How does T-Shirt Sizing inform prioritisation?
T-Shirt Sizing is one of the common inputs stakeholders use to help decide which Information Product should be prioritised
How does T-Shirt Sizing inform prioritisation?
T-Shirt Sizing is one of the common inputs stakeholders use to help decide which Information Product should be prioritised next for delivery by the data team.
Ideally, prioritisation should be driven by which Information Product delivers the most organisational value, not how long it takes to deliver that Information Product. Stakeholders should focus on the Actions and Outcomes area, not the T-Shirt Size area.
But delivery timeframes inevitably influence prioritisation trade-off decisions. By reviewing the T-Shirt Sizes assigned to multiple canvases, stakeholders can quickly assess the relative complexity of each Information Product.
If one Small and two Large Information Products are at the top of the value list, it might make sense to deliver the Small one first. It can be completed faster and start generating value sooner. Small Information Products also serve as quick wins, they can often be delivered in a single iteration, helping build momentum and demonstrate tangible value early.
For Large or Extra Large Information Products, T-Shirt Sizing highlights the need for an iterative delivery pattern. Rather than waiting months to Design, Build, and Deploy everything in one big bang, the data work can be broken into smaller, manageable slices. Critical features can be delivered first, allowing value to flow early while the rest is delivered over time.
T-Shirt Sizing also helps manage stakeholder expectations. When an Extra Large Information Product is prioritised as the next most valuable one for the data team to deliver, it’s easier to explain that it requires significantly more effort than a Small one. This opens space to have collaborative conversations about trade-offs, delivery timelines, and the potential for thin slicing the data work.
For example, if stakeholders are choosing between a Customer Churn Dashboard (Small) and a Customer Lifetime Value Model (Extra Large), the churn dashboard might be delivered in one iteration using existing data. The lifetime value model, on the other hand, might take six iterations due to complex logic and multiple data sources. In this case, prioritising the churn dashboard makes sense, it delivers fast insights and builds momentum while the more complex model is developed iteratively.
When used as a prioritisation input, T-Shirt Sizing allows stakeholders to compare Information Products and make better trade-offs decisions between effort, timeframes, and impact.