Summary

WSJF, an acronym for “Weighted Shortest Job First”, is a prioritization method commonly used in Lean Portfolio Management and Agile methodologies, including the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).  It is designed to help leaders and teams make educated decisions about which projects, epics, or product features to complete first. 

WSJF works by comparing the relative value of different jobs with how quickly each job can be completed. 

The WSJF score is calculated by dividing the Delay Cost by the Effort, also known as Job Size.  The Delay Cost is composed of three components: Value (the benefit the job brings to customers or the business), Urgency (how urgent the job is), and Safer/Better (how much safer or better it makes the system). 

These components are typically estimated using relative sizing techniques with individual points based off of the Fibonacci Scale.  The resulting WSJF score represents a relative priority ranking, where higher scores indicate a higher priority.  This allows teams to focus on delivering the most valuable work first, optimizing value and minimizing waste.

Value

• Data-Driven Decision Making: uses quantifiable inputs to objectively prioritize work based on Value and Effort.
• Efficient Resource Utilization: helps ensure teams focus their time and capacity on the most important tasks.
• Value Optimization: ensures that the highest value, most time critical work is completed first, maximizing return on investment and minimizing waste.
• Consistency and Transparency: applies an objective, standardized, quantifiable, and defensible framework for prioritization, making decision-making clear, repeatable, and easy to communicate across teams.
• Alignment with Business Goals: A WSJF exercise, including the right people, ensures the work being prioritized aligns to both enterprise and departmental goals.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: allows teams to continuously reassess and reprioritize work based on changing variables in order to react to market and organizational changes.

When to Implement

Wondering if a WSJF Workshop is what you need to solve your current challenges? Here are a few questions to ask yourself to know if it’s applicable.

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