top strategic bets):
  1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________

  NEXT (Strategic bets to plan):
  1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________

  LATER / DEPRIORITIZE:
  1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________

  Owner for next planning step: __________________________

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
QUALITY CHECK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ☐ Scales were defined before any item was placed
  ☐ A calibration item was used as a reference
  ☐ Technical input was included for effort estimates
  ☐ Priority tiers have named owners

Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/impact-vs-effort-prioritisation
Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com