Revision as of 13:02, 18 February 2022

This article is about the project management decision tool, which is the Eisenhower Decision Matrix.

Abstract

Figure 1: The Eisenhower Decision Matrix, ^[1]

Whenever a project is to be started or ongoing, it is important to prioritize your projects. A reason to prioritize is to make sure that your resources, which is limited, is used in the best possible way. The Eisenhower Decision matrix is a good tool for prioritizing tasks in a project. The tool always asks two central and important questions: If a task is urgent and if a task is important? An everyday problem that so many project owners and managers are having difficult times in prioritizing. The Eisenhower Decision Matrix helps group tasks and deadlines, which makes sure that time is not used on tasks or deadlines which is not important. By using the two questions. The Eisenhower decision Matrix is a good help for project managers as they easily can get an overview of what decisions to make regarding tasks and deadlines. This article will be describing how to use the Eisenhower Decision Matrix and be a guide for the project manager who wants to be efficient.

Firstly, this article will provide the state-of-the-art history of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Next the article provides information on why it is relevant in project management. Next the tool is presented with its features and how it is used. Afterwards, a thorough discussion of the limitations of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix is presented. Lastly, some additional reading materials on the tool will be presented.

History of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix

1. President Eisenhower ^[2]
2. The understanding of important and urgent

Dwight D. Eisenhower the 34th president of the United States of America has given name to the tool the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the military before becoming president of the United States of America where he was recognized for his ability to run effective organizations. One reason for Dwight D. Eisenhower to run effective organizations was it he understood that time management not only needs to be efficient but it also needs to be effective. Therefore he meant that in order to be successful in time management one has to do tasks that are both urgent and important. So the Eisenhower decision matrix was born. ^[2]

Dwight D. Eisenhower quoted in a speech in 1954 Dr. J. Roscoe Miller, president of Northwestern University, the quote was: "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." That quote was what Dwight D. Eisenhower used to prioritize his tasks and later became the Eisenhower Decision Matrix.^[3] The Eisenhower decision matrix was then popularized by Stephen Covey in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989. In this book, Stephen Covey describes Dwight D. Eisenhower's principle as a personal management tool and creates the decision matrix.

Relation to Project management

- Prioritizing tasks and deadlines

- Are they necessary to do?

In projects, there will always be a lot of tasks that need to be done in order to finish the project and achieve the project goals. These tasks are not all equally important and in different time periods of a project, they will be more or less urgent. In order to create good results, so that the project is both a project success and a project management success, it is important to prioritize the tasks in the project. The Eisenhower Decision Matrix is a good tool for prioritizing the tasks in the projects. In the PRINCE2 standard, it is seen that one of the important competencies for a project manager is to have the ability to have good time management. This also relates to the fact that in PRINCE2 one of the 7 themes is to plan. In the theme for plan it is stated that

Features of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix

1. Difference in importance and urgent
2. The four boxes in the Eisenhower Decision Matrix
3. How to make the Eisenhower Decision Matrix

Limitations of the eisenhower Decision Matrix

1. Being biased
2. Too simple a model, needs to include more.^[4]

Additional Readings

References

1. ↑ Visual Paradigm - Diagrams Online. Eisenhower Matrix Template, Link: https://online.visual-paradigm.com/es/diagrams/templates/eisenhower-matrix/eisenhower-matrix-template/
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The Decision Lab, Link: https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/management/the-eisenhower-matrix/#section-2
3. ↑ MindTools, Link: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm
4. ↑ Bratterud, H.; Burgess, M.; Terese Fasy, B; Millman, D. L. . The Sung Diagram: Revitalizing the Eisenhower Matrix, “Lecture Notes in Computer Science”