MoSCoWprioritering

MoSCoWprioritering is a prioritization technique used in project management and software development to classify requirements by importance for a given delivery period. It helps teams and stakeholders make decisions about scope, time, and resources, and is commonly applied in agile environments during scope negotiations or release planning.

The MoSCoW acronym denotes four priority categories: Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have this time. Must have requirements are considered essential for the solution to be viable. Should have items are important but not strictly necessary for the current delivery and can be deferred if needed. Could have requirements are desirable and flexible, included if time and resources permit. Won't have this time specifies features that will not be delivered in the current scope but may be reconsidered in the future.

The typical process involves gathering requirements, running a facilitated prioritization session with stakeholders, assigning each item to one of the four categories, and agreeing on the scope for a release or iteration. The result is a prioritized backlog or scope definition that aligns with the available timebox and resources.

Originating in the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) in the 1990s, MoSCoW was popularized by practitioners such as Dai Clegg. While the core idea remains stable, some organizations adapt wording or use variants like Would have or Nice to have in place of Won't have, depending on language or context. In Finnish usage, the method is often referred to as MoSCoW-prioritering.

Benefits of MoSCoWprioritering include clearer stakeholder alignment, controlled scope growth, and explicit trade-offs. Limitations involve the need for active stakeholder involvement, careful definition of categories, and ongoing re-evaluation as priorities or constraints change.