MoSCoW - Project Management (wrt. Web Development)

Image Credit: projectsmart.co.uk/img/moscow.png

Many at times, majority of web developers today and programmers today find themselves in the predicament of being unable to complete projects at scheduled deadlines. I have found myself at this juncture numerous times in the past but on learning to use the right prioritization techniques, i have been able to overcome these deadline issues to a very large extent.

"MoSCoW, which is an acronym for Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won't Have (wikipedia,2018) is a prioritization technique used in various fields for decision making in other to meet Goals in a timely manner."

In an attempt to further explain this concept, i would use one of my projects as an example. 

Project: Development of A Website to connect People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWH)
Duration: 2 Weeks
Method of Development: Native MVC, with php as core programming Language

Using MoSCoW prioritization technique, I arranged and executed the features as:

Must Haves:

• Landing page and overall Look and Feel (Template)
• Core pages (T&C, Privacy and Policies, About Us and Contact Us etc.)
• Authentication (signup, email activation, login, forgot password, password reset etc)
• Verification Page (that user is a member of PLWH)

Should Haves

• Profile Page
• Search and Sort for members
• Messaging Features
• Payment Features

Could Haves

• Chat Features
• Request a date function
• Request for Auto Match making

Won't haves

• customer care popups
• ADs

Clients want to see actual progress of their projects while the work is ongoing. Having a prioritization technique helps to have a worthy deliverable for clients every point in time. The most unique thing about MoSCoW prioritization technique is that the project can be delivered after "Must haves" and "Should haves" have been completed. It takes a few days/weeks for any website to go live after delivery as there is a period for alpha test and some clients even do beta test too. The Could Haves would be executed and delivered at this phase with the client not having any worries.

In conclusion, having a prioritization technique as this helps improve organization, delivery time and reputation Building.

Good Luck in meeting those deadlines fellow developers, Lets meet at the top...