Impact vs. effort map
Add each idea with an impact and effort rating. The tool plots them on the matrix and flags the quick wins.
When everything on a list looks worth doing, the impact–effort map sorts it by return on effort. Each idea gets two ratings — how much it would achieve, and how much it would cost you — and its position on the grid tells you how to treat it.
The prize is the top-left: high impact, low effort — the quick wins you should do first. High impact and high effort are major projects worth planning for. Low impact and low effort are fill-in tasks. Low impact and high effort are the money pits to avoid.
Name an idea, set its impact and effort on the sliders from one to ten, and add it. Each point drops onto the map, and the quick wins — high impact, low effort — are called out beneath it so the obvious first moves are unmistakable.
Rate impact and effort independently and honestly. The temptation is to inflate the impact of things you simply want to do; the map is only useful if the ratings are candid.
Scan the quadrants, not the individual dots. A cluster of quick wins means you have easy momentum available now. A list dominated by high-effort, low-impact points is a warning that you're about to spend heavily for little return. The best sequences usually bank the quick wins first, then fund the big bets.
Use it to prioritise a backlog, a list of features, improvements, or initiatives — any time you have more good ideas than capacity and need to decide what to do first.
‘Fix the broken signup email’ rates high impact, low effort — a clear quick win to do today. ‘Rebuild the whole onboarding flow’ is high impact but high effort — a real project to schedule, not squeeze in. Plotting them stops the big project from crowding out the five-minute fix that helps immediately.
Underlying idea: Impact Effort Matrix ›