(2023-05-15) Cutler Tbm220 Effort Vs Value Curves

John Cutler: TBM220: Effort vs. Value Curves. Why is it important to consider the effort vs. value curve?

Instead of prioritizing features, you prioritize a focus area over time, and features are a subset of that decision. (strategic context)

Some of these curves offer easy “escape routes”, while others demand that teams address areas of risk—and their assumptions of the curve in general—as early as possible.

In general, when I see teams stressing out about prioritizing individual features (or prioritization frameworks), I always recommend that they step back and paint a picture of the high-level curve they are dealing with. That is often far more telling than the effort/impact-specific tactical bets.