Prioritisation of requirements

 

Facilitating the prioritisation of requirements

The requirements gathering stage is designed to source every possible functionality clinicians requires. This provides a comprehensive understanding of how the system will be used. This process often results in a long list of items. This can make it hard to determine the minimum requirements for successful implementation.

Your organisation may have unique requirements that vendors do not currently offer as part of their base level of functionality. They may need to add them over time. To avoid excluding a vendor that might be more suitable in the long term, prioritise your requirements to focus on the most critical functionalities during procurement. The procurement process can also include negotiations to add or enhance functionality overtime, ensuring clinicians have an optimal system for their workflows.  

How to prioritise requirements

1. Compile all gathered requirements into a list, grouping similar items to identify overlaps or potential combinations.
2. Plan prioritisation sessions accordingly. This may include:
   1. in-person: use butcher’s paper, sticky notes and dot stickers for voting.
   2. virtual: use tools like PowerPoint, Miro or Mural which both include brainstorming templates
   3. for both formats: consider interactive real time polling and voting tools such as Poll Everywhere or Slido.
3. Invite stakeholders especially those involved in the requirements gathering phase and contributed key input.
4. Schedule sessions to accommodate stakeholder availability. You may need to hold multiple sessions if necessary.
5. Design a validation process to confirm priorities after the session. This should include sharing the prioritised list via email or survey tools such as Microsoft Forms for stakeholders to validate and share any final thoughts. This will also give an opportunity for input from stakeholders that were unable to attend the sessions.
6. Finalise the prioritised requirements and present to the Steering Committee for approval before adding them to tender documents.

Prioritisation techniques

There are a range of techniques that can be used to prioritise requirements. Using a structured technique helps facilitate group sessions. These evidence-based techniques ensure all stakeholders have an equal voice, regardless of hierarchy or willingness to speak up.

Common techniques

• Voting: Stakeholders are given a set number of votes to assign to the most important requirements. This can be done in stages to identify high, medium and low priorities.
• MoSCoW: Categorises requirements as Must-Have, Should-Have, Could-Have and Won’t-Have (for now). Each category must be clearly defined. For example, the Must-Have requirements are essential to a systems implementation success.
• Stack Ranking: Ranks requirements from most important to least important. For long lists, consider incorporating the voting technique and group items before ranking.
• Likert Scale: Rates requirements on a 5-point scale, such as Extremely Important, Very Important, Moderately Important, Slightly Important and Not (at all) Important.

Using a combination of these techniques during prioritisation sessions will keep stakeholders engaged and ensure the approach suits requirements being prioritised.

Top tips for success

Set clear expectations

Share the prioritisation process early with stakeholders. Explain the steps, timeline, prioritisation process and who is involved. Invite feedback on the process to ensure buy-in and acceptance from the start.

Focus on what matters most

During prioritisation, ensure your stakeholders agree on what qualifies as high-priority requirements. Focus on the requirements for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – these are essential requirements that allow the system or technology to function effectively and be tested by users.

Keep the future in mind

Remind stakeholders that lower-priority items are not off the table. Many functionalities may already be available from the vendor, with opportunities to expand or enhance features over time.