Ask HN: How to prioritize on hundreds of issues?
I'm struggling with prioritization, and would like to know how people are tacking in, as I think it is a very common problem. Article and book recommendations are welcome (already read Time Management for Sysadmins).
I work on IT at a SMB company, and our issue control software has ~300 open issues. Issues are related to problems/adaptations on our ERP, developing/fixing problems on dozens of small systems we developed, help desk, systems administration, etc.
We already classify issues by priority:
Urgent/Important (currently ~5% issues) Normal (currently ~20% issues) Low (currently ~75% issues)
I currently split time as this:
- Morning - projects (bigger transitions like ERP upgrading, internal software development, studying and making internal processes better for other departments, etc). - After lunch - high priority issues. - Two hours after - low priority issues. - One hour before leaving - sysadmin stuff (maintenance).
This method works nicely, but... the problem arises when my brain must decide what is the next issue to tackle, when the time comes for low priority issues. Deciding what will be worked, and select on 200+ items with the same priority is very difficult, and I feel that I waste a lot of time deciding the next step versus acting.
Deciding on higher priority issues is easier.
Anyone can relate? Is there any tip, mental model changing that can help?
Thanks!