The MoSCoW method
what I learnt from it in personal life
The MoSCow method has been a method for prioritization and has widely used in project management, managing product requirements, business analysis, project management, and software development to reach a common understanding with stakeholders on the importance they place on the delivery of each requirement. It's a useful approach for sorting project tasks into critical and non-critical categories.
So, how can we understand the MoSCow method ?
All activities can be classified under the 4 categories of the MoSCow method…Must, Should, Could and Won’t have. For e.g. some of our daily activities can be classified as follows.
Catch a flight …..Non-negotiable, M
Watch a movie at home …..Nice to have, W
Prepare for an exam….Important but not vital, S
Go to a restaurant….Only if there is extra time, C
Another version of the MoSCoW method has 3 categories - Must have, Good to have and Nice to have, but it serves the same purpose.
Surprisingly, I found the MoSCoW method (which I have often used in my professional life) to be applicable also in my personal life, and it is for that reason I have included this article under the category of ‘Spiritual Titbits’ :)
One of the cornerstones of spiritual practices is “learning to accept” the result of an outcome, good or bad.
This is brought out very well in The Bhagavad Gita Chapter-2 verse-47) which states
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana
m(Chapterlaheturbhūrmā te saṅg47)vakarmaṇi
Translated as “You have the right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions”. Never consider yourself the cause of the fruits of your actions, nor be attached to akarma (not doing your duty).
When we take up any activity, the outcome will be positive or negative. If positive, we don’t have a problem and in fact are very happy about it. While effort is required and should be made for every activity, failure to accept its consequences, when it is negative, gives rise to anxiety, and stress.
But if it goes awry, then we get disappointed and if this is not handled properly it can give rise to worries, overthinking and bad feelings. The trick here is to “downgrade” the category and make it more acceptable for us which will ensure we don’t feel bad about it. Except “MUST have” which necessarily have to be done. Should can be changed to Could and Could changed to Wont and Wont can be disregarded (anyway it is nice to have). Granted, disappointment is difficult to swallow and digest but it is one way to rationalize our feelings and move on.
Let me take a personal example, we, my spouse and I travel to the US often spending literally half the year there and the other half in India. In the US, we stay with our families and as can be expected we can’t have and do things the always the way we want. This is obviously so, because we have to be in tune with a different situation, requirements of children, professional priorities of the family members and the culture of the place. This may not be so in India, because we are just two of us and between us, we can pretty much manage and do what we want to do. Understanding and accepting these two situations helps us to have amicable relationships with people and also not be disturbed emotionally or mentally and keep our minds free from anxiety and stress. Here, the MoSCoW method has come in very handy as we can switch between different states easily.
Can the MoSCoW method be applied in a professional situation? The answer is clearly YES. All our to-do’s, targets, aspirations, can be classified in one of the categories. The key is to switch to the lower category when we know it is not happening. Even a Must Do when it does not take place, we should be able to take in stride with equanimity, though it is easier said than done.
Acceptance of the outcome, good or bad, becomes easier if we understand that everything is not in our control. We definitely have to do our bit, try our best to be motivated by the outcome, but only some of part of it say 50 % can be influenced by our own actions. The rest is subject to the situation, circumstances, and the environment. This is hardly under our control as even if we manage the risk, we have to deal with the uncertainty.
References
What is MoSCoW Prioritization? | Overview of the MoSCoW Method (productplan.com)
The MoSCoW Method - Understanding Project Priorities (mindtools.com)