Ease/Impact matrix: Close files faster
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Plan
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Plan
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Do now
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Do now
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Quick wins
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Quick wins
Ease (1 hard, 4 easy)
Impact (1 low, 4 high)
Do not do
Do now (2)
Easy and high impact: this is where you start. Put them in the implementation plan with a name and a date.
- 3. Checklist at intake, so files arrive complete
- 4. Drop the second check for standard files
Quick wins (2)
Little impact, but done in no time: take them along for the first successes and the momentum, without making a project of them.
- 5. Daily stand-up with the backlog on the board
- 6. New house style for the letters
Plan (2)
High impact, but not simple: turn it into a project with an owner, a budget and milestones. Do not drop it, do plan it.
- 1. New IT system for file management
- 2. Automatic link with the customer portal
Do not do (1)
A lot of effort for little result. Leave it, and say so out loud to whoever brought the idea in.
- 7. Redesign the whole process
Your choice is made.
Start with the 2 ideas in Do now and take the quick wins along for momentum. Put them in the implementation plan with a name and a date.
The four quadrants
- Do now: easy to achieve and high impact. The most promising ideas; this is where you start.
- Quick wins: little impact, but arranged with little effort. They deliver the first successes and momentum.
- Plan: high impact, but not simple. Think of automation. Do not drop it, but plan it as a project.
- Do not do: a lot of effort, little result. Not worth following up.
How to use the matrix
- Brainstorm widely first. The matrix chooses from what is there; with two ideas there is nothing to choose. Look for small things the team can do itself tomorrow, too.
- Score together, and compare. Ease is about time, money and support; impact is about how much of the problem the idea takes away. Put ideas side by side: which one is really easier?
- Turn it into a mini business case where you can: express ease and impact in money. At a financial services provider that helps the discussion enormously.
- Include the outcome in the implementation plan, with a name and a date for every idea.
When do you use it?
In the Improve phase, after you have devised countermeasures for the root causes and there are more solutions on the table than you can carry out at once. In the case study from our e-book, a department had tunnel vision: only IT could solve it, and IT took a long time. The matrix showed there were also ideas in Do now and Quick wins, so the project delivered results within the schedule while the IT solutions stayed on the plan.