# The MoSCoW method: Must, Should, Could explained

> The MoSCoW method sorts work into Must, Should, Could and Won’t. Learn what each means, how much to put in Must and how software teams use it.

MoSCoW sorts work into Must, Should, Could and Won’t. It is a quick way to agree what matters most, and what the team will not do this time.

Web page: https://kansohq.app/guides/moscow-prioritization

Updated: 5 October 2026

## What MoSCoW means

MoSCoW is a prioritization method. The capital letters in the name stand for four groups; the lower-case o’s are only there to make it pronounceable.

| Group | What it means | A test for it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Must have | Without it the release fails or cannot ship | Would we cancel the release if this were missing? |
| Should have | Important, but the release works without it | Would we be unhappy, but still ship? |
| Could have | Nice to have; the first to go if time runs short | Would anyone notice if it slipped? |
| Won’t have this time | Agreed to be out of scope, for now | Have we said so in writing? |

## How much should be a Must?

The method’s authors suggest keeping Must items to about 60 percent of the planned effort, with Should and Could making up the rest. The spare room is the point: if a Must goes wrong, the team has Should and Could items it can drop. A release made only of Musts has no room for surprises.

## How to run a MoSCoW session

1. Put every candidate item on a card, with a one-line description.
2. Start with the Won’ts. It is easier to agree what is out than what is in.
3. Go through the rest and place each in Must, Should or Could. Argue for the Musts, because every Must has a cost.
4. Count the effort in each group and check the Musts against the 60 percent guide.
5. Write down the Won’ts where everyone can see them, so they are not reopened every week.

## Common mistakes

- Calling everything a Must because everything feels important.
- Prioritizing the item’s size instead of its value. A big Could is still a Could.
- Skipping the Won’ts, then arguing about them in the middle of the work.
- Setting priorities once and never revisiting them as the date approaches.

## A worked example

A team has six weeks to ship a new onboarding flow, with about 40 days of work available. These are the candidates:

| Item | Effort | Group | Why |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Account creation and email check | 8 days | Must | Nobody can start without it |
| Guided first project | 10 days | Must | It is the point of the release |
| Invite teammates step | 5 days | Should | Valuable, but people can invite later from settings |
| Import from a spreadsheet | 8 days | Could | Helpful for some, needed by few at the start |
| Animated welcome | 4 days | Could | Pleasant, and the first to drop |
| Multi-language onboarding | 12 days | Won’t this time | Agreed for the next release |

The Musts total 18 days, which is under 60 percent of 40. With the Shoulds and Coulds, the plan comes to 35 days and leaves five spare. If something goes wrong, the Coulds are the first to go, then the Should. The Won’t is written down, so it is not reopened every week.

## MoSCoW and other ways to rank

| Method | Best for | Watch for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MoSCoW | Agreeing what is in a release with a fixed date | Everything drifting into Must |
| Value against effort | Ranking a long list of ideas | Guessing value and effort too confidently |
| RICE scoring | Comparing many items with numbers | False precision from invented numbers |
| Simple order | A small team with a short list | Nothing says what is out |

Use the lightest method that gets agreement. MoSCoW is popular for software releases because it ends with a clear cut line.

## MoSCoW in Kanso

Every card on a [Kanso board](https://kansohq.app/product/boards.md) has a priority of Must, Should or Could that you can read from across the room, so the order of work is never a guess. Group or filter the board by priority to see what is left of each group, and give each release its own [release page](https://kansohq.app/product/releases.md) to see what the date depends on.

## Questions

### What does MoSCoW stand for?

Must have, Should have, Could have and Won’t have this time. The lower-case o’s are only there to make the word pronounceable.

### How much of a release should be Must have?

The method’s guideline is about 60 percent of the planned effort. The rest, Should and Could, gives the team room to drop work if something goes wrong.

### What is the difference between Should and Could?

A Should is important and its absence would hurt, but the release still works. A Could is nice to have and is the first thing dropped when time runs short.

### Is MoSCoW only for projects with a fixed deadline?

It fits best when there is a date or a limited budget, because the groups say what to cut. It also works as a simple way to order a backlog.

## Keep reading

- [What is a kanban board? A guide for software teams](https://kansohq.app/guides/what-is-a-kanban-board.md): A kanban board shows work as cards moving through columns. Learn how it works, how it differs from scrum and how software teams use it well.
- [How to plan a software release, step by step](https://kansohq.app/guides/how-to-plan-a-software-release.md): Plan a software release in seven steps: fix the date, freeze the scope, split the work by team, track blockers and decide go or no-go. With a checklist.
- [Definition of done vs acceptance criteria](https://kansohq.app/guides/definition-of-done.md): A definition of done is a team-wide checklist every task must meet. Learn how it differs from acceptance criteria, with an example list to adapt.
- [Software launch checklist template to copy | Kanso](https://kansohq.app/templates/launch-checklist.md): A software launch checklist template covering product, quality and go-to-market, launch day and after launch. Copy it, or start it in Kanso.
- [Sprint planning template: goal, work and risks | Kanso](https://kansohq.app/templates/sprint-plan.md): A sprint planning template with the sprint goal, committed work, stretch, risks and what is out of scope. Copy it, or start it in Kanso.

## Parts of Kanso used

- [Kanso Boards](https://kansohq.app/product/boards.md): A board for each piece of work. Cards carry a priority, an owner, a due date and the criteria that say when they are done.
- [Kanso Releases](https://kansohq.app/product/releases.md): A release page gathers the work behind one date into sections, with an owner, a due date and a status on every line.

[Kanso home, with plans and prices](https://kansohq.app/index.md)