Prioritisation
Score your Feature backlog using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) to produce an objective, defensible delivery priority order.
What is WSJF?
WSJF is a SAFe-derived prioritisation formula: WSJF = Cost of Delay — Job Duration. Cost of Delay has three components:
- Business Value — How much value does this deliver to customers or the business?
- Time Criticality — Does value decay if this is delayed? Is there a deadline?
- Risk Reduction / Opportunity Enablement (RR/OE) — Does this unlock future work or reduce a known risk?
All four dimensions are scored on a Fibonacci scale: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20.
Scoring a Feature
- Select a Feature from the list — unscored Features are shown at the top.
- Set scores for Business Value, Time Criticality, RR/OE, and Job Duration.
- WSJF is calculated automatically and the Feature re-ranks in the list.
- Repeat for all Features. Features without a complete score set are placed at the bottom.
Voting mode Business+
In voting mode, team members score each dimension independently (like storypointing). Their scores are revealed simultaneously, the outliers discuss, and the facilitator confirms the final score. This surfaces disagreements that a single-scorer approach would miss.
The prioritised backlog
Once all Features are scored, the list is sorted by WSJF descending. Features with the highest WSJF should be worked on first. The ranked list feeds directly into the Scheduling Assistant and Roadmap.
Overriding WSJF
You can drag Features up or down to override the calculated rank. A manual override badge appears on features that have been repositioned. Overrides are logged in the audit trail with a mandatory reason.
Tips
- Don't score in isolation — WSJF is most valuable when the team agrees on the scores together.
- Re-score Features when their context changes (new deadline, changed business value, de-risked by another Feature completing).
- Use Job Duration as a relative size, not absolute hours — the Feature's story-point total is a good proxy.
- A very high WSJF doesn't help if the Feature isn't Ready — use refinement sessions to unblock high-priority Features first.