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Your organization has a list of projects and, if you’re like many, the list is long.   As we are always faced with constraints of time, people, and costs, we need to select which projects are most important and implement them first.

Project Selection Methods

There are a variety of methods that can be used for project selection. They can involve a single decision maker or multiple stakeholders. Selection can be based on hard data or qualitative analysis. Regardless of the technique you use, ensure that your project road-map is aligned with your strategic plan.

Priority Matrix

Also called an Impact / Effort Matrix, the Priority Matrix is a qualitative method of ranking projects by their impact to the practice and the effort it takes to complete them. This is an easy method of project prioritization that can also be a great team builder. It works best when involving a group of people with varying perspectives.

Step 1 – Brainstorm

Assemble a group of people, typically no more than 7, from your practice and give each person a pack of Post-It notes and a pen.
Ask everyone to think of as many projects as they can within 5 minutes and write them on the notes; one project per Post-It and multiple Post-Its per person.

Step 2 – Create Matrix

Create a large matrix with Effort on the X axis and Impact on the Y as follows:

The High Impact / Low Effort (Quick-Win) quadrant is the best type of project to implement.

Step 3 – Populate Matrix

Take 10 minutes for everyone to stick their projects up on the matrix in the quadrant that they feel is appropriate. There should be no talking at this time and individuals should make the determination on their own where the projects should go.

Step 4 – Group

Group similar project notes together within their specified quadrant. You may find that the same project is listed in multiple quadrants. Keep these projects in separate quadrants until the next step.

Step 5 – Move

A facilitator should walk through the matrix starting with the “Quick-Win” projects. Open the project list up for discussion and get more details on the estimated impact and effort involved. Move projects that no longer seem to fit within that quadrant to another quadrant. Continue this process with each of the quadrants until the projects are agreed to be where they should be.

Step 6 – Select

Focus the majority of your time on the upper half of the matrix; projects that provide the greatest impact. Compare these projects to your strategic plan and select those that align with your strategy.
You should now have a focused list of projects that you can plan for implementation.