The Impact v Effort Matrix
The Impact v Effort Matrix can be used to prioritize and plan the development of new features or enhancements for a product. It helps to identify which features will have the greatest impact on the product’s success, while also taking into account the effort required to implement them.
Implementation
1. Identify Features: Identify the features or enhancements that are being considered for development.
2. X-Axis Plotting: On the x-axis of a matrix, plot the effort required to implement each feature.
3: Y-Axis Plotting: On the y-axis, plot the potential impact of each feature on the product’s success.
Note: Label one end of each axis as ‘low’ and the other as ‘high,’ then divide the graph into four sections to create four quadrants.
High impact/low effort
These are tasks or projects that will have a significant impact but require minimal effort to complete. These are often considered the “low-hanging fruit” and should be prioritized.
Low impact/low effort
These are tasks or projects that will have a minimal impact and require minimal effort. These are often considered “nice-to-haves” and may not be worth pursuing.
High impact/high effort
These are tasks or projects that will have a significant impact but require a significant amount of effort to complete. These are often considered “big bets” and should be carefully considered before committing resources to them.
Low impact/high effort
These are tasks or projects that will have a minimal impact and require a significant amount of effort. These are often considered “not worth it” and should be avoided.
When to use it
A product manager should use the Impact v Effort Matrix to make data-driven decisions about the development of their product. It helps to ensure that limited resources are being used effectively, and that the most impactful features are being developed first. This can lead to a more successful product that better meets the needs of its users.
Benefits
Important / Impactful features
Use the model to help you focus on high-impact, low-effort tasks first, which can lead to maximum results with minimal effort.
Risk reduction
It can help to identify any potential roadblocks or issues that may arise in a project or task.
Improves communication
It can help to facilitate communication and alignment within a team or organization by providing a clear and visual representation of priorities.
Calculating Impact v Effort
The calculation methods can vary depending on the context, and it is important to use a method that makes sense for the specific task or project being evaluated. However, some general guidelines for calculating impact and effort.
The impact of a task or project can be measured in various ways, such as financial impact, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and so on. The important thing is to choose a method that makes sense for the specific task or project being evaluated and to be consistent in the method used.
Effort can be measured in terms of time, resources, and personnel required to complete the task or project. Some common methods of measuring effort include counting the number of man-hours required, the number of resources required, or the number of personnel required.
Example
A company is developing a new mobile app and is considering adding several new features. After conducting user research, the product manager has identified the following features and their potential impact and effort:
- Push notifications
- In-app purchases
- Social sharing
- Customizable backgrounds
Using the Impact v Effort Matrix as a framework, the product manager can choose a metric, like the cost to develop, or customer satisfaction, and start plotting these features on the chart.
In this example, we can see that development of the push notifications and social sharing should be prioritized first as they are high-impact and low-effort. In-app purchases would be the next priority as they are high-impact and high-effort, and customizable backgrounds would be given lower priority as they are low-impact and low-effort.
