Impact Tags

Use this tool

During backlog refinement, sprint planning, or code review
When a story's impact is uncertain or could be improved
As a quick way to mark items for later investigation without slowing a session

You'll get

A set of tags to surface sustainability considerations in context
A backlog that makes high-impact opportunities and risks easier to spot
A way to connect discussions across sprints and teams

Setup

How to use

Add one or more of the tags below to relevant backlog items.
Agree as a team on what each tag means and when to use it.
Review tagged items regularly to decide on action.

Reference

Suggested tags

Tag	Meaning
Impact-heavy-default	The default setting or behaviour is resource-intensive.
Impact-positive-nudge	Could encourage more sustainable behaviour in users.
Impact-net-positive	Likely to create a positive environmental effect beyond the product itself.
Impact-reusable	Can re-use existing components, patterns, or assets.
Impact-review-needed	Uncertain impact, needs further investigation.
Impact-upstream-fix	Issue could be addressed earlier in the process or by another team.
Impact-missing-need	Solves a problem no one has asked for, adding avoidable resource use.
Impact-inference-heavy	AI inference is a significant cost driver; review whether a lighter model or non-AI approach would meet the same need.

Tooling

Implementing tags

In Jira, these map directly to labels or custom fields. In Linear, use tags. In GitHub Issues, use label colours to make them visually distinct from other issue labels. Whatever tool you use, the goal is the same: make impact considerations visible in the backlog without requiring a separate tracking system.

Guidance

Tips

Keep the number of tags small so they are easy to remember and apply.
Use them as prompts for discussion, not as a scoring system.
Check for trade-offs: address any impact considerations alongside performance, accessibility, and security needs.

In practice

Example

For example, in sprint planning a team could tag a proposed integration Impact-review-needed because it pulls in a large third-party library. A follow-up review might find a smaller, lighter library that meets the same need, reducing bundle size and improving load times.

Or a team could tag a new feature Impact-positive-nudge because it surfaces a repair guide before offering a replacement part. In refinement, they make the repair path the default, nudging customers to fix rather than rebuy.

Output

A visible record of where sustainability considerations exist in the backlog.

Measurement & Validation

Track number of tagged items and how many are resolved each sprint. Review resolved items for measurable performance or efficiency improvements.

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