Priotizing the backlog is an important and difficult task which should be done by the product owner. In some cases, it is really hard to be objective in the priority of the user story. This is were the value matrix can help you. The value matrix is an easy table with a few items which influence the priority with a score per item. By adding up the values, you will get a total which can be used to sort the backlog.
An example of a value matrix can be:
| Value | Example | Points |
| Financial | By building this user story you will actually earn money | 13 |
| Time | Save time in the current work process | 8 |
| Strategic | Gives you an advantage on your competitors | 5 |
| Usability | A better usability for the users of the software | 3 |
| Technical | This will improve the quality of the software | 2 |
| Teaser | A nice enhancement on your software which will encourage the users to adapt the software better | 1 |
Off course you can alter this table by your own needs and perspective, but therefore it’s just an example. So when you build a user story which gives financial, usability and teaser value; the business value would be 13 + 3 + 1 = 17 points.
If you have an effort for the user story aswell, you can calculate the ROI (return on investment) by dividing the business value and effort. The business value is 17 in this example and if the effort is 5 points, the ROI is 3,4 (17/5) and this can also help to prioritize the backlog.
I hope this will help you prioritize your backlog easier.
Comments and feedback are welcome!
