The Eisenhower urgent/important matrix

Prioritization of actions and obligations is an inseperable part of effective project management. Defining a prioritization framework supports building an impactful project roadmap. Moreover, prioritizing projects' requirements is needed to provide a clarified direction in order to maximize the value of the project deliverable. The Eisenhower matrix, also known under the name of Eisenhower Decision Matrix, Eisenhower Box, or Urgent-Important Matrix is one of task and actions' prioritization methods designed to enhance productivity and time-management efficiency. The tool’s concept was developed by a former president of the United States Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower based the idea on categorizing certain items by taking into account their urgency and importance.

This article looks further into the Eisenhower Matrix as a Project, Program and Portfolio management method from the perspective of people and their self-management performance. Following chapters discuss historical background of the matrix, next moving to the characterization of the template itself split into 4 specific quadrants. Subsequently, application of the tool both in daily life and in project management cases is presented, followed by examples. Limitations of the matrix are critically discussed, and finally, the article also examines possible effects of merging the Eisenhower Matrix with other used prioritization methods, resulting in enhanced deliverables. Lastly, drawbacks and limitations of the Eisenhower box are examined, considering the fact of the method’s simplicity.

Brief Historical background

Dwight Eisenhower

Figure 1:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

A person behind a concept of the urgent/important matrix is Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower. He was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. As a president of the United States he led the construction of the Interstate Highway System, created NASA, signed into law the first major piece of civil rights legislation since the end of the Civil War, obtained truce in Korea, welcomed Alaska and Hawaii into the union, and many more accomplishments. His thorough understanding of the difference between the urgent and important enabled him to succeed. In a 1954 speech, Eisenhower quoted Dr J. Roscoe Miller, president of Northwestern University, who said:

“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” 
      - Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech to the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches

The quoted “Eisenhower principle” is thought to be the way he managed to organize his priorities and workload.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey popularized Eisenhower’s framework of urgent vs. important in 1989 in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He was a multitalented personality who was recognized for his work as a successful businessman, educator and an influential public speaker. Covey's inspirational book is considered to be the psychology handbook of the '90s, the first most influential business book of the twentieth century and one of the top-ten most influential management books ever. Covey believed that the essence of the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities. As a result of Covey’s work, the Eisenhower Matrix has become a widely used time-management and decision-making framework in business.

“Effective management is putting first things first. While leadership decides what “first things” are, it is management that puts them first, day-by-day, moment-by-moment. Management is discipline, carrying it out.” 
      - Stephen R. Covey, 1989, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change 

Framework

Figure 2: The urgent/important matrix

The Eisenhower matrix is a graphical diagram used in strategy and planning. Stephen R. Covey claims that people spend time in one of four ways. Hence, the diagram contains four quadrants: important/urgent, important/non-urgent, nonimportant/urgent, and non-important/non-urgent. In order to further explore 4 quadrants of the time management matrix, definitions of urgent and important should be studied.

Urgent equals requiring prompt attention. Urgent matters insist on action, pressing on the practitioner. They are usually perfectly visible and cause reaction. Often, task order is based on the urgency.

Important means “of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success” [9]. How one defines importance, therefore, potentially affects success. Tasks can be important for various reasons: societal, individual, organizational, etc. Importance is about the impact of accomplishing the task; bringing intrinsic benefit to someone or some group.

Merging with other prioritization methods

AHP method

Figure 2: 4x4Eisenhower Matrix&PPQ Scale diagram,

Two decades after the Eisenhower’s matrix, between 1971 and 1975, Thomas L. Saaty developed the Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP. AHP is a theory and methodology for relative measurement, used to derive ratio scales from both discrete and continuous paired comparisons. It can cover the most basic to the most complex problems presented as a hierarchy with the same structure. No matter what the studied issue is, it should be examined in comparison to other similar entities in such a way that the outcome is less influenced by personal judgement and as objective as possible. Therefore, the AHP focuses on defining priorities, based on the proportions between entities and not their exact measurements. The comparison must be evaluated with a scale of numbers that indicates how many times more important and dominant one element is over another with respect to the criteria or property to which they are compared.

The common point of Eisenhower method and AHP method is that they are both classified as Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), also known as the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), concerned with structuring and solving decision and planning, as well as evaluating multiple conflicting criteria in decision-making. Nevertheless, the Eisenhower matrix is doubtlessly less objective comparing to the Analytic Hierarchy Process with its objective approach. Merging of these 2 methods is based on calculating Priority Quotients (PQs) of analyzed elements, that are next affected into corresponding quadrants of the matrix.

A Priority Quotient (PQ) is calculated for each element by using the following formula:

$PQ = Ease factor * Urgency factor * Importance factor * Consequence factor$

Then, accordingly to the result of PQs, each element is assigned to the specific quadrant of the matrix in a descending sort. If the matrix does not fulfill the need of the practitioner, a more precise analysis should be conducted. A Partial Priority Quotient (PPQ) may be calculated regarding the needs of the practitioner, for instance using the urgency and importance factor and any other relevant criteria index. Furthermore, the Eisenhower matrix can be split into more precise sub¨matrixes divided into sub-quadrants that ease allocating the analyzed elements.

Figure 3: AHP&Eisenhower matrix merging steps (own figure, based on )