Not all starting points are equal. This one helps you find the right one.
A four-question framework for choosing where to start, based on value, strategy, and what you can realistically achieve.
What it is
You've mapped your operation, thought about your horizons, and have a list of things that could be built. Now the decision that matters most early on: where do you start? Start wrong and you build something that works but doesn't matter, or matters but lays no foundation. Start right and the first phase delivers genuine value, proves the investment case, and opens the door to the next. The prioritiser runs every candidate through four questions, then applies a practical filter.
The four questions
Customer value: how much would this improve the customer's experience or outcome? Business value: how much would it improve operations, cost, revenue or risk? Competitive differentiation: does it express something a generic competitor couldn't copy? Foundation for what comes next: does it create a platform or data layer that makes later builds faster and more connected?
What the filter catches
Some opportunities score well but aren't achievable as a first phase. The filter asks how long a meaningful first phase would take, the realistic cost, the organisational capacity required, and any integration dependencies. A build that takes eighteen months isn't a first phase; it's the whole building.
How to use it
After the Big Picture Planner, with three to eight candidates. Someone who understands both commercial priorities and operational reality, not a committee. 60 minutes. You'll produce a scored comparison and a defensible choice, with the reasoning written down.
Download
Kit includes the scoring workbook (up to eight candidates), a full matrix (up to fifteen), a facilitated prioritisation guide, and worked examples. Access this tool
"Where does a first build create the most value, lay the best foundation, and give us the proof we need to keep going? Those three things point at one place."
Building Capability, Ch 5