Value vs Effort

What the framework is

Value vs effort places each idea on two scales: how much good it does, and how much work it takes. That splits a long list into four groups:

• Quick wins: high value, low effort. Do these first.
• Big bets: high value, high effort. Plan them.
• Fill-ins: low value, low effort. Do them when there's slack.
• Money pits: low value, high effort. Drop them.

What the result looks like

When it earns its place

Use it on a backlog, after a brainstorm, for improvement ideas from a staff survey, or to plan a quarter. It's the quickest prioritisation method there is. That's also its weakness: it only works if the two judgements are honest.

They often aren't. People rate their own ideas as high value and everyone's as low effort, so half the list lands in quick wins. Comparing ideas against each other, rather than scoring each one alone, makes that harder.

How to run it with a group

1. List the ideas, six to ten of them, each in a few words that everyone will read the same way.
2. Participants compare the ideas two at a time, once for value and once for effort. Participants do not need an account to respond.
3. The results rank the ideas once for value and once for effort. Ideas near the top for value and near the top for effort are your quick wins.
4. Make sure the people who would do the work take part. Effort judged only by people who won't do it is usually too low.
5. Commit to the top quick wins in the session itself. Give each big bet an owner who comes back with a plan.

More templates like this

• ICE Scoring

  Prioritise options by Impact, Confidence and Ease. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• Multi-Criteria Analysis

  Prioritise options across five criteria: Impact, Feasibility, Cost-effectiveness, Equity, and Political Acceptability. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• RICE Prioritisation

  Prioritise options by Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• WSJF

  Prioritise by Cost of Delay (User & Business Value, Time Criticality, Risk Reduction & Opportunity) against Job Size. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• Jobs To Be Done

  Prioritise the customer needs, frustrations, and outcomes that matter most. Useful for innovation, product strategy, service improvement, and customer research. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• Assumption Prioritisation

  Identify which assumptions, uncertainties, or hypotheses are most important to test first. Useful for innovation, startups, strategy, and experimentation. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.