# Prioritization Stack

## When to use

Use this template when multiple requests or initiatives compete for limited capacity and the team needs a defendable ranking or tiering.

## Input needed

Prefer to gather the minimum useful context:

- item list
- period objective
- rough impact signal
- rough effort signal
- key dependencies or commitments
- capacity constraints

If 1-2 critical premises would materially change ranking, clarify those first.

## Output goal

Produce a prioritization artifact that shows what goes first, what waits, why, and what trade-offs the team is making.

---

# Prioritization Stack

## 1. Period objective

- What is the main goal for this release / quarter / planning window?
- What should the team optimize for first?

## 2. Constraints

- What capacity, timing, dependency, or commitment constraints shape the ranking?

## 3. Prioritization logic

- Which criteria are actually driving ranking?
- For example: impact, urgency, strategic fit, dependency, effort, risk, commitment pressure.

## 4. Recommended stack

### P0 / Must-do

- Which items are top priority?
- Why must they happen now?

### P1 / Strong candidates

- Which items matter, but after P0?
- Why are they not the top set?

### P2 / Not now

- Which items should explicitly wait?
- Why are they below the line?

## 5. Notes on top items

- What makes the top items strongest against the period objective?
- Are any items foundational enablers?

## 6. Deferred items and why

- Which items are intentionally not prioritized right now?
- What would need to change for them to move up?

## 7. Risks and sequencing notes

- What sequencing or dependency risks could change the stack?
- Which estimates or assumptions are still rough?

## 8. Immediate planning next step

- What should the team do after agreeing on the stack?
- Scope, estimation, communication, or stakeholder alignment?

---

## Misuse guard

Do not let this become scorecard theater.
If the stack still avoids the above-the-line / below-the-line call, or keeps every stakeholder half-happy by naming too many priorities, it has missed the point.

## Notes for use

A strong prioritization stack should:

- anchor on a clear period objective
- force real trade-offs
- say what is not being done now
- be easy to defend in stakeholder conversation
