Defined Goal:
To prioritize tasks or features by balancing their potential impact against the effort required to implement them.
The Tool's Purpose:
The Impact-Effort Matrix helps teams focus their energy on tasks that deliver the most value with the least effort, streamlining decision-making and resource allocation.
Overview:
The matrix is a simple grid with two axes: Impact (low to high) and Effort (low to high). Team members brainstorm tasks, ideas, or features and then plot them on the grid based on how impactful and effortful each one is. Quadrants emerge, helping the team identify:
- Quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Major projects (high-impact, high-effort)
- Fillers (low-impact, low-effort)
- Avoidable time-wasters (low-impact, high-effort).
The process ensures the team prioritizes work that maximizes value while avoiding unnecessary drains on time and resources.
Benefits:
- Clearly visualizes which tasks deliver the most value.
- Helps the team focus on “quick wins” and strategic priorities.
- Reduces wasted effort on low-value tasks.
- Encourages collaboration and consensus on what to prioritize.
Impact Effort Matrix FigJam Template courtesy of Edii
Use Case Scenario:
Example: GIS company is deciding which new features to add to their mapping software. The team lists potential features, such as “customizable map layers,” “real-time weather integration,” and “offline access.” Using the matrix, they identify “customizable map layers” as a high-impact, low-effort quick win and decide to implement it first. They mark “real-time weather integration” as high-impact but high-effort, assigning it as a long-term goal. Meanwhile, “offline access” is deemed low-impact and high-effort, so they deprioritize it. This structured approach helps the team focus on what matters most to users.
