HKSM

A prioritization technique created by Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig (2003) where customers receive 100 points to allocate across candidate features, signaling which items they believe are most important.

Key Points

• Stakeholders are given a fixed budget of 100 points to distribute among features or requirements.
• Points can be split across items to show relative importance; more points mean higher priority.
• Supports transparent, value-driven backlog ranking and release planning.
• Works best in facilitated workshops with clear feature definitions and agreed voting rules.

Example

During release planning, the product manager invites five key customers to allocate 100 points across six proposed features. After voting, Feature A gets 35 points, Feature B 25, Feature C 20, and the remainder is split among the others. The team sequences the backlog to deliver A and B first, aligning development with customer value.

PMP Example Question

Which technique asks stakeholders to distribute a total of 100 points across features to indicate relative priority?

1. MoSCoW prioritization
2. 100-Point Method
3. Kano analysis
4. Planning Poker

Correct Answer: B — 100-Point Method

Explanation: The 100-Point Method, developed by Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig (2003), has stakeholders allocate 100 points among options to express relative importance and guide prioritization.