We realize how important understanding and clarity are in the process of working with distributed teams. That’s why, in order to reach a common understanding with our clients on the importance they place on the delivery of each requirement, we use a MoSCoW analysis technique.
Without a doubt, all requirements are important, but we prioritise them to deliver the greatest and most immediate business benefits early according to the following categories:
- M – MUST: A requirement that must be satisfied in the final solution for the solution to be considered a success.
- S – SHOULD: A high-priority item that should be included in the solution if it is possible. This is often a critical requirement but one which can be satisfied in other ways if strictly necessary.
- C – COULD: A requirement which is considered desirable but not necessary. This will be included if time and resources permit.
- W – WON’T: A requirement that the client has agreed will not be implemented in a given release, but may be considered for the future.
We often use MoSCoW when a deadline is fixed so that the focus can be on the most important requirements. As such MoSCoW is seen as a core aspect of rapid application development and agile software development techniques.
