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CDR Self-Study Requirement

CDR Guidance

Effective January 1, 2020, the Competency Assurance Panel (CAP) of the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) has implemented a new self-study requirement. CDR shared the following rationale and process/procedure:

CDR recognized that although professionals may learn new information from a variety of resources including those originally designed for a lay audience, they must employ critical thinking skills in order to evaluate and apply new learning to enhance their practice competency.

As an additional quality measure, CDR has designed a  critical thinking tool template to assist practitioners in reflecting on their new learning and its application to their practice competency while completing self-study products. CDR is requiring that all self-study providers include this tool as a mandatory component of their self-study products. CPE providers may personalize this template tool to include the provider name and the self-study product title; however the entire content of the tool which includes the background information and all of the questions must remain. This critical thinking tool is intended to be an additional evaluation and reflective component of a self-study and should not be viewed as a substitute for any evaluation forms that are currently used by you as product improvement tools.

CDR is requiring that the self-assessment and critical thinking tool be submitted to the provider in order to retain a certificate of completion from the self-study provider. CDR credentialed practitioners must also retain one copy of the completed tool for each self-study product completed for their records to be submitted to CDR if audited. The original is to be submitted to the self-study provider in order to receive the provider issued certificate of completion.

NOTE:  This does not impact self-study, recorded webinars that were originally presented "live."

What you need to do for new self-study newsletter quizzes that are published after January 1, 2020:

• You must complete answer the questions as presented and tied to the self-study activity, which includes the Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool questions.  (When you link to submit information, you will go to the correct form).
• All questions require answers.  Failure to answer the questions means you will NOT receive CPEU documentation.
• You need to archive your responses to these questions for each self-study submission. **Do that before you submit your responses.  You will not be able to download your responses after you submit.

If you have questions regarding this new requirement, please  email CDR  or call (800-877-1600, extension 5500).

If you have questions about the HA DPG process,   email us .

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Continuing Professional Education Questions

Do i have to complete the test prior to the program’s expiration date.

Yes. The Commission on Dietetic Registration only allows 3 years for a program to be approved. Once it expires, the credit hours are no longer available.

Do I have to submit the hours to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) before the expiration date of the course, or do I just need to pass the test and get my certificate before the course’s expiration date – and submit the course to the CDR portfolio at a later date?

According to the CDR, you would not need to submit the hours to CDR before the expiration date but you would need to complete the course prior to the program’s expiration date.

Who can claim credit hours for your CPE programs?

Our programs are approved for CPE by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy). For details on which professionals can claim credit hours, please see Professional Approvals .

Why do I have to create an account to get my certificate?

Because we provide programs approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), CDR requires us to keep track of all continuing professional education (CPE) certificates for 7 years. The only way for us to easily track this information is for customers to create a BDA account. The benefit to you is that you can also go back into your account to access your certificates if you are ever audited by CDR.  Learn more about registration as a member here.  

How do I take the CPE test to earn my certificate?

Please refer to this page for in-depth instructions.

Is the information in these CPE courses evidence-based and credible?

Like many other companies that offer self-study CPE programs, Becky Dorner & Associates does use books that are required reading for some of our CPE courses. The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) currently allows use of such books for self-study programs, and they pre-approve all of our self-study courses before we can make them available to our customers.

We believe that it is important for participants to use their clinical judgement to evaluate the information in books and publications so they can confidently field questions from their clients, other health care professionals, and the media. Our vetting process, which is completed by an registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who was trained as an evidence analyst for the Academy Evidence Analysis Library, is to evaluate the content of each book for accuracy, evidence-base, and the depth of the information provided. We consider whether a book can enhance or improve the current knowledge base and understanding of the subject matter of an RDN, and we reject many books that don’t meet our criteria. For clinically related courses, we use books that are recently published (usually within 1-2 years of when the course is developed). We may use an older book if there is no newer edition available, or if it is a topic that does not change drastically over time (i.e., business, management). Each book must provide accurate information, be well-referenced, and evidence-based. If appropriate, we state in the course introduction that the required reading for a course challenges conventional wisdom.

Do I need to have a CDR Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool (CTT) for this activity?

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) no longer requires self-study courses to include a Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool (CTT). If you took a self-study course prior to June 1, 2024, the CTT was required and is still available in your account.

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CDR Self-Study Requirement

Effective january 1, 2020, the competency assurance panel (cap) of the commission on dietetic registration (cdr) has implemented a new self-study requirement.  cdr shared the following rationale and process/procedure:.

CDR recognized that although professionals may learn new information from a variety of resources including those originally designed for a lay audience, they must employ critical thinking skills in order to evaluate and apply new learning to enhance their practice competency.

As an additional quality measure, CDR has designed a critical thinking tool template to assist practitioners in reflecting on their new learning and its application to their practice competency while completing self-study products. CDR is requiring that all self-study providers include this tool as a mandatory component of their self-study products. CPE providers may personalize this template tool to include the provider name and the self-study product title; however the entire content of the tool which includes the background information and all of the questions must remain. This critical thinking tool is intended to be an additional evaluation and reflective component of a self-study and should not be viewed as a substitute for any evaluation forms that are currently used by you as product improvement tools.

CDR is requiring that the self-assessment and critical thinking tool be submitted to the provider in order to retain a certificate of completion from the self-study provider. CDR credentialed practitioners must also retain one copy of the completed tool for each self-study product completed for their records to be submitted to CDR if audited. The original is to be submitted to the self-study provider in order to receive the provider issued certificate of completion.

NOTE:  This does not impact self-study, recorded webinars that were originally presented "live."

What you need to do for self-study activities that occurred prior to January 1, 2020:

There is no change to how or what you submit.

What you need to do for new self-study newsletter quizzes that are published after January 1, 2020:

• You must complete answer the questions as presented and tied to the self-study activity, which includes the Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool questions.  (When you link to submit information, you will go to the correct form).
• All questions require answers.  Failure to answer the questions means you will NOT receive CPEU documentation.
• You need to archive your responses to these questions for each self-study submission.

If you have questions regarding this new requirement, please  email CDR  or call (800-877-1600, extension 5500).

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Critical Thinking 911

CAN YOU PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CDR METHOD CAN BE USED IN A NON SCIENTIFIC FIELD?

The CDR (Context, Difficulty, and Relevance) method is a problem-solving technique that has been widely used in the scientific and engineering fields. However, it can also be applied to non-scientific fields, such as business, marketing, and education. In this article, we will explore how the CDR method can be used in a non-scientific field, specifically in marketing.

Marketing is a field that requires a deep understanding of the target audience, their needs, and preferences. In order to create effective marketing strategies, marketers need to conduct research and analysis to gather relevant information about the target audience. The CDR method can be a useful tool in this process.

Context: The first step in the CDR method is to define the context of the problem. In the case of marketing, the context could be the product or service that the company is trying to promote, the target audience, and the market competition. For example, let's say that a company is trying to promote a new line of organic skincare products targeted towards young adults.

Difficulty: The next step is to identify the difficulty of the problem. In marketing, the difficulty could be the lack of awareness of the product, the competition from other similar products, or the changing trends in the market. For example, in the case of the organic skincare products, the difficulty could be the lack of awareness among the target audience about the benefits of organic skincare products.

Relevance: The final step is to determine the relevance of the problem. In marketing, the relevance could be the impact of the problem on the target audience and the company's bottom line. For example, in the case of the organic skincare products, the relevance could be the potential revenue loss due to the lack of awareness among the target audience.

Now that we have defined the context, difficulty, and relevance of the problem, we can use the CDR method to come up with a solution. Here are some possible solutions that the company could use to promote their organic skincare products:

Context: The product is a new line of organic skincare products targeted towards young adults.

Difficulty: The target audience is not aware of the benefits of organic skincare products.

Relevance: The lack of awareness among the target audience could result in revenue loss for the company.

Social media marketing: The company could use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote their products. They could create engaging content such as tutorials, product reviews, and testimonials that highlight the benefits of organic skincare products. They could also collaborate with influencers and bloggers who have a large following among young adults to promote their products.

Content marketing: The company could create blog posts, articles, and e-books that educate the target audience about the benefits of organic skincare products. They could also create educational videos and webinars that provide in-depth information about the ingredients used in their products and how they benefit the skin.

Product sampling: The company could offer free samples of their products to the target audience. They could distribute the samples at events such as music festivals, trade shows, and health and wellness expos. This would allow the target audience to try the products and experience the benefits firsthand.

Referral programs: The company could create a referral program that incentivizes existing customers to refer their friends and family to the company's products. This would help to increase brand awareness and drive sales.

The CDR method can be a useful tool in non-scientific fields such as marketing. By defining the context, difficulty, and relevance of a problem, marketers can use the CDR method to come up with effective solutions that address the needs of their target audience and drive business growth.

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From Syntax to Strategy: Cultivating Critical Thinking With U-M’s AI Tools

U-M Engineering professor Kas Kasravi has been at the forefront of GenAI use for decades; and since moving his role in development at HP to teaching, he has also transferred the necessity of implementing AI. I had the opportunity to speak with him regarding his application of U-M’s AI tools in the classroom, and I left our meeting with a grasp on the use of these tools far broader than summarizing class projects. 

Originally, I sat down with Professor Kasravi to discuss his use of U-M GPT within the strict boundaries of his design prototyping classroom, more specifically, using the tool to help students raise the level of abstraction from syntax to logic. This use case, highlighted by U-M’s CIO, Ravi Pendse , showed how chatbots, like U-M GPT, have the ability to summarize. From a research paper paraphrased in a few bullet points for a “TL;DR” to Kasravi’s use of raising syntax to a logical overview, summarization is a major strength of chatbots. Yet, apart from summarization, it’s evident many teachers, and students alike, are worried that emphasizing the use of GenAI tools will halt independent thinking . But, once I started asking questions regarding this specific use, Professor Kasravi began a much more impactful conversation: how GenAI is actually emphasizing critical thinking skills.

Being aware of how many people look at GenAI tools as a termination of intellect, I was curious about Professor Kasarvi’s perspective. Consequently, I brought up this idea to him. While ensuring no offense to those that think this, he explained this notion is simply a lack of complete comprehension. He went on to explain that AI is all about understanding the process. Any tool can be used incorrectly, and assuming GenAI to be overtaking creativity and thinking is grossly uneducated. To fully emphasize this point, he pulled out a traditional calculator, explaining that far before our time, the calculator was thought of as a threat to education.

Yet, as it obviously integrated its way throughout education, it allowed students to begin solving much more complex problems. As evident in the conversation of GenAI, it is not what skills will be replaced (like the multiplication tables), but rather what can be gained (such as the ability to statistically analyze data). In Professor Kasravi’s words, “There’s no value in memorizing a multiplication table. The question is, what do you accomplish by multiplying?”

Past his eagerness to explain how these tools should be adopted, he illustrated a major advantage of using them–the ability to quickly access knowledge. The original use case provided proved to be rooted in this same thought process, if students have quicker access to knowledge, more can be readily accomplished. Professor Kasravi connects a Maizey project to each of his classes and offers students the opportunity to use GenAI tools during exam time. He explained that with these tools in mind, his exams are focused on how quickly students can arrive at the answers, as opposed to tedious memorization of syntax (such as where parentheses or commas are placed). Students are then put in a real world situation in which all tools are available to them, but their use must be strategic.  Student’s thinking is instead focused on a larger scale, and it is evident in their work that these tools have uprooted the baseline of work. Based on years past, Professor Kasravi spoke on the increase in student performance in terms of problem and development complexity.

Yet, as with all tools, it is necessary to keep in mind there can be incorrect uses. Prior to implementing U-M GPT into his curriculum, each topic is tested both with his own expert knowledge and a second set of eyes on topics he’s not as well versed in. As expected, classes like engineering economics are not very well suited to GenAI use, given the content is heavily dependent on contextual and qualitative conditions. But, classes like prototype design that rely more on iterative learning and idea generation are a much better fit for GenAI’s competencies.

Based on the developments and applications we’ve seen of GenAI tools in the past few years, they will undoubtedly play an increasing role in education and work as early as today. Thus, understanding how to implement these tools in curriculum and everyday life is essential if we want to be raised to the new heightened level of learning that is supplemented by these tools. And if more convincing is needed, just know, I still don’t know my multiplication tables…even after acing calc II.

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CDR Self-Study Requirement

Home » Agile Development » Prioritizing Requirements with MoSCoW Method: A Guide for Agile Projects

Prioritizing Requirements with MoSCoW Method: A Guide for Agile Projects

• Posted on March 28, 2023
• / Under Agile & Scrum , Agile Development , Project Management

The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique used in project management, software development, and business analysis. It helps to prioritize requirements based on their importance and urgency, and allows project managers to allocate resources and budget accordingly. In this article, we will explore the MoSCoW method and provide an example of its implementation.

What is the MoSCoW Method?

The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique that categorizes requirements into four groups: Must-haves, Should-haves, Could-haves, and Won’t-haves. The acronym MoSCoW stands for:

• Must have: critical requirements that are essential for the project’s success. These requirements are mandatory and must be included in the project scope.
• Should have: important requirements that are necessary for the project’s success but can be delayed if necessary. These requirements are important, but not critical, and can be deferred to a later phase of the project.
• Could have: desirable requirements that are not essential for the project’s success, but can enhance the project’s value. These requirements are optional and can be included if time and budget allow.
• Won’t have: requirements that are not needed for the project’s success and are not included in the project scope.

The MoSCoW method helps project managers prioritize requirements based on their importance and urgency. It allows them to focus on the critical requirements and allocate resources and budget accordingly.

Example of MoSCoW Method

Let’s consider an example of a software development project to understand how the MoSCoW method works.

Suppose a company wants to develop a new mobile app for its customers. The app should allow customers to order products, track their orders, and receive notifications. The company also wants to include some additional features to make the app more appealing to customers.

The project team identifies the following requirements:

• Must have: The app must allow customers to order products, track their orders, and receive notifications.
• Should have: The app should have a search feature that allows customers to search for products, and a payment feature that allows customers to pay for their orders using various payment methods.
• Could have: The app could have a loyalty program feature that rewards customers for their purchases, and a referral program feature that incentivizes customers to refer the app to their friends and family.
• Won’t have: The app won’t have a social media integration feature that allows customers to share their purchases on social media platforms.

Using the MoSCoW method, the project team has prioritized the requirements based on their importance and urgency. The must-have requirements are critical for the success of the project and must be included in the app. The should-have requirements are important, but can be deferred to a later phase of the project if necessary. The could-have requirements are optional and can be included if time and budget allow. The won’t-have requirements are not needed for the project’s success and are not included in the project scope.

Real-life Example – CRM System

Project Description: Development of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System

The objective of this Agile project is to develop a CRM system for a small business that specializes in providing customized solutions to its clients. The CRM system will be designed to streamline the sales process and improve customer interactions, allowing the business to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The project will follow the Agile methodology, which involves iterative and incremental development. The Agile team will work closely with the client to gather requirements, develop prototypes, and deliver functional software increments in short iterations, typically two weeks.

Identify a List of User Stories

To create the list of user stories, you can considered the different roles that would interact with the system, such as sales representatives, managers, and customers, and thought about the various tasks they would need to perform in order to achieve their goals. you can also considered the different types of data that would need to be stored and managed within the system, such as customer information, sales data, and marketing campaigns.

Based on this analysis, you can then generated a list of user stories that covered a broad range of functionality, from lead tracking and customer service, to sales proposals and reporting. The list of user stories is intended to provide a starting point for the development team to use in prioritizing and planning the development of the CRM system.

Here is a list of user stories for the CRM system development project:

• As a sales representative, I want to be able to track all of my leads in one place so that I can easily manage my sales pipeline.
• As a sales manager, I want to be able to view and monitor my team’s progress in real-time so that I can provide coaching and support as needed.
• As a customer service representative, I want to be able to view all of a customer’s interactions with our company so that I can provide personalized support.
• As a marketing manager, I want to be able to segment our customers based on their preferences and behavior so that I can target them with relevant campaigns.
• As a customer, I want to be able to view my purchase history and account information so that I can easily manage my relationship with the company.
• As a customer service representative, I want to be able to log and track customer complaints and inquiries so that I can ensure that they are addressed in a timely manner.
• As a sales representative, I want to be able to generate quotes and proposals quickly and easily so that I can close deals faster.
• As an administrator, I want to be able to manage user permissions and access levels so that I can control who has access to sensitive information.
• As a sales representative, I want to be able to schedule and manage appointments with my clients so that I can stay organized and on top of my schedule.
• As a manager, I want to be able to generate reports on sales performance, customer satisfaction, and other metrics so that I can make informed business decisions.

These user stories cover a range of functionality that the CRM system should provide. The development team can use these user stories to prioritize the most important features for the system, and to ensure that the system meets the needs of all stakeholders.

In table format, let’s present a clear and concise summary of the 10 user stories related to a business scenario to provide an overview of the user stories.

The table provides information on the user role, the specific goal they want to achieve, and the user story number to easily reference each story. By organizing the user stories in a table, it is easier to understand and prioritize the features that need to be developed to meet the needs of the stakeholders involved in the project. This table can serve as a reference for the development team to design and implement features that align with the needs of the end-users and stakeholders.

Prioritize the User Stories

It is important to prioritize the user stories based on their business value and impact on the project goals. This ensures that the development effort is focused on the most important and valuable features, and that the project can be delivered on time and within budget.

Prioritization can be done using various techniques such as the MoSCoW method, which categorizes user stories as “must-haves,” “should-haves,” “could-haves,” and “won’t-haves.” User stories categorized as “must-haves” are the most critical and should be developed first, while “should-haves” and “could-haves” can be developed later in subsequent iterations or releases.

Here’s a table for the 10 user stories mentioned earlier, with the relevant information and prioritization based on the MoSCoW method:

In this table, the user stories are listed in order of priority, with the “must-have” features listed first, followed by the “should-haves” and “could-haves.” The “won’t-haves” feature is not planned for implementation in this project, but may be considered for future development.

By prioritizing the user stories, the development team can ensure that the most critical features are developed first, providing value to the stakeholders and enabling the project to meet its objectives within the time and budget constraints.

Example: A Scrum Development Plan for the CRM

here is a high-level outline for a Scrum development plan to start the agile project. However, the specific details of the plan will depend on the project requirements, team structure, and other factors. Here’s an example of a Scrum development plan:

• Define the Product Backlog: The first step is to define the product backlog, which is a prioritized list of all the features, functionalities, and requirements that need to be implemented in the project. This backlog will be maintained throughout the project and will be continually refined and updated based on the changing needs of the stakeholders.
• Conduct Sprint Planning: After the product backlog has been defined, the team will conduct a sprint planning meeting to select a set of user stories from the backlog to be developed in the upcoming sprint. The team will estimate the effort required for each user story, and select the user stories that can be completed within the sprint timeframe.
• Conduct Daily Scrum Meetings : Once the sprint has started, the team will conduct daily scrum meetings to review progress, identify any obstacles or challenges, and adjust the plan as needed. The daily scrum meetings should be short and focused, with each team member providing an update on their progress.
• Develop the Product Increment: During the sprint, the team will work on developing the selected user stories, focusing on delivering a working product increment by the end of the sprint. The team will collaborate closely, with developers, testers, and other team members working together to deliver the product increment.
• Conduct Sprint Review: At the end of the sprint, the team will conduct a sprint review meeting to demonstrate the product increment to the stakeholders, gather feedback, and review the progress made during the sprint.
• Conduct Sprint Retrospective: After the sprint review, the team will conduct a sprint retrospective meeting to review the sprint process, identify areas for improvement, and plan for the next sprint.
• Repeat the process: The team will repeat this process for each subsequent sprint, continuing to refine and update the product backlog, and focusing on delivering a working product increment at the end of each sprint.

This Scrum development plan provides a framework for managing the agile project, with regular meetings and reviews to ensure that the project is on track and delivering value to the stakeholders.

The article discusses the MoSCoW method, which is a prioritization technique used in Agile project management to prioritize project requirements. The MoSCoW method divides requirements into four categories: Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, and Won’t-have. The article provides a real-life example of an Agile project and how to identify user stories for the project. The user stories are then prioritized using the MoSCoW method, with the Must-have requirements given top priority.

The article also outlines a Scrum development plan, which includes defining the product backlog, conducting sprint planning, daily scrum meetings, developing the product increment, sprint review, sprint retrospective, and repeating the process. The Scrum development plan provides a framework for managing the Agile project, ensuring that the project is on track, and delivering value to stakeholders.

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September 2021 news from cdr the commission on dietetic registration has expanded the cpeu limits for activity type 175 (recorded pre-approved cpe) from 45 to 50 for the rd/rdn and 30 to 33 for the dtr/ndtr for all current 5-year cycles (2017- 22, 2018 - 23, 2019 - 24, 2020 - 25, 2021 - 26, 2021/22 - 2027) effective immediately. .

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MoSCoW Prioritization

What is moscow prioritization.

MoSCoW prioritization, also known as the MoSCoW method or MoSCoW analysis, is a popular prioritization technique for managing requirements. 

  The acronym MoSCoW represents four categories of initiatives: must-have, should-have, could-have, and won’t-have, or will not have right now. Some companies also use the “W” in MoSCoW to mean “wish.”

What is the History of the MoSCoW Method?

Software development expert Dai Clegg created the MoSCoW method while working at Oracle. He designed the framework to help his team prioritize tasks during development work on product releases.

You can find a detailed account of using MoSCoW prioritization in the Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) handbook . But because MoSCoW can prioritize tasks within any time-boxed project, teams have adapted the method for a broad range of uses.

How Does MoSCoW Prioritization Work?

Before running a MoSCoW analysis, a few things need to happen. First, key stakeholders and the product team need to get aligned on objectives and prioritization factors. Then, all participants must agree on which initiatives to prioritize.

At this point, your team should also discuss how they will settle any disagreements in prioritization. If you can establish how to resolve disputes before they come up, you can help prevent those disagreements from holding up progress.

Finally, you’ll also want to reach a consensus on what percentage of resources you’d like to allocate to each category.

With the groundwork complete, you may begin determining which category is most appropriate for each initiative. But, first, let’s further break down each category in the MoSCoW method.

Start prioritizing your roadmap

Moscow prioritization categories.

1. Must-have initiatives

As the name suggests, this category consists of initiatives that are “musts” for your team. They represent non-negotiable needs for the project, product, or release in question. For example, if you’re releasing a healthcare application, a must-have initiative may be security functionalities that help maintain compliance.

The “must-have” category requires the team to complete a mandatory task. If you’re unsure about whether something belongs in this category, ask yourself the following.

If the product won’t work without an initiative, or the release becomes useless without it, the initiative is most likely a “must-have.”

2. Should-have initiatives

Should-have initiatives are just a step below must-haves. They are essential to the product, project, or release, but they are not vital. If left out, the product or project still functions. However, the initiatives may add significant value.

“Should-have” initiatives are different from “must-have” initiatives in that they can get scheduled for a future release without impacting the current one. For example, performance improvements, minor bug fixes, or new functionality may be “should-have” initiatives. Without them, the product still works.

3. Could-have initiatives

Another way of describing “could-have” initiatives is nice-to-haves. “Could-have” initiatives are not necessary to the core function of the product. However, compared with “should-have” initiatives, they have a much smaller impact on the outcome if left out.

So, initiatives placed in the “could-have” category are often the first to be deprioritized if a project in the “should-have” or “must-have” category ends up larger than expected.

4. Will not have (this time)

One benefit of the MoSCoW method is that it places several initiatives in the “will-not-have” category. The category can manage expectations about what the team will not include in a specific release (or another timeframe you’re prioritizing).

Placing initiatives in the “will-not-have” category is one way to help prevent scope creep . If initiatives are in this category, the team knows they are not a priority for this specific time frame. 

Some initiatives in the “will-not-have” group will be prioritized in the future, while others are not likely to happen. Some teams decide to differentiate between those by creating a subcategory within this group.

How Can Development Teams Use MoSCoW?

  Although Dai Clegg developed the approach to help prioritize tasks around his team’s limited time, the MoSCoW method also works when a development team faces limitations other than time. For example: 

Prioritize based on budgetary constraints.

What if a development team’s limiting factor is not a deadline but a tight budget imposed by the company? Working with the product managers, the team can use MoSCoW first to decide on the initiatives that represent must-haves and the should-haves. Then, using the development department’s budget as the guide, the team can figure out which items they can complete. 

Prioritize based on the team’s skillsets.

A cross-functional product team might also find itself constrained by the experience and expertise of its developers. If the product roadmap calls for functionality the team does not have the skills to build, this limiting factor will play into scoring those items in their MoSCoW analysis.

Prioritize based on competing needs at the company.

Cross-functional teams can also find themselves constrained by other company priorities. The team wants to make progress on a new product release, but the executive staff has created tight deadlines for further releases in the same timeframe. In this case, the team can use MoSCoW to determine which aspects of their desired release represent must-haves and temporarily backlog everything else.

What Are the Drawbacks of MoSCoW Prioritization?

  Although many product and development teams have prioritized MoSCoW, the approach has potential pitfalls. Here are a few examples.

1. An inconsistent scoring process can lead to tasks placed in the wrong categories.

  One common criticism against MoSCoW is that it does not include an objective methodology for ranking initiatives against each other. Your team will need to bring this methodology to your analysis. The MoSCoW approach works only to ensure that your team applies a consistent scoring system for all initiatives.

Pro tip: One proven method is weighted scoring, where your team measures each initiative on your backlog against a standard set of cost and benefit criteria. You can use the weighted scoring approach in ProductPlan’s roadmap app .

2. Not including all relevant stakeholders can lead to items placed in the wrong categories.

To know which of your team’s initiatives represent must-haves for your product and which are merely should-haves, you will need as much context as possible.

For example, you might need someone from your sales team to let you know how important (or unimportant) prospective buyers view a proposed new feature.

One pitfall of the MoSCoW method is that you could make poor decisions about where to slot each initiative unless your team receives input from all relevant stakeholders. 

3. Team bias for (or against) initiatives can undermine MoSCoW’s effectiveness.

Because MoSCoW does not include an objective scoring method, your team members can fall victim to their own opinions about certain initiatives. 

One risk of using MoSCoW prioritization is that a team can mistakenly think MoSCoW itself represents an objective way of measuring the items on their list. They discuss an initiative, agree that it is a “should have,” and move on to the next.

But your team will also need an objective and consistent framework for ranking all initiatives. That is the only way to minimize your team’s biases in favor of items or against them.

When Do You Use the MoSCoW Method for Prioritization?

MoSCoW prioritization is effective for teams that want to include representatives from the whole organization in their process. You can capture a broader perspective by involving participants from various functional departments.

Another reason you may want to use MoSCoW prioritization is it allows your team to determine how much effort goes into each category. Therefore, you can ensure you’re delivering a good variety of initiatives in each release.

What Are Best Practices for Using MoSCoW Prioritization?

If you’re considering giving MoSCoW prioritization a try, here are a few steps to keep in mind. Incorporating these into your process will help your team gain more value from the MoSCoW method.

1. Choose an objective ranking or scoring system.

Remember, MoSCoW helps your team group items into the appropriate buckets—from must-have items down to your longer-term wish list. But MoSCoW itself doesn’t help you determine which item belongs in which category.

You will need a separate ranking methodology. You can choose from many, such as:

• Weighted scoring
• Value vs. complexity
• Buy-a-feature
• Opportunity scoring

For help finding the best scoring methodology for your team, check out ProductPlan’s article: 7 strategies to choose the best features for your product .

2. Seek input from all key stakeholders.

To make sure you’re placing each initiative into the right bucket—must-have, should-have, could-have, or won’t-have—your team needs context. 

At the beginning of your MoSCoW method, your team should consider which stakeholders can provide valuable context and insights. Sales? Customer success? The executive staff? Product managers in another area of your business? Include them in your initiative scoring process if you think they can help you see opportunities or threats your team might miss. 

3. Share your MoSCoW process across your organization.

MoSCoW gives your team a tangible way to show your organization prioritizing initiatives for your products or projects. 

The method can help you build company-wide consensus for your work, or at least help you show stakeholders why you made the decisions you did.

Communicating your team’s prioritization strategy also helps you set expectations across the business. When they see your methodology for choosing one initiative over another, stakeholders in other departments will understand that your team has thought through and weighed all decisions you’ve made. 

If any stakeholders have an issue with one of your decisions, they will understand that they can’t simply complain—they’ll need to present you with evidence to alter your course of action.  

Related Terms

2×2 prioritization matrix / Eisenhower matrix / DACI decision-making framework / ICE scoring model / RICE scoring model

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How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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September 2021 Update

The Commission on Dietetic Registration has expanded the CPEU limits for activity type 175 (Recorded Pre-approved CPE) from 45 to 50 for the RD/RDN and 30 to 33 for the DTR/NDTR for these 5-year cycles (2019 - 24, 2020 - 25, 2021 - 26, 2021/22 - 2027) effective immediately. 

Please contact  [email protected]  with any questions.