MoSCoW prioritization
A prioritization technique that sorts requirements into Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have this time.
What it means
MoSCoW is not part of the Scrum Guide; it is a general requirements-prioritization technique often used when Refining or ordering the Product Backlog to make trade-offs explicit.
'Must have' items are non-negotiable for the release to be viable; 'Should have' items are important but not vital; 'Could have' items are desirable if time allows; 'Won't have' items are explicitly deferred, which helps manage stakeholder expectations.
Common mistakes
The technique works best in time-boxed releases where scope, not time, is the variable to negotiate, complementing Scrum's fixed Sprint length.
Example
For a compliance deadline, the team labels audit logging as a Must and a redesigned dashboard as a Could.