MoSCoW Prioritization in Agile Project Management (AgilePM)

In comparison to the traditional project management where all requirements are treated as MUST Have, Agile Project Management have very different approach towards prioritisation of requirements.

MoSCoW is a prioritisation technique for helping to understand and manage priorities of deliverables. The letter stand for:

• M for Minimal Usable SubseT or simply Must Have - no more than 60% effort
• S for Should Have - no more than 20% effort
• C for Could Have - no more than 20% effort
• W for Won't Have

Dynamic System Development Methodology (DSDM) based Agile Project Management (AgilePM) needs to create contingency within prioritised deliverables/ requirements. MoSCoW is therefore applied at three different levels (meaning requirements have three different levels of priority):

• MoSCoW for Project level
• MoSCoW for Increment level
• MoSCoW for Timebox level

By applying the MoSCoW technique correctly at all above levels, a project achieves 40% contingency at each level. 

Agile Project Management (AgilePM®) Handbook provides guidance on timeboxing in sufficient detail. 

Visit Tecknologia to learn more about Agile Project Management (AgilePM) and how to achieve certifications for Agile Project Management (AgilePM). This will help you learn all about MoSCoW in Agile world, particularly in DSDM based Agile Project Management (AgilePM).