The IT Priority Matrix: What You Need to Know About It 27 September, 2021   

IT is a catchall term that means information technology. It’s a very broad term, as a lot can go into it. You might have several individuals working in the IT profession, but they may spend their days doing very different things.

In IT, there is a concept called the Priority Matrix. We’ll talk about it a little bit in the following article so you can understand some of the basics behind it.

If you are going to get into the IT field, you should know this term. However, even if you’re not doing anything specifically IT-related, it’s not a bad idea to know about this program.

What Precisely is the IT Priority Matrix?

Priority Matrix is a very powerful time management software application. Several common platforms support it, including iOS, Android, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.

If you look at something called the Eisenhower Method, you will start to see why you need to use an IT Priority Matrix and why it can potentially hurt your business’s efficiency if you don’t. This method states that you need to arrange the tasks on which you are working according to their urgency and importance. You set them on a 2x2 matrix because it’s convenient to keep track of them that way.

Let us say you have two tasks you need to do. Those might be tasks out in the physical world, or they may be computer-related ones. Once you have set up this matrix, you can see which of these tasks you need to accomplish the fastest and which ones you can put on the back burner until you can get to them.

This is a Concept Most Web Devs Understand

The web dev often holds a rather odd position within a company. The company head might hire the web developer to do certain things for their business, but the web dev might have an idea for what they should do first, while the business’s owner might feel differently about it.

Setting up the IT Priority Matrix is a way for web developers and others who work with computers to demonstrate to their bosses or coworkers why they’re doing things in the order they’ve chosen. In other words, once you have an IT Priority Matrix in place, it shows in a very simple, easy-to-understand way what tasks need to happen in what order and why.

This Concept Goes Beyond Computer Projects

If you have a web dev who a company hires, they might need them to do things like create a new business website, refine the current one by adding or subtracting pages, or many other tasks. That’s why it makes sense to set up an IT Priority Matrix for computer-related tasks.

However, you can use one for all kinds of other things as well. This sort of matrix functions according to a simple rule set that states that more important things need to happen sooner, while less vital ones can wait.

Let’s say you’re an entrepreneur with a startup idea, and you know you have dozens of tasks you need to perform if you’re going to get it off the ground. You might have someone who’s computer-savvy set up an IT Priority Matrix for you.

That matrix will not only feature all of the tasks you have to accomplish, like getting funding from a bank or credit union, creating a website, hiring individuals to fill certain positions, and so forth. It will also determine, according to simple logic, the order in which you have to do those things.

Because of this ability, it’s useful to have an IT Priority Matrix whether you’re starting a company or whether you have established one some time ago, but now you need to take steps so you can expand or do something else that will help you further establish the business. You can start out by setting up an IT Priority Matrix, or you can have someone with the necessary skills do it for you.

Does It Cost Anything?

Since the IT Priority Matrix is a computer program, you might wonder what it costs. Generally, it doesn’t cost anything. It’s a full-featured project management software that you can find for free online and download so that your company can use it.

If you’re using programs like Microsoft Teams or Outlook, it can be very useful to get it and integrate it. It’s open-source, so you can tinker around with the program and refine it as you see fit.

You might set it up and use it to answer emails according to their urgency. You could also see what tasks or projects are coming up within a given day, week, or month and then start on them in the order the matrix has determined.

What About Safety?

Some people also worry about safety if they start using this tool for personal or business purposes. Some tools, especially open-source ones you get online, can be buggy and hurt your operations.

That’s almost impossible with an IT Priority Matrix. It has what most people would call bank-grade security measures. That means if you input cloud data and start to figure out task priority that way, any input you choose to share with your other workers will appear as encrypted to someone who might try to snatch it.

This way, you can be sure your data and proprietary secrets are safe and sound. Once they get to the destination, the recipient can understand them, but no one can intercept them and use them against you along the way.

Once you set up an IT Priority Matrix and start experimenting with it, you should master it pretty quickly, even if you’re no computer genius. Based on designations like P1 or P2, you will know that you have to take care of one task within 4 hours and the next within 24 hours.

Many businesses use this tool, and it would behoove you if your company was one of them.