It’s always about priorities

It's always about priorities

No matter the size or type of technology project, you will always be faced with choosing priorities. What gets done first, what gets done second, what will be saved for Phase 2 (or "phase later" as I like to call it). Every project requires you to determine your priorities.

So how do you choose? Here are some suggestions:

  1. Are there political priorities? That is, are there things that mustget done because your board or your members or your BOSS expect them to get done?
  2. Does the priority have tremendous value? In other words, if we make this a priority, will it return higher value than that other priority?
  3. Is it low-hanging fruit/will it demonstrate a quick win? This is similar to a political priority. Often with very large projects, in order to demonstrate real progress, it's helpful to prioritize small but significant "wins" in order to earn goodwill from important audiences (these could be your staff, your board, and/or your members/customers).

These are just a couple of suggestions. You may have other ways of identifying priorities (e.g., we have the money/budget for this priority but not that one). But regardless of how you get there, you're going to have to prioritize how things get done. If you don't prioritize, the loudest or most insistent voice will set the priority. And that's unlikely to give you the best results.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

You don’t have to automate EVERYTHING to be successful

January 25, 2024

You don’t have to automate EVERYTHING to be successful I was discussing a data management […]

Technology won’t solve your process problems

January 17, 2024

Technology won’t solve your process problems Over the past few years I’ve watched as many […]

“Screen noise” is a real thing. You might be able to fix it.

January 10, 2024

“Screen noise” is a real thing. You might be able to fix it. One of […]

Success Starts at the Top

December 20, 2023

Success Starts at the Top I recently had a conversation with an association staffer who was […]

Who are you bringing along?

December 13, 2023

Who are you bringing along? Last week I had the opportunity to attend the AWTC […]

Write it down!

December 6, 2023

Write it down! If you’re in the market for a new AMS (or any new […]

Why “weeding the garden” is so important

November 30, 2023

Why “weeding the garden” is so important One of the most important activities for maintaining […]

It’s time to stop excusing association professionals

November 15, 2023

It’s time to stop excusing association professionals I worked in associations for nearly 10 years, […]

More demos is not better

November 8, 2023

More demos is not better When I work with clients on selecting a new system, […]

The database owner should be “passionate”

November 1, 2023

The database owner should be “passionate” I’m frequently asked by my clients: “Who should we […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top