Prioritization Funnel

Metadata

• - Name: prioritization-funnel
• Description: Structured opportunity filtering and prioritization
• Triggers: prioritization, resource allocation, opportunity filtering, project ranking

Instructions

Apply a multi-stage filtering process to prioritize opportunities or projects.

Framework

The Funnel Process

CODEBLOCK0

Stage 1: Definition Filters

Criterion	Threshold	Pass Rate
Strategic Fit	Must align	60% pass
Market Size

Must exceed threshold | 50% pass | | Required Investment | Within budget | 40% pass | | Time Horizon | Meets window | 70% pass | | Resource Availability | Feasible | 50% pass |

Result: [Opportunities passed to Stage 2]

Stage 2: Rapid Appraisal

Dimension	Weight	Scale (1-5)	Description
Strategic Alignment	30%	[High/Med/Low]	Fit with goals
Market Potential

25% | [H/M/L] | Growth opportunity | | Profitability Impact | 20% | [H/M/L] | NPV or margin | | Implementation Ease | 15% | [Easy/Med/Hard] | Feasibility | | Risk Level | 10% | [H/M/L] | Project risk | | Score | [Calculated total] |

Result: [Opportunities passed to Stage 3]

Stage 3: Financial Modeling

Opportunity	NPV	IRR	Payback	Sensitivity
[Opportunity A]	$X M	Y%	Z years	Analysis
[Opportunity B]

$X M | Y% | Z years | Analysis |

Result: [Opportunities ranked for final decision]

Stage 4: Final Selection

Rank	Opportunity	Total Score	Key Differentiator
1	[Opportunity Name]	[Score]	[Why #1?]
2

[Opportunity Name] | [Score] | [Why #2?] | | 3 | [Opportunity Name] | [Score] | [Why #3?] |

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Selected Opportunities

Priority 1: [Opportunity Name]

• - Action: [Description]
• Owner: [Who's responsible]
• Timeline: [Start - completion]
• Budget: [Allocation]

Priority 2: [Opportunity Name]

• - Action: [Description]
• Owner: [Who's responsible]
• Timeline: [Start - completion]
• Budget: [Allocation]

Priority 3: [Opportunity Name]

• - Action: [Description]
• Owner: [Who's responsible]
• Timeline: [Start - completion]
• Budget: [Allocation]

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Resource Allocation

Priority	Allocated Capital	% of Budget	Personnel	Timeline
1	$X M	Y%	[Team lead]	Q1-Q2
2

$Y M | Z% | [Team lead] | Q2-Q3 |
| 3 | $Z M | W% | [Team lead] | Q3-Q4 |
| Hold | $V M | V% | - | - |

Governance

Decision Authority: [Who has final approval]
Approval Process: [Stage gate process]
Review Timeline: [When to review priorities]

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Monitoring

Metric	Target	Actual	Variance	Action
# of opportunities in funnel	20	18	🔴 -10	Reassess funnel
Average NPV of top 3

$X M | $Y M | 🟢 +10% | Continue investment |
| Resource utilization | 90% | 75% | 🟡 -15% | Optimize capacity |

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Funnel Metrics

Stage	Input	Pass Rate	Cycle Time
Definition	50 options	60%	1 week
Appraisal

30 options | 50% | 2 days |
| Financial Modeling | 15 options | 33% | 1 week |
| Selection | 7 options | 100% | Decision made |

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Strategic Implications

Portfolio Balance:

• - [Analysis of opportunity mix]

Resource Constraints:

• - [Budget constraint analysis]
• [Capacity constraint analysis]
• [Timeline constraint analysis]

Risk Factors:

• - [Over-prioritizing quick wins]
• [Under-prioritizing strategic opportunities]

Tips

• - Be transparent about scoring - make criteria explicit
• Use quantitative thresholds where possible
• Balance qualitative and quantitative factors
• Don't rush Stage 2 - financial modeling matters
• Consider resource constraints realistically
• Review funnel regularly - opportunities and conditions change
• Document decision rationale for accountability
• Use weighted scoring to reflect strategic priorities

References

• - Various project management and portfolio management sources
• McKinsey, BCG project management frameworks
• PMI prioritization methods
• Stage-gate process best practices