Bang for the buck

Meaning Of The Expression:

The expression bang for the buck is actually an idiom that simply means the value for one’s money. It connotes the worth of an individual’s money in relation to a service rendered to him/her or any item purchased. It refers to the value in return on the money you spent on something.

Bang for the buck includes the maximum cooperation and partnership between the product manager and development team for the prioritization of backlog items. Instead of just carrying out your conceived plans and agenda ignorantly and in a clueless manner, this game helps you in so many ways. One of the important things it does is to enable you effectively analyze the costs and benefits of each laid down task. Another advantage is that this game helps to organize your tasks in a proper way and manner that indicates where you can begin and in what order to go in also. In order to start prioritizing your to-do list and start checking items off, plot a graph of each of the items against their cost and value.

RULES OF THE GAME
In this game, a graph should be plotted with the y-axis containing the value of the items. While the x-axis should contain the cost of the items with each of the axis been arranged as a Fibonacci number. The backlog items can be written on sticky notes and placed on the chart along with any other important task. Each item should be carefully and appropriately placed on the graph after much deliberation from the team members.

While the product manager should be concerned with the y-axis which focuses on the value position of the task, the development team should take note of the x-axis which contains the cost. Having several players, gives you an opportunity to get different views on each item. By the time all the items have been posted on the chart, you can now get started on your plans using the chart as guide. For optimum value delivery over time, work across the chart in a clockwise direction. If there is a need to accomplish a particular item immediately but it’s too expensive to start off, the best option is to work together to look for a means to move it to the left on the graph.

HOW TO PRIORITIZE
One of the major importance of bang for the bucks is that it helps to prioritize items. Both short and long term tasks can be easily prioritized with this game. By comparing the value and cost of each item, you can be able to rank each of the items in order of priority. At the end of the day, with cooperation from your team, it is possible to change or tweak approaches for the tasks based on the most important.

This means that any task that has been prioritized will be given the most consideration. Therefore any operation or activity will be carried out to suit that particular task. If you are able to know how to prioritize properly, it will help to decide where to begin working. Apart from the fact that this increases efficiency and productivity, it also allows you to see the impact and benefits faster. In order to properly prioritize, work on the graph or chart in a clockwise direction because you’re prioritizing by bang for the buck.

Agile Product Managers make it a point of duty to prioritize backlog items in order to drive profitable growth. This natural ability of theirs is greatly increased as a result of making the link between the product backlog and their ability to drive profit clear and plain.

— Slimane Zouggari