A queue is useful when it ends in a decision. Eleven items is not a queue, it is a backlog with better styling.
The four questions
Score each item one point per yes.
- Does it affect a page with impressions or enquiries?
- Can it be finished inside one cycle?
- Can its result be read from a connected source?
- Would a client notice if it never happened?
Two points queues it. Fewer than two is a note for later.
A scored shortlist
Foxglove Bakery, one cycle, eleven candidate items.
| Item | Traffic | Fits | Readable | Noticed | Score | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rewrite the cake page title | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 | Queue first |
| Add the from-price line | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 3 | Queue |
| Fix the footer hours | No | Yes | No | Yes | 2 | Queue, ten minutes |
| Replace the wedding photo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 3 | Queue |
| Reconnect Analytics | Yes | No | Yes | No | 2 | Queue as access work |
| Start a blog | No | No | No | Yes | 1 | Dismiss with a reason |
| Move to a new host | No | No | No | No | 0 | Dismiss |
| Rewrite the about page | No | Yes | No | No | 1 | Defer to a quiet month |
| Add a second contact form | No | Yes | No | No | 1 | Defer |
| Compress six images | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 3 | Queue, developer |
| Change the brand colour | No | No | No | Yes | 1 | Dismiss |
Six queued, three deferred with dates, two dismissed with reasons.
What the scoring changed
The blog and the host move were the two items the owner cared about most. Neither is finishable in a cycle, and neither can be read from a connected source.
That is a conversation, not a queue item, and it belongs in the quarterly review.
The record, ready to copy
cycle: 2026-09-28 to 2026-10-11
site: foxglove.example
candidates: 11
queued, in order
1. rewrite the cake page title score 4
2. reconnect analytics score 2, access work
3. replace the wedding photo score 3
4. add the from-price line score 3
5. compress six images score 3, developer
6. fix the footer hours score 2, ten minutes
deferred, with a date
- about page rewrite, 2026-11-09
- second contact form, 2026-11-23
dismissed, with a reason
- blog: no content to support it, and no demand evidence
- host move: project work, not upkeep
- brand colour: no page or query depends on it
Acceptance: the decision is finished when
- every candidate has a state, including the dismissed ones
- the queue is ordered, not just filtered
- deferred items carry a date
- a dismissed item keeps its reason, so it does not return as new
- the queue is short enough to finish inside the cycle
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Everything scores three or more | The questions are being answered generously | Score readability and fit strictly |
| The queue never empties | Items are added without triage | Triage first, and cap the list |
| The same item returns every cycle | It was dismissed without a reason | Record the reason and keep it |
| The owner’s favourite item keeps losing | It is project work | Move it to a project conversation |
| Nothing is worth doing | The site is stable | Say so, and close the cycle |
Limits
This filter is for the weekly cycle. A launch, a redesign and a migration are projects, and they do not belong in the same list.
Nothing here replaces judgement. It stops judgement being applied eleven times before lunch.