The Politics of Prioritization: Making Everyone Unhappy in the Right Order

Greetings, weary architects!

This week’s tale from the trenches is about everyone’s favorite gladiator arena: the Prioritization Meeting — where logic is optional, and everyone brings a sword (usually made of PowerPoint).

The Main Story: Queue Me If You Can

The meeting starts innocently enough. The Program Manager sets the agenda. The Business Lead says, “We just need to agree on the top three priorities.” You’ve heard this before — it’s code for, “Prepare to witness a battle of egos dressed as strategy.”

• Marketing wants their campaign analytics NOW because “Q2 is our moment.”

• Finance insists on automating spend approvals because “controls are sexy.”

• Meanwhile, Infrastructure quietly reminds everyone that the servers are aging like discount sushi.

You, the Architect, bravely suggest aligning these asks with business capabilities and strategic goals. Everyone nods, then immediately resumes lobbying like it’s EA’s version of Congress. By the end, five priorities are labeled “highest urgency,” three stakeholders are visibly crying, and somehow… the PowerPoint deck is 93 slides long.

TOGAF to the Rescue (with a Raised Eyebrow)

TOGAF doesn’t promise peace, but it does offer armor:

• Capability-Based Planning: Reminds everyone that technology serves capabilities, not pet projects.

• Architecture Contracts: Politely tells stakeholders, “This change isn’t happening until you commit to the architectural runway.”

• Portfolio Cataloging: Shines a flashlight on the chaos with actual traceability and impact analysis.

Sure, it won’t stop Darren from Marketing yelling “but it’s strategic!” — but it does give you a diagram to hit him with (gently, and metaphorically).

Educational Twist: Prioritization Without Tears

• Map initiatives to capabilities first, then score based on impact and readiness.

• Use Architecture Boards for governance — and bring snacks; bribery works.

• Set pre-approved evaluation criteria, so no one can claim “surprise unfairness” later.

Humor in Diagrams

Share and Connect

What’s the wildest thing someone tried to prioritize in your org?

Share your story — anonymous confessions welcome!

Next Week’s Tease

TOGAF vs Reality: When theory meets messy execution

Can even the best frameworks survive unstructured stakeholder ambition? We’ll find out.