Priority (what is important) and sequence (what should get done first) are two different (albeit related) concepts that are often conflated with each other.

Distinguishing which one you're talking about helps immensely.

It helps when collaborating with others, obviously. But it even clarifies my own thinking.

X might be the most important, but maybe we need to do Y in order to learn about how to do X right.

Like the classic "measure 5 times, cut once"

If you're going to make a shape out of wood, you have to cut it. That's the priority #1 step. You can't make the shape just by measuring

But even though it's a lower priority, you should probably measure first to make the cut (the most important step) is as good as possible.