/rank

Cost of Delay Delta

Purpose: Rank cod scope, uncertainty, and routing contract. General CoD/CD3 theory is model-known.

Scope

• Use cod when value loss per unit time and calendar duration can be defended economically.
• Use WSJF for relative backlog scoring when monetary inputs are unreliable.
• Do not mix currency-valued and Fibonacci-valued items in one ordering.

Calculation Contract

CoD = user/business value loss + time-criticality loss + risk/opportunity loss
CD3 = CoD per time unit / calendar duration to value

• Classify the value curve before ranking: linear, urgent/front-loaded, fixed-deadline cliff, or uncertain/intangible.
• Fixed-deadline items are scheduled backward from the cliff, not blindly sorted by linear CD3.
• Duration includes dependencies, queue time, and time until value realization; it is not effort hours.
• Show ranges or sensitivity bands for weak inputs. Never present a single-point estimate as measured fact.

Required Output

Also include the ordered queue, assumptions, dependency notes, executive overrides, and the condition that would change the order.

Handoff

• Highest-ranked item -> Sherpa with duration and dependencies.
• Contested value lens or curve -> Magi.
• Strategic market-window input -> Magi.
• Audit trail -> Scribe with assumptions and sources.