What is Cost of Delay?
The economic impact of postponing or delaying the delivery of an initiative.
Cost of Delay (CoD) quantifies the economic impact of postponing the delivery of an initiative — how much value is lost for each week or month of delay. It is a powerful prioritization input because it makes the consequences of sequencing decisions visible. Initiatives with high cost of delay should be prioritized even if their total value is moderate, because the value decays rapidly with time.
Related terms
WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First)
A SAFe prioritization method that sequences work by dividing cost of delay by job duration.
Initiative Prioritization
The systematic process of ranking and sequencing transformation initiatives based on value and feasibility.
Evidence-Based Prioritization
Making initiative sequencing decisions using quantitative data and validated assumptions rather than opinion.
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