Prioritizing Initiatives with Rough Order of Magnitude Estimations

What are ROM Estimations?

Inputs for ROM Estimations

Unlike detailed estimations, ROM estimations do not require a well-described product requirement document or a product backlog. Instead, teams can use various inputs such as:

• Basic Wireframes: Initial wireframes can help teams visualize the final design and identify potential functionalities.
• User Flow Diagrams: These diagrams map out the user’s journey, highlighting touchpoints and interactions with the product.
• Epics and Themes: High-level themes and epics can be used to identify key features and functionalities.

High-Level Estimation Techniques

There are several techniques used for ROM estimations, including:

• T-Shirt Sizing: Breaking down the initiative into smaller chunks and estimating the effort required for each chunk.
• Sprints: Estimating the number of sprints required to complete the initiative.
• Story Points: Using story points to estimate the complexity of the initiative.

function estimateEffort(initiative) {
  // T-Shirt Sizing example
  const smallChunks = breakDownInitiativeIntoChunks(initiative);
  const effortEstimates = smallChunks.map(chunk => estimateChunkEffort(chunk));
  return effortEstimates.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
}

Adjusting Boundaries

Rough Order of Magnitude Template

By using ROM estimations, teams can prioritize initiatives based on their impact-effort ratio. This involves:

1. Identifying multiple initiatives
2. Conducting high-level ROM estimations
3. Re-assessing the initiatives based on the estimates
4. Choosing the initiatives with the best impact-effort ratio

function prioritizeInitiatives(initiatives) {
  const estimates = initiatives.map(initiative => estimateEffort(initiative));
  const impactEffortRatios = initiatives.map((initiative, index) => {
    return { initiative, ratio: initiative.impact / estimates[index] };
  });
  return impactEffortRatios.sort((a, b) => b.ratio - a.ratio);
}

Key Takeaways