Thoughtbox

export const IMPACT_EFFORT_GRID_CONTENT = `# Impact/Effort Grid Prioritize by plotting options on impact versus effort axes. ## When to Use - Have a backlog of options to prioritize - Need quick visual prioritization - Communicating priorities to stakeholders - Sprint or roadmap planning ## Process ### Step 1: List All Options Gather everything that needs prioritization. - Features, bugs, tech debt items, experiments ### Step 2: Define Impact What does "impact" mean for this context? - User value - Revenue potential - Risk reduction - Strategic importance - Learning value ### Step 3: Define Effort What does "effort" mean for this context? - Development time - Complexity - Dependencies - Risk/uncertainty - Coordination required ### Step 4: Estimate Each Option For each item, rate: - Impact: High / Medium / Low - Effort: High / Medium / Low Use relative comparison, not absolute measures. ### Step 5: Plot on Grid \`\`\` HIGH IMPACT │ Quick │ Big Wins │ Bets │ LOW ───────────┼─────────── HIGH EFFORT │ EFFORT │ Fill │ Money Ins │ Pits │ LOW IMPACT \`\`\` ### Step 6: Prioritize by Quadrant 1. **Quick Wins** (High impact, Low effort) - Do first 2. **Big Bets** (High impact, High effort) - Plan carefully, do strategically 3. **Fill Ins** (Low impact, Low effort) - Do when convenient 4. **Money Pits** (Low impact, High effort) - Avoid or reconsider ## Key Principle Don't just compare impact alone. A huge-impact feature that takes 6 months may be worse than a medium-impact feature that takes 2 days. ## Example Application **Context:** Prioritizing next sprint **Items:** 1. Fix login bug affecting 10% of users 2. Build new dashboard 3. Update dependencies 4. Add export to PDF feature 5. Refactor auth module 6. Fix typo in footer **Assessment:** | Item | Impact | Effort | Quadrant | |------|--------|--------|----------| | Login bug fix | High | Low | Quick Win | | New dashboard | High | High | Big Bet | | Update deps | Medium | Low | Fill In | | PDF export | Medium | Medium | Fill In | | Refactor auth | Low | High | Money Pit | | Fix typo | Low | Low | Fill In | **Priority order:** 1. Login bug fix (Quick Win - do now) 2. New dashboard (Big Bet - plan and schedule) 3. Update deps, Fix typo (Fill In - spare time) 4. PDF export (Fill In - if time permits) 5. Refactor auth (Money Pit - defer or cut scope) ## Grid Variations **2x2 Simple:** - Just High/Low for quick sorting **3x3 Detailed:** - High/Medium/Low for more granularity **Weighted:** - Use specific numbers (1-10) for more precision **Time-based:** - X-axis: Days instead of abstract "effort" ## Estimation Tips **For Impact:** - Compare to recent shipped items - "Is this bigger or smaller impact than X?" - Consider both immediate and long-term **For Effort:** - Include all work: design, code, test, deploy - Factor in unknowns and coordination - Add buffer for surprises ## Common Mistakes **Overestimating impact:** - "Users will love this" - have you asked them? - Recency bias: latest request feels most important **Underestimating effort:** - "It's just a small change" - but where? - Not counting dependencies and testing **Ignoring quadrant advice:** - Doing Money Pits because someone asked loudly - Skipping Quick Wins for exciting Big Bets ## Anti-patterns - Plotting everything as High Impact - Not considering dependencies between items - Using absolute instead of relative estimates - Not revisiting after learning more `;