prioritize

Priority System

Purpose: Know what to do and in what order. When to trigger: After identification, when planning, or when facing multiple options.

Prioritization Framework

Step 1: Categorize by Impact

Critical - Immediate attention required

• Blocks users completely
• Causes data loss or corruption
• Security vulnerability
• Prevents revenue

High - Important, do soon

• Major UX degradation
• Key feature broken
• Significant performance issue
• Blocks other work

Medium - Should do

• Quality of life improvements
• Tech debt with growing cost
• Minor feature gaps
• Developer experience issues

Low - Nice to have

• Polish and refinement
• Minor optimizations
• Cosmetic improvements
• Future-proofing

Step 2: Assess Effort

Step 3: Apply Priority Matrix

Step 4: Check Dependencies

Before finalizing order:

1. What must happen before this task?
2. What does completing this unblock?
3. Are there resource constraints?
4. What's the cost of delay?

Reorder based on dependencies - a Medium task that unblocks 3 High tasks moves up.

Step 5: Sequence for Flow

Group related work together:

• Fix all issues in one file before moving to the next
• Complete a feature end-to-end before starting another
• Address blocking issues before blocked ones

Output Requirements

Update SOURCE_OF_TRUTH.md with prioritized list:

## Current Priority Stack

### DO NOW (This Session)
1. [ ] [Critical/Quick] Fix auth crash on login - blocks all users
2. [ ] [Critical/Small] Patch XSS in comments - security issue

### NEXT (Soon)
3. [ ] [High/Small] Add error boundary to dashboard
4. [ ] [High/Medium] Implement retry logic for API calls

### QUEUE (This Week)
5. [ ] [Medium/Small] Refactor keyword fetching
6. [ ] [Medium/Medium] Add loading skeletons

### BACKLOG (Future)
7. [ ] [Low/Large] Rewrite onboarding flow
8. [ ] [Low/Medium] Add dark mode

Also create focused todo list using TodoWrite for the current session.

Rules

1. Impact over effort - A critical issue is always more important than easy wins
2. Dependencies first - Unblock before building
3. Be ruthless - Not everything needs to be done now
4. Revisit regularly - Priorities change as context changes
5. Limit WIP - Maximum 2-3 items in "DO NOW" at once

Decision Helpers

When two items seem equal:

• Which affects more users?
• Which has been waiting longer?
• Which aligns with current goal?
• Which reduces future work?

When everything feels critical:

• Step back and reassess with fresh eyes
• Ask: "What's the ONE thing that matters most right now?"
• Consider: What would a user notice first?

Transition

After prioritization:

• Top priorities clear → Proceed to Execution System
• Blocked by unknowns → Return to Clarity System
• Need to understand issues better → Return to Identity System

This is System 3 of 5: Clarity → Identity → Priority → Execution → Reset