Priority Matrix Template
Bring agility to your team and identify urgent issues with the priority matrix template. Keep track of any matter and follow-up easily.
About the Priority Matrix Template
The priority matrix template helps you organize tasks and is a space where you can evaluate priorities and share them with your team. Project Managers and operational folks love this template because it visually clarifies how to go about a project or even where to begin. The priority matrix template also helps you to identify issues and urgent matters and align your strategic planning.
What is a priority matrix?
A priority matrix is a tool used to prioritize work categorically and inform decision-making & time management. It’s a useful tool because the simple framework can be applied to all types of work, whether it be business processes, project-based, or operational. Priority matrices start in a simple format but can be customized depending on your needs. Most organizations prioritize by impact (low, medium, high), level of effort, and urgency.
When to use a priority matrix template
A priority matrix is a management tool for people who need a little more than a basic to-do list, and it can be valuable for project management and project prioritization. The 2x2 matrix is designed to help you determine what tasks are critical so you can first focus on the most urgent needs.
A variety of factors might influence the urgency or importance of a task on your list. For example, if you must complete a task that directly affects customer satisfaction, that task is probably of high urgency and priority. However, if you must complete a task that could make your customers happier in the future, that task is probably low urgency but high priority.
How to use the priority matrix template
Go through your list of tasks and sort each one into a quadrant. Here’s how to think about each quadrant:
Quadrant I is for the most urgent, important deadlines.
Quadrant II is for long-term strategizing and development, tasks that are not urgent, but are still important.
Quadrant III is for urgent but not important tasks, is for time-pressured distractions that still must be done immediately.
Quadrant IV is for the kind of tasks that yield little value, if any.
Analyze your daily or weekly activities and assign issues to the appropriate quadrant in the criteria matrix before evaluating where you need to make changes.
Create your own priority matrix
Miro is the perfect tool to create and share your priority matrix. Get started by selecting this prioritization matrix template.
1. Use the Miro template
Open this Miro template to get started! On the board, list the tasks you want your team to accomplish.
2. Think about each task
Ask yourself the following question for each task: What are the consequences of not accomplishing this task?
3. Prioritize tasks
Based on that information, categorize each list item as “high priority” or “low priority.”
4. Assign an urgency to the tasks
Now, further divide the tasks in each category into two sub-categories: “high urgency” and “low urgency.” You should now have four lists.
5. Assign values
Assign values between 1 and 4 to each option, where lower numbers mean the task is a higher priority.
6. Place on the matrix
Sort the options into your matrix. Once completed, share your priorities with the necessary stakeholders.
How do you create a priority matrix?
To create a priority matrix, your first need to create a list of tasks-to-be-done. Once you have this list, you have to start prioritizing tasks based on the importance of the task and the urgency of the task. Once everything is assigned a value, you then place the tasks on the matrix.
How do you use a priority matrix?
A priority matrix is a decision-making tool used to divide tasks into different categories by urgency and importance. Classifying tasks this way is helpful in honing in on your priorities and making sure that you allocate your time in the most efficient manner.
Can I customize a priority matrix template to suit my needs?
You can personalize the priority matrix template to suit your specific criteria, goals, and projects. Double-click on the quadrants to change the color, expand the matrix, or edit its content.
Are there different types of prioritization matrix templates?
Yes, the priority matrix templates vary in structure and criteria. Some templates may use a simple four-quadrant matrix, while others may include additional factors such as risk or effort.
Get started with this template right now.
MoSCoW Matrix Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Operations, Prioritization
Keeping track of your priorities is a big challenge on big projects, especially when there are lots of deliverables. The MoSCoW method is designed to help you do it. This powerful technique is built on a matrix model divided into four segments: Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won’t Have (which together give MoSCoW its name). Beyond helping you assess and track your priorities, this approach is also helpful for presenting business needs to an audience and collaborating on deliverables with a group of stakeholders.
Meeting Notes Template
Works best for:
Business Management, Meetings
When your meeting is a success (and Miro will help make sure it is), participation will run high, brilliant ideas will be had, and decisions will be made. Make sure you don’t miss a single one — use our meeting notes template to track notes and feedback in a centralized place that the whole team can access. Just assign a notetaker before the meeting, identify the discussion topics, and let the notetaker take down the participants, important points covered, and any decisions made.
Technology Product Canvas Template
Works best for:
Product Management, Meetings
Originally created by Prem Sundaram, the Technology Product Canvas allows product and engineering teams to achieve alignment about their shared roadmap. The canvas combines agile methodologies with UX principles to help validate product solutions. Each team states and visualizes both product and technology goals, then discusses each stage of the roadmap explicitly. This exercise ensures the teams are in sync and everyone leaves with clear expectations and direction. By going through the process of creating a Technology Product Canvas, you can start managing alignment between the teams -- in under an hour.
Product Backlog Template
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Kanban Boards, Product Management
Development teams are often juggling many products at once. A product backlog is a project management tool that helps teams keep track of projects in flight as they build and iterate, so you can store everyone's ideas, plan epics, and prioritize tasks. The highest-priority tasks are at the top of the product backlog, so your team knows what to work on first. Product backlogs make it easier for teams to plan and allocate resources, but it also provides a single source of truth for everyone to know what development teams are working on.
Cynefin Framework Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Decision Making, Prioritization
Companies face a range of complex problems. At times, these problems leave the decision makers unsure where to even begin or what questions to ask. The Cynefin Framework, developed by Dave Snowden at IBM in 1999, can help you navigate those problems and find the appropriate response. Many organizations use this powerful, flexible framework to aid them during product development, marketing plans, and organizational strategy, or when faced with a crisis. This template is also ideal for training new hires on how to react to such an event.
Rose, Bud, Thorn Retrospective Template
Works best for:
Agile Workflows, Retrospectives
Run a simple yet effective retrospective with the Rose, Bud, Thorn Retrospective Template. Identify positive outcomes, challenges, and opportunities moving forward.