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Planning & Prioritisation

Learning Objectives
  • Prioritise system elements based on business needs
  • Justify inclusion/exclusion from project scope
  • Communicate effectively with stakeholders

Pre work​

Set up​

If nobody has done so already, copy and paste this command into Slack.

/prework Planning & Prioritisation

Research​

Task

Research online for the following terms:

  • What makes a scope "Phase 1" rather than a full transformation?
  • What is the difference between discovery output and delivery-ready output?
  • Why do executive stakeholders often ask what is out of scope as well as in scope?

Review​

Task

Review your work from the previous week:

  • The top three opportunities you think should influence Phase 1
  • One thing that should definitely stay out of scope
  • One operational risk and one delivery risk that still need addressing

Investigate​

Task

Read the case study for this week. What do you anticipate being the most complex aspect?

Submission​

Submission

Please share your answers in the Slack thread.

Workshop​

Communication​

Ask trainees how they communicated with stakeholders in the previous week.

Probe further: why do we communicate with stakeholders?

  • To get more information
  • To validate choices
  • To receive feedback
  • To keep them updated

Highlight that an analyst without information or stakeholder buy-in cannot work effectively.

Challenge trainees to identify at least two ways they will interact with stakeholders this week.

Scope​

Explain that this week shifts from diagnosis to decisions: which capabilities go into Phase 1, and which do we exclude?

Ask trainees to define "scope": the boundaries of what the project will and will not cover.

Discuss how scope creep happens when boundaries aren't clear or defended.

Return to the PVC case study.

Challenge: Idea Generation​

Challenge trainees to come up with as many suggestions as possible to improve PVC's situation.

Emphasise that this is 'blue-sky' thinking time: focus on idea generation, not criticism.

Grant trainees ~5 minutes to come up with suggestions.

What Phase 1 means​

Explain that Phase 1 should capture the smallest coherent set of capabilities that produces visible business value.

Highlight useful tests for inclusion:

  • Does it solve a top-ranked problem?
  • Is it needed for the main customer journey?
  • Is it foundational for later work?
  • Can it be delivered without major legacy redesign?

From opportunity list to product approach​

Explain that strong analysts do not simply say, "These are the top five opportunities." They also say, "This is the smallest believable slice that delivers value."

Demonstrate the difference between:

Weak scope: "Build a scheduling solution."

Better scope: "Deliver a focused Phase 1 that supports central scheduling, self-serve emergency booking for customers, & remote calendar viewing for staff only. No payment/billing handling will be considered.

Stress that scope quality improves when exclusions are named explicitly.

Prioritisation​

Introduce limitations: PVC have two weeks to make changes, and no budget for external developers/staff.

Ask trainees how we can effectively prioritise suggestions.

Gather suggestions:

  • ROI
  • Risk level
  • Time-to-implement
  • Stakeholder priorities
  • Frameworks such as the Eisenhower Matrix

Explain that there is no one perfect prioritisation system; what matters is making reasonable and defensible choices.

Ask trainees to collectively prioritise suggestions into in-/out-of-scope.

Question trainees, looking for justifications/trade-offs. Be adversarial: demand in-depth explanations.

Discuss each answer using the lenses of value, complexity, risk, and traceability back to evidence.

State that being able to make a clear case for inclusion/exclusion is a key part of getting stakeholder buy-in.

Challenge​

Challenge trainees individually to write a one-paragraph Phase 1 concept statement that includes:

  • the customer journeys included
  • one major exclusion
  • one operational safeguard
  • one reason the scope is credible

Grant trainees 10 minutes.

Gather responses and ask the room whether each statement sounds like a deliverable first release rather than a vague ambition.

Framing the week ahead​

Check trainee understanding of the week's case study.

Answer any logistical questions; encourage trainees to contact stakeholders to discuss others.

Highlight that this week, we're moving from collecting evidence (discovery) to making precise proposals/recommendations.

Stress that the rest of the week is about proving this recommendation can survive both operational and executive scrutiny.