Initiative Scoring Methodology

When to Use This Skill

• Scoring a proposed initiative before it is added to an OKR plan
• Prioritizing a multi-team backlog into a cycle-ready cut line
• Comparing initiatives that compete for the same capacity
• Challenging weak rationales that rely on intuition instead of evidence

Core Scoring Model

Each initiative is scored on five dimensions worth up to 20 points each:

Dimension	What to Measure	Typical Signal Sources
Revenue Impact	Expected ARR, retention, or efficiency lift	Salesforce pipeline and forecast data, HubSpot deal flow, funnel diagnostics
Effort / Cost	Person-weeks, dependencies, technical complexity	Delivery estimate, dependency count, implementation path
Strategic Alignment	Fit to active objectives and board priorities	Approved OKRs, operating priorities, GTM motion
Timing Sensitivity	Why now matters more than later	Gong signals, renewal calendar, seasonality, market timing
Confidence / Data Quality	Strength of the evidence base	Live baselines, historical analogs, benchmarks, prior-cycle outcomes

Decision Sequence

1. Anchor on the objective. Do not score an initiative in isolation if its target objective is unclear.
2. Collect evidence before opinion. Pull baseline data, known constraints, and any prior result from similar work.
3. Assign raw 0-20 scores for each dimension.
4. Apply context modifiers for stage, GTM model, and funnel leverage.
5. Use urgency as a tie-breaker. If two initiatives are close, prefer the one with higher time-cost-of-delay.
6. Bucket the outcome into Must-Do, Should-Do, Nice-to-Have, or Deprioritize.

Stage and GTM Modifiers

Use the scoring rubric in config/initiative-scoring-rubric.json as the source of truth for modifiers.

Stage Effects

• Early-stage companies can justify smaller absolute revenue wins because the percentage impact is larger.
• Growth and scale companies should penalize weak evidence and low-efficiency work more heavily.
• Timing sensitivity matters more as competitive density and renewal exposure increase.

GTM Model Effects

• plg: Reward product-led activation, adoption, and conversion levers.
• slg: Reward pipeline generation, win-rate, and enablement levers.
• hybrid: Add the largest bonus when one initiative improves the PLG to SLG handoff.

Funnel Leverage Guidance

Revenue impact is not just about top-line size. It is also about where the initiative acts in the funnel.

Funnel Pattern	Interpretation	Scoring Guidance
Constraint at top of funnel	More volume helps, but leakage downstream can dilute value	Raise score only if downstream conversion is healthy
Constraint in mid-funnel	Conversion bottlenecks often create compounding lift	Favor initiatives that unblock stage-to-stage movement
Constraint near close or renewal	Late-funnel and retention levers usually touch denser revenue	Treat as high leverage when the revenue base is material

When funnel evidence exists, prefer data from the sales-funnel-diagnostic skill or equivalent agent outputs over qualitative claims.

Timing Sensitivity Guidance

Timing is a real scoring dimension, not a rhetorical flourish. Increase timing sensitivity when any of the following are true:

• Gong signals show a rising competitor theme or repeated objection pattern
• A renewal window or pricing change makes delay materially expensive
• Seasonality changes the payback profile of acting this cycle versus next
• Regulatory, contractual, or board deadlines create a forced decision

Do not double-count timing by inflating revenue impact and timing sensitivity for the same reason.

Confidence Rules

Use this evidence hierarchy:

1. Live org data with query evidence
2. Prior-cycle outcomes or close analogs
3. Benchmarks adjusted for stage and GTM motion
4. Hypothesis only

Weak evidence does not always kill an initiative, but it should lower the confidence score and change the recommendation from commit now to validate first.

Thresholds

Composite Score	Action
75-100	Must-Do
50-74	Should-Do
25-49	Nice-to-Have
0-24	Deprioritize

Common Failure Modes

• Scoring activity instead of business outcome
• Treating every initiative as urgent
• Ignoring stage modifiers and using one rubric for every company
• Overweighting revenue claims with no credible baseline
• Ranking by raw enthusiasm instead of by constrained capacity

References

• Rubric: config/initiative-scoring-rubric.json
• OKR schema: config/okr-schema.json
• Funnel context: ../../opspal-core/skills/sales-funnel-diagnostic/SKILL.md