What is the MoSCoW Method?
It is a method used in project management meant to reach a common understanding on tasks and goals with all the stakeholders. Your stakeholders are also your family. I’ve talked a little bit about what that means on the podcast.
What do the letters stand for?
Must be included in the project
Should be included in the project
Could be included in the project
Won’t be included in the project
Why use the MoSCoW Method?
Truthfully, I use it because we all need to know where we are on a project, what we want from it, and how to get to that end result.
Your first iteration of any project should include anything in the MUST section of this method, because you will not truly feel like the work has been done if you aren’t satisfied with the way the project works. I considering anything in the must section to be the most basic level of a done product and in Agile we need a done project to be able to mark it off our sprint goals.
Anything in the SHOULD section should be addressed in the second iteration. You may find that there is more or less here as you live with what was in the MUST portion of the project. The second iteration will be complete when the should items you have deemed necessary are included.
Now you’ll want to look at the COULD section and determine if these things will actually help the project become more useful or desirable for you. In some instances, the could section might only include decorative elements and that’s okay. You may want to add them, and you can do that in the 3rd iteration
I find one of the most important things to define though is the WON’T section.
What won’t be included is often as important if not more important than what must be included. Truthfully, if you included things off of the won’t be included list into a project without thought then you won’t be satisfied with the end result.
For example, we wanted to create an entryway space where things could be dropped off without cluttering up our entire house. We knew we didn’t want that to include a place to just pure more clutter. This meant that every single space we planned for MUST have a specific plan. The top of the bookshelf couldn’t just become a catch all for #AllTheThings.
Now, I want you to think about the top priority project on your to-do list AND map out what you think are your MoSCoW Method steps. Email me hello@yvonnemarcus.com with your plan and let’s talk about how to get you there.
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