WSJF Made Simple

What is WSJF?

WSJF stands for Weighted Shortest Job First. It helps you decide what to do first based on the highest value delivered in the shortest time.

How It Works

The WSJF formula is:

WSJF = Cost of Delay ÷ Job Size

Items with higher scores get higher priority.

What's in Cost of Delay?

• User-Business Value: How much value it brings to users or the business.
• Time Criticality: How urgent it is (e.g. deadlines, market windows).
• Risk Reduction / Opportunity Enablement: Helps reduce risk or unlock new value.

And Job Size?

This is the estimated effort required. Smaller jobs often score better if their value is high.

Quick Example

Say a task scores:

• User-Business Value: 8
• Time Criticality: 6
• RR/OE: 4
• Job Size: 3

Then: WSJF = (8 + 6 + 4) ÷ 3 = 6.0