WSJF with Cost of Delay
Use it when you need to rank features by economic value and time sensitivity to maximize roi.
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What is it?
WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) with Cost of Delay is a prioritization technique born in SAFe to help product teams maximize economic impact by sequencing work items based on urgency and size.
At its core, WSJF solves the backlog paralysis problem: too many ideas, too little time. It breaks Cost of Delay into three components, user/business value, time criticality, and risk reduction/opportunity enablement, then divides that sum by job size (usually effort or duration). The result is a WSJF score that highlights which features or projects yield the highest return per unit of work.
By focusing on high Cost-of-Delay items that are small to medium in size, you ensure the team is always tackling the most impactful work first. Keywords: backlog prioritization, cost of delay, SAFe, agile prioritization, economic value.
Why it matters?
By forcing you to quantify both the upside (Cost of Delay) and the effort (job size), WSJF ensures you're always shipping the work that accelerates revenue, cuts risk, and unlocks opportunities. The result? Faster time-to-market, higher throughput, and a backlog that's laser-focused on what moves your business needle.
How it works
Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.
1
List and scope your work items
Gather all candidate features, enablers, and tech debt in a single backlog. The more complete your list, the more accurate your WSJF ranking.
2
Score Cost of Delay
For each item, assign relative values (e.g., 1–10) for User/Business Value, Time Criticality, and Risk Reduction/Opportunity Enablement. Sum them to get the total Cost of Delay.
3
Estimate job size
Use story points, T-shirt sizes, or days, whatever your team already uses, for each backlog item. Keep it relative, not absolute.
4
Calculate WSJF for each item
Divide the total Cost of Delay by the job size. Higher WSJF means more value delivered per estimated unit of effort.
5
Prioritize the backlog
Sort items in descending WSJF order. Review top-ranked items first in planning, those are your fastest lanes to impact.
Frequently asked questions
Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.
You've ranked your backlog with WSJF to surface the highest-impact work, now run your top candidates through CrackGrowth's diagnostic to uncover hidden UX friction before you ship.