Mission 3: Zombie Prioritisation

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BA Detective Academy · NovaTech Solutions

Your briefing:

The zombie apocalypse has hit the NovaTech project budget. Overnight, a 40% budget cut has wiped out resources and the delivery date cannot move.

You have 8 requirements to consider. Each one has a cost (effort weight) and a value (business benefit). Your total budget is 100 points of effort.

Choose which requirements to keep in scope. Your goal: maximise the total business value you can deliver within the budget.

Warning: A surprise twist will appear midway through. Prepare to re-prioritise.

This is the daily reality of a BA: helping teams decide what matters most when not everything can fit.

Skip this mission → Case Study: EcoEnergy

Phase 1: Initial Cut

Select requirements to include

Budget: 100 effort points. Goal: maximum business value.

Effort used: 0 / 100 Value selected: 0 Click cards to include / exclude

Phase 2: The Twist

⚠ Mandatory Compliance Item Added!

Legal has just escalated: GDPR Data Audit Trail must be included in this release. It cannot be deferred. Effort cost: 20 points. Value: mandatory compliance (treated as 30).

Re-prioritise your selections to make room. Your budget cap is still 100.

Re-prioritise with the mandatory item

GDPR Data Audit Trail is locked in. Adjust the rest to fit within 100 effort points.

Effort used: 20 / 100 Value selected: 30

🔒 GDPR Data Audit Trail (Mandatory)

MandatoryEffort: 20Value: 30

value delivered | 0 effort used

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Benjamen Walsh

Founder, BBA Institute · Certified Business Analyst

Benjamen Walsh is the founder of the Better Business Analysis Institute (BBAI) and a practising business analyst with over a decade of experience delivering change across New Zealand and Australia. He has trained over 200+ business analysts through BBAI certification programmes and hosts The Better Business Analyst Podcast (138+ episodes). Benjamen works with organisations including Corporates, Consultancies, Non for Profits, Small Businesses and the New Zealand Government.

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