Data without analysis is like a map without a route—informative, but not actionable. To set priorities and move with confidence, organizations need a structured way to evaluate, compare, and approve projects.
Welcome to the third installment in our five-part series on standardized prioritization. Previously, we introduced the benefits of a structured prioritization framework and how to collect and leverage data to make informed decisions. Now, we’ll examine how organizations can effectively interpret that data with a systematic scoring process.
Throughout this series, we follow the fictitious company Garry’s Robots Ltd., a residential cleaning technology innovator. Their product team is evaluating a potential new feature (water-based cleaning) and has gathered data on costs, projected ROI, resource requirements, and strategic fit. Now comes the crucial step: interpreting this information to decide if water cleaning should be prioritized.
In this blog, follow Garry’s Robots Ltd. as it implements a structured scoring approach built around three key elements:
- Portfolio categorization
- Scoring methodologies
- Scenario modeling
Grouping Projects into the Right Portfolios
Categorizing projects allows you to compare apples to apples, ensuring that projects only compete against relevant alternatives. Projects can be categorized along the following lines:
- Priority level: How time-sensitive or important is the project?
- Project type: Is this a new product, a sustaining effort, or a feature upgrade?
- Market category: Does this target existing customers or open a new market?
Garry’s should begin by allocating resources to each portfolio; then, they should determine priorities within each portfolio. The water cleaning initiative belongs in a portfolio labeled “Innovation for Existing Products.” Within that portfolio, projects can be categorized using the following simple matrix:
The water cleaning initiative has been categorized as a high-effort project and a significant innovation. It should, therefore, compete against other big initiatives in the “Innovation for Existing Projects” portfolio. This categorization promotes a healthy balance between maintenance work, incremental improvements, and ambitious innovations within each portfolio.
Assigning Scores Using Proven Methodologies
Method 1: Stage-Gate Scorecard
The Stage-Gate® process is a popular method for funneling project proposals towards development. Each gate is like an elimination round—only high-scoring proposals move to the next stage. Scores are assigned for six criteria:
- Strategic Fit
- Product and Competitive Advantage
- Market Attractiveness
- Technical Feasibility
- Synergies with Core Competencies
- Financial Reward vs. Risk
Each area is scored numerically and weighted based on its importance to business strategy. The result is a composite score that reflects the overall value of a project.
Method 2: RICE Scoring
RICE scoring (short for Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort) measures the ratio between the potential benefit of a project and the effort required. It uses the following formula:
This model is well-suited to agile development organizations, where speed is important and there are many ideas to be triaged.
Scoring in practice
Scoring becomes especially important when goals shift. Consider the streaming industry: platforms like Warner Bros., Discovery, and Paramount are shifting from a growth orientation to a profitability orientation. Their scoring models should shift accordingly, placing more weight on margin contribution.
For Garry’s Robots, the primary goals are to gain a competitive advantage and to increase market share. Accordingly, these factors should be weighed more heavily. This will show that the water-cleaning initiative is the best option to advance the current business strategy.
Modeling Future Scenarios
Markets change and priorities shift. Static prioritization—scoring projects based on a snapshot of current conditions—ignores these inevitable shifts. For dynamic prioritization, leaders should model different future scenarios. Scenario modeling helps:
- Reveal dependencies: Does Project A require Project B to finish first?
- Visualizeresource conflicts: Will Project A require a specialized team at the same time as Project C?
- Compare potential scenarios: If a component is delayed, how will ROI be impacted? How resilient is the project in the face of market changes?
NVIDIA used scenario modeling to forecast AI chip demand across multiple market trajectories. This analysis justified accelerated timelines for both H100 and Blackwell chips. As a result, they ramped up manufacturing capacity before demand peaked, securing market share ahead of competitors.
Additionally, while projects should be prioritized within their respective portfolios, resource dependencies often exist across portfolio boundaries. Modern prioritization platforms with AI capabilities can identify these hidden cross-portfolio constraints that spreadsheets miss.
In this example, Garry’s Robots initially planned projects independently within their separate portfolios (‘innovations to current products’ and ‘new product lines’). However, automated dependency analysis revealed that both the water cleaning feature and the commercial robot line required the same limited engineering resources, and that the AI surface recognition technology was a prerequisite for both initiatives:
This cross-portfolio intelligence allows leadership to make more informed decisions about resource allocation and project sequencing across the entire organization, not just within individual portfolios. Without this visibility, organizations often approve projects in different portfolios that compete for the same scarce resources, leading to delays and failed launches.
Next Steps
A structured analysis process turns data into strategic decisions. The process can be summarized in three steps:
- Categorize projects within a portfolio to compare alternatives
- Score according to consistent criteria
- Model scenarios to test tradeoffs and proactively find bottlenecks
When Garry’s Robots applied this approach, the water cleaning initiative received a higher score than other innovations, which showed it was objectively the best decision.
You can start scoring projects today. Pick your top three competing ideas and rate each on a 1–5 scale for three criteria: strategic alignment, resource feasibility, and expected ROI. This 15-minute exercise reveals which project deserves to be a priority. It also serves as a proof point for structured analysis going forward.
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Stay tuned for our next post to learn how these data-driven, structured insights can be used to secure buy-in on the process and priorities
