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Prioritisation matrix

Template id: prioritisation-matrix Responsible skill: opportunity-management:opportunity-prioritisation. Backlog entries are first captured with opportunity-management:problem-framing.

Use this template to score and balance the opportunity backlog for a horizon. Scores are structured judgement, not measurement; each one needs a sentence of evidence. Never score or rank the people who raised ideas.

1. Backlog register

One visible board for the whole CoE. No entry in the backlog means no project: nothing is resourced unless it is here. Value and return are ranges with a confidence level, never single invented figures.

Reference	Opportunity	Business owner (role)	Stage	Priority	Estimated value (range, confidence)	Return estimate (range, confidence)	Status	Next decision and date
[To confirm: reference]	[To confirm: short title]	[To confirm: role]	[To confirm: capture, assessment, delivery, live or value tracking]	[To confirm: set at prioritisation]	[To confirm]	[To confirm: set at assessment]	[To confirm: for example active, waiting, parked, stopped]	[To confirm]

Reference

Opportunity

Business owner (role)

Stage

Priority

Estimated value (range, confidence)

Return estimate (range, confidence)

Status

Next decision and date

[To confirm: reference]

[To confirm: short title]

[To confirm: role]

[To confirm: capture, assessment, delivery, live or value tracking]

[To confirm: set at prioritisation]

[To confirm]

[To confirm: set at assessment]

[To confirm: for example active, waiting, parked, stopped]

[To confirm]

Stage	Lifecycle stages	Leaves the stage when
Capture	Identify	Business owner named and problem framed
Assessment	Assess, Prioritise	Suitability, risk tier, value and return estimates and priority recorded
Delivery	Build, Deploy	Resources allocated and release gates passed
Live	Deploy	In use and registered in the portfolio with its owners
Value tracking	Measure, Improve	Benefits measured against baseline and a scale-or-stop decision taken

Stage

Lifecycle stages

Leaves the stage when

Capture

Identify

Business owner named and problem framed

Assessment

Assess, Prioritise

Suitability, risk tier, value and return estimates and priority recorded

Delivery

Build, Deploy

Resources allocated and release gates passed

Live

Deploy

In use and registered in the portfolio with its owners

Value tracking

Measure, Improve

Benefits measured against baseline and a scale-or-stop decision taken

2. Cycle details

Field	Value
Horizon covered	[To confirm: quarter or period]
Decision owner	[To confirm: role or forum]
Scoring group (roles)	[To confirm: business, delivery and risk roles]
Strategic outcomes in priority order	[To confirm: outcome references]
Capacity available (scarce roles)	[To confirm: summary from the roadmap capacity check]

Field

Value

Horizon covered

[To confirm: quarter or period]

Decision owner

[To confirm: role or forum]

Scoring group (roles)

[To confirm: business, delivery and risk roles]

Strategic outcomes in priority order

[To confirm: outcome references]

Capacity available (scarce roles)

[To confirm: summary from the roadmap capacity check]

3. Weights

Agree and record weights before any opportunity is scored. Do not change them mid-cycle.

Criterion	Default weight	Agreed weight	Reason for any change
Value	30%	[To confirm: weight]	[To confirm: reason]
Strategic fit	20%	[To confirm: weight]	[To confirm: reason]
Feasibility	20%	[To confirm: weight]	[To confirm: reason]
Readiness (owner, knowledge, data)	20%	[To confirm: weight]	[To confirm: reason]
Risk (inverted, from the risk tier)	10%	[To confirm: weight]	[To confirm: reason]

Criterion

Default weight

Agreed weight

Reason for any change

Value

30%

[To confirm: weight]

[To confirm: reason]

Strategic fit

20%

[To confirm: weight]

[To confirm: reason]

Feasibility

20%

[To confirm: weight]

[To confirm: reason]

Readiness (owner, knowledge, data)

20%

[To confirm: weight]

[To confirm: reason]

Risk (inverted, from the risk tier)

10%

[To confirm: weight]

[To confirm: reason]

4. Admission check

Only opportunities with all five items are scored. Others are returned with the gap.

Opportunity	Owner	Problem	Outcome	Risk tier	Suitability decision	Admitted
[To confirm: reference]	[To confirm: yes or no]	[To confirm: yes or no]	[To confirm: yes or no]	[To confirm: yes or no]	[To confirm: yes or no]	[To confirm: yes or no]

Opportunity

Owner

Problem

Outcome

Risk tier

Suitability decision

Admitted

[To confirm: reference]

[To confirm: yes or no]

5. Scores

Score 1 to 5. Record the evidence beside each score in the notes column or an attached sheet.

Opportunity	Value	Fit	Feasibility	Readiness	Risk (inverted)	Weighted total	Value range and confidence	Evidence notes
[To confirm: reference]	[To confirm: score]	[To confirm: score]	[To confirm: score]	[To confirm: score]	[To confirm: score]	[To confirm: total]	[To confirm: range and confidence]	[To confirm: notes]

Opportunity

Value

Fit

Feasibility

Readiness

Risk (inverted)

Weighted total

Value range and confidence

Evidence notes

[To confirm: reference]

[To confirm: score]

[To confirm: total]

[To confirm: range and confidence]

[To confirm: notes]

6. Portfolio placement and decision

Opportunity	Quadrant (quick win, strategic bet, foundation-first, park)	Decision (proceed, foundation-first, wait for capacity, park)	Reason	Owner told on
[To confirm: reference]	[To confirm: quadrant]	[To confirm: decision]	[To confirm: reason]	[To confirm: date]

Opportunity

Quadrant (quick win, strategic bet, foundation-first, park)

Decision (proceed, foundation-first, wait for capacity, park)

Reason

Owner told on

[To confirm: reference]

[To confirm: quadrant]

[To confirm: decision]

[To confirm: reason]

[To confirm: date]

7. Portfolio balance

Check	Result
Quick wins in this horizon	[To confirm: number]
Strategic bets in this horizon (within reviewer and owner capacity)	[To confirm: number]
Foundation-first work funded	[To confirm: items]
Spread across business units	[To confirm: summary]
Spread across journeys (Adopt AI, Build with AI, Scale AI)	[To confirm: summary]
Opportunities serving no agreed outcome	[To confirm: number, should be zero among those proceeding]

Check

Result

Quick wins in this horizon

[To confirm: number]

Strategic bets in this horizon (within reviewer and owner capacity)

[To confirm: number]

Foundation-first work funded

[To confirm: items]

Spread across business units

[To confirm: summary]

Spread across journeys (Adopt AI, Build with AI, Scale AI)

[To confirm: summary]

Opportunities serving no agreed outcome

[To confirm: number, should be zero among those proceeding]

8. Returned and parked items

Opportunity	Status	Gap or reason	Next step
[To confirm: reference]	[To confirm: returned or parked]	[To confirm: gap or reason]	[To confirm: next step]

Opportunity

Status

Gap or reason

Next step

[To confirm: reference]

[To confirm: returned or parked]

[To confirm: gap or reason]

[To confirm: next step]

Credit: Template from CopilotForge by Simon Foote (https://github.com/SimonFoote-greensparx/CopilotForge), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Keep this credit when you share or adapt the template; in your own completed document you may keep it as a footer or remove it.

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