Pushpa S. Bharadwaj

MoSCoW method
 
MoSCoW method is a prioritization method that was developed by Dai Clegg in 1994 for use in Rapid Application Development (RAD). It is also known as MoSCoW prioritization or MoSCoW analysis.
The term Moscow itself is an acronym from the first letter of each of four prioritization categories:
M - Must have  S - Should have  C - Could have  W - Won't have The interstitial Os are added to make the word pronounceable. While the Os are usually in lower-case to indicate that they do not stand for anything, the all-capitals MOSCOW is also used.
The Moscow method is a prioritization technique used in management, Project management, new software development, business analysis to align with stakeholders on the importance they place on the delivery of each requirement.
MoSCoW Method is often used where a deadline is fixed so that the focus must be on the most important requirements, and as such is a technique commonly used in software development (agile) approaches such as Rapid Application Development (RAD). Scrum and Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM).

 
Source: www.kecg.co
 
MoSCow Method plotted on Kano Model of Customer Satisfaction
 


 
MoSCoW Method Example:
Project: Creation of a Professional website for a Law firm
Purpose: People can register and track their court cases
 

Below are some of the drawbacks or criticisms of MoSCoW Method:
·       Does not help to decide between multiple requirements within same priority bucket
·       Subjectivity on how to rank competing requirements: No explanation on why something is ‘must have’ rather than ‘should have’.
·        Ambiguity over timing, example- Won't have category: whether it is not in this release or won’t be considered for ever
·       Huge room for Bias- New features over technical improvements