The reason this is in an Excel Spreadsheet, is so that when the values for Impact and Urgency are selected, they will automatically calculate the Summary Impact (B10)and Summary Urgency (B20) to put the resulting Priority in Cell B26. The row that is equal to the value of Impact, ( impact of 1 in row 27, 2 in row 28, 3 in row 29), in the Impact Matrix (Cell B10) will intersect with the value of Urgency (Cell B20) on row 26 to yield your Priority, (1 being Top Priority in Cell D28). The Priority Matrix is fed from the Urgency Component and Impact Component matrices. Row 27, 28, and 29 in Column G are labeled Impact 1, Impact 2, and Impact 3 respectively. I will explain each of the concepts contained in the 3 major sections. In this sheet, any Yellow Criteria makes the Project being considered automatically a Project (defined by the organization), that is the 4th section and is a minor detail that you can take or leave. In the picture at the top of this article, you see an Excel Spreadsheet, with columns A through G. You also see Rows 1 to 32. The mechanics behind this tool are what we need to get to. Let's introduce to the ITIL Priority Matrix after showing how we get the Urgency and Impact values that determine Priority in the Priority Matrix. Impacts that affect your project could include: Estimated Cost Return on Investment (ROI) Improved Efficiency Security Funding of Resources Customer Service Levels or any other factors you consider an Impact with your type of projects. You might have Shift in Market Share as an Impact that you can estimate. The possibilities are endless, and up to you. Just know that you will need to tune your matrix into what fits you and/or your organization best.

Urgency for the sake of Project Priority will consider requirements like: Mandate/regulatory/legislative/contractual Strategic Alignment How soon the project is needed Constraints like product end of life or any Urgency requirement you may come up with (you will have to adjust your version). Urgency and Impactīecause Urgency and Impact are at the heart of this method, they need to be defined quantitively in terms that you can control. What I will describe to you is a method that you can adapt to your needs, big or small - to help you assign a numeric priority to your list of projects. The method to be demonstrated comes from a variety of sources: Gartner Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and some methods for determining Urgency and Impact. Juran. Two principles that influence Project Management that Juran touts are the Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule), and the statement ' All improvement happens project by project, and in no other way'. So it is clear that everyone does projects, even if they are not a Project Manager. Given: we all do projects how do you prioritize your projects so you work on the 20% that gets 80% of the most important work done first? For these reasons, the ITIL inspired Project Priority Matrix is my clear choice for this article. This will help you do the 20% that matter first. Most of us that are interested in Project Management are in tune with Dr. OneNote to Organize Your Life (work and home).A Simple Portfolio Management Process for your PMO using Excel & SharePoint.A Simple Project Charter, with Project Change Request.Automating Simple Project Management, one piece at a time.There are so many topic that could follow the Simple Project Management article from, it was difficult to choose. Here are some of the concepts that may get published to follow that up:

Impact priority matrix