The correct requirements and planning suitable releases with the right functionality is a major step towards the success of a project or product. If the wrong requirements are implemented and users resist using the product, it does not matter how solid the product is or how thoroughly it has been tested. - Patrik Berander and Anneliese Andrews

At Open Labs we believe that the quality of a software product is determined by the ability to satisfy the needs of the customers and users. Prioritization is a crucial step towards making the right decisions in project planning and depends on various aspects of functionality such as importance, risk, cost, etc. But why do you need prioritization? In everyday life, just a couple of choices for a problem could make decisions difficult to make. In complex software projects akin to ERP implementation where tens, hundreds or even thousands of alternatives exist, a decision-making becomes much more difficult. Prioritization helps to cope with these complex decision problems.

The most cost effective way of developing software is to find the optimal set of requirements early, and then to develop the software according to this set. Prioritisation is considered by experts as the most important tool to enable the selection of this optimal set.

Aspects of Prioritisation

• Importance
• Penalty
• Cost
• Time
• Risk
• Volatility
• Value for Money