Have you ever completed an Impact/Effort Grid?

Have you ever completed an Impact/Effort Grid?

An impact effort matrix is a decision-making tool that assists people to manage their time more efficiently. An organisation, team, or individual assesses activities based on the level of effort required and the potential impact or benefits they will have.

Simply plot activities within the matrix dependent upon the level of effort required and the potential impact gained (or sometimes lost).

An impact effort analysis: • Rapidly identifies what activities you should focus on, along with the ones you should ignore. • Helps optimise limited time and resources. • Provides time to reflect on a range of strategies and find the most efficient path to achieve goals and reduce wasted time and effort • Helps get projects back on track, aligns team priorities, and identify the best solutions to a problem.

You then use your scores to plot these activities in one of four quadrants:

Quick Wins (High Impact, Low Effort) Quick wins are the most attractive projects, because they give you a good return for relatively little effort. Focus on these as much as you can.

Transformational (High Impact, High Effort) Major projects give good returns, but they are time-consuming. This means that one major project can "crowd out" many quick wins.

Momentun Builders (Low Impact, Low Effort) Don't worry too much about doing these activities – if you have spare time, do them, but drop them or delegate them if something better comes along.

Derailers (Low Impact, High Effort) Try to avoid these activities. Not only do they give little return, they also soak up time that you should be using on quick wins.