Lesson 5: Score by comparison

Fair scoring starts with a shared comparison. Work through one business value column at a time, using the same lens for every request. For that lens, identify at least one request with the least relative value and give it a one. That request becomes the anchor. More than one request can receive a one. A tie is valid when the group sees the same relative value through the current lens. Compare the remaining requests with the anchor using the modified Fibonacci scale: one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty, or fifty. Choose your vote before seeing anyone else’s. Prepare it in Webex chat, but wait for the facilitator’s signal before submitting. When the signal comes, everyone submits together. Revealing the votes at the same time helps prevent early answers from influencing the group. Different votes are a starting point for discussion. Explain the evidence behind your comparison, listen to other perspectives, and agree on the score. Record the agreed scores for the column, then repeat the process for the next lens. Once all four value columns are complete, technologists compare implementation effort.

Visual description: A four-column scoring sheet highlights one entire column across three requests. The other lenses remain muted. Three request sheets are compared; one receives a large green 1 and the label Anchor. Two request sheets receive equal 1 markers connected by an equals sign. An anchor request connects to the complete modified Fibonacci scale, displayed as eight large score tokens. Three independent participants hold prepared votes. A draft chat message remains unsent beneath a clear Wait for the signal label. A facilitator signal triggers three illustrative chat votes to appear simultaneously, never in a staggered order. Illustrative votes 3, 5, and 8 connect to a shared discussion around evidence and reasoning, then a check mark signals agreement without implying an average. One completed column is checked before the next lens is highlighted. A compact Anchor, Compare, Reveal, Discuss, Agree sequence remains visible.