How can you prioritize the most valuable features for system development?

Indeed, the majority of Digital Transformation initiatives fail or do not achieve all their goals not due to a lack of competence in software development but because, too often, IT and business professionals are not able to work together. Agile methodologies may help in bridging this gap from the initial phase of "Product Discovery". The change in the approach lays in treating this phase as a dedicated project managed fully according to Agile principles and whose deliverables is a document or a set of documents describing the entire project objectives and requirements.

IMHO first and foremost you need understand why a system exists and what impact it currently has on business. To do that you actually need to understand the business first and I am not talking about a "business use case", I am talking about the business as a whole, as a system. The better you understand the business, the better you'll understand the problem space which will lead to higher chance of getting the solution less wrong :)

A huge potential is also given by the Low-Code and No-Code technologies for software development, especially when used by IT professionals that can very quickly prototype new solutions or features to be tested by Business Professionals. The creation of Fusion Teams where business and IT professionals works side by side following Agile principles and using these modern technologies is the key to maximize the value for the entire organization. It creates the condition to foresee common working session where a new feature is shown by the developer, tested and commented by the business process owner, and immediately after re-factored (in the same working session or in few hours maximum) to be tested again.

Prioritizing valuable features necessitates understanding user needs through surveys, focus groups, and prototypes. Engaging domain experts remains crucial for accurate insights. I have come to appreciate that without input from individuals who have firsthand experience with the challenges the software aims to address, solely relying on technical expertise can lead to misguided priorities. In one of my projects for the education sector, I found the application of KANO modelling particularly insightful in comprehending the nuanced needs and priorities of end users. Despite my own familiarity as a former student, I recognized that institutes have evolved and requirements need continually reassessing with the target user base.

Features' impact evaluation is one of the most important aspects in software development. This phase requires the developer to deeply study and understand the business requirements and proposing the minimum possible list of features to be implemented. That's the key to arrive quickly to the development of a prototype that, if required, is later enriched after its use by the business user. Complexity is the enemy of software. Keep it simple, keep it maintainable, and keep it valuable.

Low-Code & No-Code technologies, as well as Artificial intelligence solutions, are giving a huge "power" to build very quickly Minimum Viable solutions (MVPs) to be tested by the business users, minimizing the effort required to develop these prototypes and the eventual re-works to be done later.

The second principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development defines clearly the mindset that every developer or user involved in a Software development initiative must have: "Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage". While it may not be easy to be accepted, that's the only method to build valuable solutions for all stakeholders. The creation of an environment that allows project team to have the freedom to provide and receive honest feedback coming from their real daily working experience continuously and, if needed, correct the direction is the goal for every business leader who wants to create value in his organization.