The Prioritisation Matrix
What is it?
The prioritisation matrix is a visual tool that helps you decide where to focus your improvement efforts. A prioritisation matrix is great for identifying your ‘quick wins’ that are low effort, but high impact.
Why use it?
When undertaking a QI project, it is likely that you will have multiple change ideas. The prioritisation matrix will help you identify which change idea to test first to have the biggest impact, with minimal effort. It may also help you identify change ideas to put on the backbench for a later date. If a change idea is low impact, but high effort, it may be worth re-thinking whether it’s worth testing.
How to use it?
As with most QI tools, try to create your prioritisation matrix in a team to facilitate discussion.
Start with a whiteboard or a large sheet of flip chart paper and draw yourself a 2x2 grid
Label “impact” on your vertical Y axis and “effort” on your horizontal X axis
Have the team write all of their change ideas down on post-it notes
Once everybody has had a chance to contribute, decide as a team where to place each idea
When finished, the ideas placed on the top left of the matrix should be your ‘quick wins’. If you have lots of quick wins, consider asking the team to vote on which change idea to test first. You could use dot voting for this.
More Information
TURAS – Click to access the downloadable template from TURAS