Summary
Originally for working with user stories, this method (also known as MoSCoW method) can be used to bring prioritisation into any point of discussion when there’s a number of available segments which are comparable with each other. In most cases, it is used for providing weight to work packages.
- Could: This item is nice to have and not of considerable importance.
- Should: This item is important in order to meet certain KPIs.
- Must: This item is essential for the overall mission and needs to be part of the scope.
Step-by-step
- Set up a meeting and have plenty of pens and post-it's available.
- In individual work, put all points of discussion on post-it’s and place them on a wall.
- Each post-it will be discussed shortly, in a pre-defined amount of time (30 – 60 seconds), and then rated or even clustered into one of the three categories Could, Should, and Must.
- Additionally, a relative estimated implementation effort can be added to the post-it. Usually provided as numbers 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100, where 0 is no effort and 100 is a very high effort.
- Record the tasks, incorporate them into your backlog if necessary, or take a picture of the “post-it-wall” for later reflection.
