Monopoly Money

Understanding Monopoly Money in Agile: Prioritizing Requirements with Simplicity

Monopoly Money is a lightweight Agile prioritization technique that helps teams and stakeholders determine the relative importance of features or requirements in a project. The name comes from the analogy of using Monopoly game money as a metaphorical currency for allocating value to different features. This method is particularly useful for involving stakeholders in a fun, engaging, and straightforward way to prioritize what matters most.

This article explains the concept of Monopoly Money, its application in Agile, and provides practical examples to show how teams can use this technique effectively.

What Is Monopoly Money in Agile?

Monopoly Money is a collaborative prioritization technique where stakeholders are given a limited “budget” (often represented as play money) to “spend” on features or requirements. The idea is to simulate financial constraints, forcing participants to make trade-offs and focus on the most valuable aspects of the product or project.

How It Works

1. Define the Budget:
   • Determine a fixed amount of “money” for participants to allocate. For example, each stakeholder gets $100 in Monopoly money.
2. List Features or Requirements:
   • Present all potential features, user stories, or requirements as options to prioritize.
3. Allocate Money:
   • Stakeholders “spend” their money on the features they value the most. They can divide their budget across multiple features or allocate it all to one.
4. Rank Features:
   • Total the money allocated to each feature. The features with the most “investment” are deemed the highest priority.
5. Discuss and Refine:
   • Use the results as a starting point for discussions to ensure alignment among stakeholders and the team.

Practical Examples of Monopoly Money in Agile

1. E-Commerce Platform

• Scenario: An Agile team is building an e-commerce app and needs to prioritize features for the initial release.
• Features:
  1. Secure checkout process.
  2. Product reviews and ratings.
  3. Wishlist functionality.
  4. Personalized product recommendations.
• Monopoly Money Exercise:
  • Stakeholders are each given $100.
  • After allocation, the totals are:
    • Secure checkout: $300
    • Product reviews: $200
    • Wishlist: $150
    • Recommendations: $50
• Outcome:
  • The team prioritizes the secure checkout and product reviews for the MVP, saving wishlist and recommendations for future sprints.

2. Mobile Fitness App

• Scenario: A startup is creating a fitness app and wants to prioritize features for their beta version.
• Features:
  1. Step counter.
  2. Workout planner.
  3. Nutrition tracking.
  4. Social sharing.
• Monopoly Money Exercise:
  • Stakeholders allocate their budgets:
    • Step counter: $250
    • Workout planner: $200
    • Nutrition tracking: $300
    • Social sharing: $100
• Outcome:
  • The team focuses on nutrition tracking and step counter first, addressing other features later.

3. Customer Service Portal

• Scenario: A company is developing a customer service portal and needs to prioritize functionalities.
• Features:
  1. Chat support.
  2. Knowledge base.
  3. Ticket tracking.
  4. Multi-language support.
• Monopoly Money Exercise:
  • Stakeholders spend their budgets:
    • Chat support: $400
    • Knowledge base: $250
    • Ticket tracking: $200
    • Multi-language: $50
• Outcome:
  • The team focuses on implementing chat support and the knowledge base first, as they are seen as most critical to user satisfaction.

Benefits of Using Monopoly Money in Agile

1. Engaging Stakeholders:
   • Makes the prioritization process fun and interactive, encouraging active participation.
2. Simplifies Complex Decisions:
   • Simulates financial constraints to force stakeholders to focus on high-value features.
3. Promotes Alignment:
   • Ensures that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of priorities.
4. Facilitates Trade-Offs:
   • Encourages stakeholders to weigh the relative importance of features.

Challenges and How to Address Them

1. Uneven Participation:
   • Some stakeholders may dominate the process.
   • Solution: Facilitate discussions to ensure all voices are heard.
2. Short-Term Focus:
   • Participants might prioritize immediate needs over long-term value.
   • Solution: Encourage participants to consider both short-term and long-term goals when allocating budgets.
3. Lack of Real Data:
   • Stakeholders may make subjective decisions without concrete data.
   • Solution: Provide context, such as user feedback or analytics, to guide decisions.

How Monopoly Money Aligns with Agile Principles

1. Customer Collaboration:
   • Involves stakeholders in defining priorities, ensuring customer needs are central.
2. Focus on Value:
   • Helps teams identify and deliver the highest-value features first.
3. Adaptive Planning:
   • Enables iterative decision-making as priorities shift or new insights emerge.

Tools for Monopoly Money in Agile

• Miro or Mural:
  • Digital whiteboards where teams can simulate budgets and allocations visually.
• Excel or Google Sheets:
  • Simple spreadsheets to track and calculate allocations.
• Physical Play Money:
  • For in-person workshops, actual Monopoly money or tokens can make the activity more engaging.

Final Thoughts

The Monopoly Money technique is a powerful yet simple tool for Agile teams to prioritize features based on stakeholder input and perceived value. By simulating a constrained budget, it encourages meaningful discussions about what truly matters, ensuring teams focus their efforts on delivering the most impactful features. Whether building an app, launching a product, or managing a project, this method can help align priorities, foster collaboration, and drive better results.