Using an impact/effort matrix in a stakeholder workshop
Connected Places Catapult brought in a design agency to run a research project to understand the skills gaps and shortages in the aviation industry.
The agency’s initial work came up with around 70 findings that they put under 12 problem statements. This gave them a vivid picture of the situation. But it was too many things to tackle in one project. They needed to prioritise and decide what to focus on for the rest of the project.
They ran a session with stakeholders to present their early findings. As well as 2 people from Connected Places Catapult, they invited interested stakeholders from other organisations:
- a further education college representative
- an aviation industry representative
- 2 representatives from a national skills development organisation
This shows how important it is to look outside your own organisation and involve people from your whole industry in your projects.
During this session they used an impact/effort matrix to help identify quick wins and big but important things to focus on.
They asked the workshop invitees to look at all the findings and think about what:
- you agree with
- you disagree with
- is missing
- is already happening
They turned to a matrix they had drawn on flip-board paper, explained the exercise and went through each of the 12 problem statements. The group discussed where they would place each one on the impact/effort matrix.
The team provoked discussion by asking whether solving each problem would:
- align with any existing plans
- lead to any positive outcomes
- have cross-sector impact
- have any short-term impact
- have any long-term impact
When consensus had been reached, they stuck a printout of the problem onto the matrix. If the conversation was spiralling off-topic they focused the conversation back on where the problem should go on the matrix.
The discussion was sometimes tricky, because they were trying to put problems not ideas onto the matrix. An impact/effort matrix is usually done with concrete ideas or projects. They overcame this problem by focussing on the outcome i.e. if this problem was to be solved would it have more or less impact than another.
The exercise took about an hour. By the end they had cut down their scope by shifting focus away from the low impact problems and onto the problems that were highest priority to our stakeholders. As a positive side effect, the designers also learned about existing ongoing projects that they hadn’t heard about before.
After the session they photographed the matrix for future reference.
