What is the 'Weighted Shortest Job First' concept?
Weighted Shortest Job First is a key concept used to prioritize work within SAFe. Interviewers ask this question to ensure candidates understand how the lean principle of reducing delay is applied to backlog management.
Remember to include why the Weighted Shortest Job First concept is used in addition to offering the formula. Interviewers appreciate candidates that understand the business impact of applying a workflow concept in addition to the mechanics involved.
"Weighted Shortest Job First, or WSJF, is a concept used to prioritize jobs in SAFe. It is calculated by dividing the cost of not doing a job for a specified period of time by the time the job will take to complete. In other words, the cost of delay is divided by the duration.
When teams are faced with several jobs that have similar priorities, they use the WSJF to determine which job to take on first to maximize the business value of the resulting product by minimizing delay. Additionally, using WSFJ has been beneficial within projects I have worked on because it quantitatively demonstrates the tangible value and reduces political conflicts among business owners."
