The Five Elements of a Plan of Record (PoR) Prioritization Process
A structured approach for SaaS R&D teams to align work, capacity and business outcomes
We had all the right frameworks — trust-based culture, customer-centric product thinking, strong team structures, and motivational clarity — but something was missing: a way to actually prioritize. That’s where the PoR comes in.
A PoR Prioritization Process has five core elements:
Setting and cascading the goals
Capturing all the work in a format that makes it visible (“No Hidden Work”)
Understanding the capacity to do the work (“No Heroism”)
Prioritizing the work (“Persistent but not Permanent PoR”)
Communicating (and re-communicating) using the “language of prioritization”
Each of these elements is essential. Without all five working together, you’re unlikely to have a plan you can trust — and even less likely to deliver what you’ve committed.
Up Next: I’ll walk through each of the five elements in detail. I’ll show how they work together to support clarity, autonomy, trust, and results — and how they can help your R&D organization become a driver of business value, not just a delivery function.