The Priority Matrix - Urgency versus Impact
Everyday each of us faces what seems to me an overwhelming number of problems.
And everyday we often address the wrong problems at the wrong time.
Earlier to today, I was talking with an IT Director and in our conversation we started talking about the Priority Matrix.
Important Definitions
Impact: a measure of how an incident, problem, or change effects a business processes.
Urgency: a measure of how long it will be until an incident, problem, or change has a significant business impact
Priority: identifies the relative importance of an incident, problem, or change.
Impact and urgency are used to assign priority, so that a business can decide which incident, problem, or change needs to be addressed first.
Where can the Priority Matrix be used?
The Priority Matrix can be used a variety of situations. The following are a few examples.
Businesses: A local small business forgot to pay one of its bills. The same company is also facing an electrical outrage (due to a non-related issue). The bill should be paid as soon as possible. This is an urgent need, but at present the more pressing matter is restoring electricity. This small business is a web development company and is not able to earn income until this problem is fixed.
Schools: A local school is facing two problems. The entire middle school can not connect to the WIFI system. This school uses the internet and Chromebooks to complete assignment. Over 150 students are impacted. At the high school the science teacher's computer and smart board are not connecting. Both situations are urgent, but the problem at the middle school impacts more students and there most be addressed sooner.
Families: A family in your neighborhood is struggling financially. They need to determine some items to removed from their monthly budget. Cell phones and cable TV have been enjoyed by the family for years, but these expenses prevent them from buying enough food for the family. The overall impact of need must dictate their current spending.
What does the Priority Matrix look like?
The following is a simple Priority Matrix:
What are you Steemit priorities?
Tells us about your Steemit priorities in the comments section.
- Do you struggle with prioritizing you tasks?
- Have you ever heard about the Priority Matrix before?
Source:
I created my own version of the Priority Matrix based an article found at https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/time-management.html
It's one of those great simple tools that are great for working on as a team. SWOT is another one like that which I like.
My priority matrix would look like this:
Do first - post in colorchallenge
Do next - read posts in my feed
Do later - go on steemit.chat and talk to people
Don't do - upvote my own posts
@xeonn, thanks for sharing your the items you would include in your priority matrix. I think that you have included some great activities are are important on Steemit.
I think so too. Without colorchallenge I'd never be able to keep track of what day it is :p
My parents use a "pros / cons" worksheet when making a large decision. I expanded it similarly to the priority matrix; there are four quadrants: pros of doing; pros of not doing; cons of doing; and cons of not doing.
Later when I worked in technology we used variants of the priority matrix. It's easiest to use with a 2x2 matrix like the one you demonstrated. I really like that as well, I hadn't seen it with such simple wording -- "do first, do next, do later, don't do". Thanks for sharing!
@libertyteeth, it was my pleasure. I have seen several different variations of the matrix. People seem to customize the size and the descriptions based on their need. I wanted to let you know that I added a source link.
My matrix is based on an article found at the following link: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/time-management.html.