MoSCoW Method for Requirements Prioritization

As we all know, in any Project the Requirements are the key components of Project Scope. The Requirements should be prioritized, so that it will be easy to determine which Requirements are most important and which are least. Though there are different methods to prioritize the Requirements, in this Blog Post we will discuss about the MoSCoW Method for Requirements Prioritization. 

Origination: The MoSCoW approach was originated from the Dynamic Software Development Method (DSDM) Methodology. 

Acronym:  MoSCoW stands for:

• Must have (or Minimum Usable Subset)
• Should have
• Could have
• Won’t have (but Would like in future)

Note: The o's in MoSCoW are added to make the acronym pronounceable, and are often written in lowercase to depict that they don't have any significance.

MoSCoW is a Requirements Prioritization method that is used to take a decision on which requirements must be completed first and which must come later or will not be completed at all. To understand it practically, I have taken a simple example.

Example: You are planning to buy an SUV (of at least 7 seats) to Travel with your family and friends  on the weekends. The SUV should be of Diesel variant. As Red is your favorite color, you want to have Red color body work on it. Additionally you would like to have Bluetooth connectivity for your iPod. You are fond of having a 4-wheel drive mechanism in the SUV...and so on so forth...

As depicting a BA concept through a "Picture" is the uniqueness of my Blog, again I have come up with the below one which explains the MoSCoW Method in detail and prioritization of the above mentioned requirements in the example using the MoSCoW Methodology.

Pic: MoSCoW Methodology

Hope you will have a clear understanding of the MoSCoW Methodoly from the above picture. 

To deliver a successful project requires prioritization of the Requirements and Project Objectives (Scope, Quality, Time-frame and Resources). The below picture will give you an understanding of how 100% of Total efforts of a Project gets distributed as per the MoSCoW Prioritization Framework.

Pic: Project Effort Distribution - MoSCoW Framework

So with this blog post my objective is to make you all understand the MoSCoW Concept for Requirements Prioritization. Hope you all will like this.

Please do let me know your thoughts, feedback through comments...so that I can improve my blog post presentation for all the Dearest Readers... :)

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