Prioritization framework

We prioritise on
company value,
not request source.

A systematic, objective way to score every initiative so leadership can see trade-offs clearly — and product, AI, and compliance all get protected bandwidth.

"
A partner request does not equal automatic priority. A product or compliance initiative can outrank a partner request if it drives more long-term value.
Step 1 — Categorise

5 buckets. Every initiative must land in one.

Before scoring anything, you must categorise it. This forces clarity on what the initiative actually is — and prevents partner requests from bypassing the process.
A
Revenue driving

Direct GMV impact

  • New partner go-lives
  • Strategic integrations
  • Marketplace expansion
B
Revenue expansion

Upside / optimisation

  • Partner enhancements
  • Conversion improvements
  • Pricing improvements
C
Product & platform

Long-term scale

  • Retail app / Admin / WLS
  • AI / automation
  • Reusable capabilities
  • Tech debt reduction
  • Refactoring & dependency upgrades
D
Compliance & risk

Non-negotiable

  • GDPR, security, infra
  • Monitoring, downtime
  • Audit requirements
E
Ops efficiency

Internal & cost

  • Internal tools
  • TAT improvements
  • Cost reduction
Step 2 — Score

ROI = Estimated impact ÷ Effort

Each initiative is scored across 4 weighted criteria, then divided by effort level. The output is a single score that determines the priority band.
Revenue impact37.5%
GMV / direct revenue potential. Score 1–5.
Strategic value25%
Long-term positioning. Discount 30% if >6 months out.
Partner commitment25%
Contractual / RFP / strategic account dependency.
Risk / compliance12.5%
Legal, security, downtime risk. Score of 5 triggers an override.
Effortdenominator
Acts as a divisor on the total impact score. Heavier effort = lower final score. Not a weighted criterion.
Scoring formula
Final score
=
( Rev ×0.375 + Strategic ×0.25 + Partner ×0.25 + Risk ×0.125 )
divide by
Effort denominator  (Light=1.0 · Medium=1.3 · Heavy=1.8 · Very heavy=2.2)
+ Revenue bonus
=
+0.1 if GMV > €1k  ·  +0.2 if > €50k  ·  +0.3 if > €200k  ·  +0.5 if > €500k
ROI Index
=
Revenue impact score (1–5)  ÷  Effort score (Light=5, Medium=3, Heavy=2, Very heavy=1)
P0  score ≥ 3.5  (or Rule 1 override)
P1  score ≥ 2.5
P2  score ≥ 1.5
P3  score < 1.5
Step 3 — Apply hard rules

3 rules that override the score.

These are non-negotiable. They exist because most frameworks fail precisely here — when political pressure overrides objective scoring. Note: signed contracts do not automatically override the score — every initiative must earn its priority.
1

Risk / Compliance always wins

If the Risk/Compliance score = 5 → must be prioritised immediately, regardless of everything else.

2

Platform investments quota

Minimum 20–30% of capacity is always reserved for Product / Platform and AI / Automation. This prevents the team from becoming a custom dev shop.

3

No custom builds without reuse potential

Any partner-specific request must answer: "Can this be reused across partners?" If NO → deprioritise, unless high GMV or strategic account.

Step 4 — Priority band

Every initiative lands in one of four bands.

After scoring and applying hard rules, every initiative is classified. The band determines delivery order.
Must do
P0
Now
Compliance / risk
Signed go-live blockers
Critical revenue items
High priority
P1
Next up
High GMV opportunities
Strategic partner expansions
Key product gaps
Planned
P2
Scheduled
Enhancements
Efficiency improvements
Backlog
P3
Nice to have
Low impact items
High effort, low reward
Step 5 — Portfolio balance

Manage the whole portfolio, not just individual items.

Push this allocation in leadership meetings. It prevents partners from consuming 80% of capacity and starving the platform.
35%
25%
18%
12%
rest
Revenue (A+B)
30–40%
Product / platform (C)
20–30%
Compliance / risk (D)
15–20%
Ops efficiency (E)
10–15%

Ready to score your initiative?

Use the tool to generate a scorecard and recommendation summary in under 2 minutes.

Score an initiative

Fill in the details, score it, and get a ready-to-share scorecard with priority band, formula breakdown, and recommendation.

1
Details & category
2
Score
3
Output

Initiative details

If known — enables revenue bonus and ROI score. Leave 0 if not applicable.

Categorise

A Revenue driving
New partner go-lives · Strategic integrations · Marketplace expansion
B Revenue expansion
Partner enhancements · Conversion improvements · Pricing optimisation
C Product & platform
Retail app / Admin / WLS · AI & automation · Reusable capabilities · Tech debt, refactoring & dependency upgrades
D Compliance & risk
GDPR, security, infra stability · Monitoring & downtime prevention · Audit requirements
E Ops efficiency
Internal tools · TAT improvements · Cost reduction  ·  If it improves platform health rather than ops speed, use C instead
Yes
No

Score the 4 impact criteria (1 = low, 5 = high)

Formula: Score = (Rev x 0.375 + Strategic x 0.25 + Partner x 0.25 + Risk x 0.125) / Effort denominator
Effort is a divisor, not a weighted criterion. ROI Index = Revenue impact score / Effort score (1-5 where 5 = lightest).
Revenue impactweight: 37.5%
3
Direct GMV / revenue potential. 1 = negligible, 5 = major revenue driver.
Strategic valueweight: 25%
3
Long-term platform / competitive positioning. Discount 30% if delivery is over 6 months away.
Partner commitmentweight: 25%
3
Contractual / RFP / strategic account dependency.
Risk / complianceweight: 12.5%
1
Legal, security, downtime risk. Score of 5 triggers Rule 1 hard override.

Effort required

Effort acts as a denominator — heavier effort = lower final score. Light=/1.0, Medium=/1.3, Heavy=/1.8, Very heavy=/2.2. Also used for ROI Index.
Light
Medium
Heavy
Very heavy
Light = 1-2 sprints  |  Medium = 3-4 sprints  |  Heavy = 5-6 sprints  |  Very heavy = 6+ sprints
Yes — apply 30% discount
No
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Sample leadership report

Four real-world scenarios showing how the framework outputs look in practice. Use this to brief leadership on what the scoring produces across different initiative types.

Portfolio snapshot — these 4 initiatives
How delivery capacity would be allocated across these sample items