Or: How to stop calling everything “critical”
Let’s talk about MVP prioritization — the place where good intentions go to die.
If you’ve ever been in a prioritization workshop, you’ve probably heard:
- “This is critical”
- “We absolutely need this in MVP”
- “Business can’t function without it”
Funny thing is… somehow business has been functioning without it. For years.
Lean thinking tells us that an MVP is not everything people want, but the minimum set of things the business genuinely cannot operate without. The problem is deciding what that actually is.
Enter: BAF.
What is BAF?
BAF = Business Criticality – Alternative Solution + Frequency
It’s a deliberately simple prioritization technique that forces teams to answer three uncomfortable but very real questions:
- How bad is it if this doesn’t exist?
- Is there a workaround?
- How often does this pain actually happen?
No complex financial models. No crystal balls. Just operational reality.
The BAF Scales
Let’s break down each factor — with examples you’ll recognize immediately.
1. Business Criticality (BC)
Weight: 3 (because “critical” should actually mean something and arguably the most important decision factor)
BC = 1 → Low
“Nice to have, but nobody is blocked.”
Examples:
- A prettier dashboard when the ugly one still works
- Exporting data to a new format that no one is asking for
- Adding filters because “filters are nice”
If this disappears tomorrow, business shrugs and moves on.
BC = 2 → Medium
“This would make life better, but we’ll survive.”
Examples:
- Automating a report that is currently done manually once a month
- Reducing clicks in a workflow that already completes successfully
- Improving error messages from “Something went wrong” to “Something went wrong (but friendlier)”
Good improvements. Not MVP‑blocking.
BC = 3 → High
“If this doesn’t exist, work stops or compliance is broken.”
Examples:
- A workflow that must be completed to bill customers
- Anything required by tariff, regulation, or audit
- A missing step that causes downstream systems to fail
If this breaks, someone important calls you. Possibly several someones.
2. Alternative Solution (AS)
Weight: 2 (and yes, it reduces priority – it tells how much can one wait to get it in if we have a way though an ugly way)
This is the factor teams most often try to ignore.
AS = 1 → No alternative
“There is literally no workaround.”
Examples:
- The system simply cannot do the task today
- Data is unavailable anywhere else
- Manual workaround is impossible or forbidden
If this doesn’t exist, work does not happen. Period.
AS = 2 → Alternative exists but is painful
“We can do it… but it’s ugly.”
Examples:
- Manual Excel gymnastics
- Emailing three teams and waiting two days
- Screenshots, copy‑paste, and prayers
Work gets done, but morale dies a little each time.
AS = 3 → Easy alternative exists
“Yeah, we already do this another way.”
Examples:
- Another system already provides the data
- A simple manual step works fine
- Users say, “It’s annoying, but we’re used to it”
This is where many “urgent” MVP items quietly belong.
3. Frequency (F)
Weight: 1 (pain that happens often hurts more)
F = 1 → Low
“This happens… occasionally.”
Examples:
- Annual contract adjustments
- End‑of‑year reconciliation edge cases
- “This one customer, once a year…”
Important? Maybe. Frequent? No.
F = 2 → Medium
“This shows up regularly, but not daily.”
Examples:
- Monthly reporting cycles
- New customer onboarding
- Month‑end processes that everyone dreads (but only monthly)
Annoying, but not constant pain.
F = 3 → High
“We deal with this every single day.”
Examples:
- Daily customer processing
- Core operational workflows
- Anything someone does before coffee
If this is broken, productivity bleeds continuously.
The BAF Formula
Now the magic (and the discipline):
Priority Score = (BC × 3) – (AS × 2) + (F × 1)What this does:
- Rewards truly critical, frequent work
- Penalizes easy workarounds
- Forces trade‑offs instead of opinions
The One Rule for MVP Inclusion
Here’s the Lean part — one rule, no debates:
If the score is ≥ 6, it goes into the MVP.
If it’s below 6, it’s post‑MVP.
That’s it.
No “but this feels important.”
No “let’s just squeeze it in.”
No MVP-by-committee.
What Typically Makes the MVP (Using BAF)
Items that pass the threshold usually share these traits:
- High business criticality
- High operational frequency
- No easy workaround
- Clear business pain
Items that don’t pass aren’t bad ideas — they’re just not MVP ideas.
Why BAF Works So Well for Lean Teams
BAF succeeds because it:
- Is easy to explain to business stakeholders
- Makes prioritization transparent
- Reduces emotional escalation
- Prevents MVP scope creep
- Creates a shared definition of “critical”
Most importantly, it shifts the conversation from:
“Is this important?”
to
“What breaks if we don’t ship this now?”
A Worked Example: BAF in Action
Let’s take a few very realistic backlog items and run them through the BAF grinder.
Reminder of the formula:
Priority Score = (BC × 3) + (F × 1) – (AS × 2)MVP rule:
Score ≥ 6 → MVP
Score < 6 → Post‑MVP
Worked Example Table
| Backlog Item | BC | F | AS | Score Calculation | Final Score | MVP? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily billing workflow cannot complete without this step | 3 | 3 | 1 | (3×3) + (3×1) − (1×2) | 10 | Yes |
| Monthly report currently created manually in Excel | 2 | 2 | 2 | (2×3) + (2×1) − (2×2) | 4 | No |
| Regulatory data field required for compliance | 3 | 1 | 1 | (3×3) + (1×1) − (1×2) | 8 | Yes |
| UI enhancement to reduce clicks in a stable workflow | 2 | 3 | 3 | (2×3) + (3×1) − (3×2) | 3 | No |
| Daily operational task with painful manual workaround | 3 | 3 | 2 | (3×3) + (3×1) − (2×2) | 8 | Yes |
| Nice‑to‑have export format requested by one team | 1 | 1 | 3 | (1×3) + (1×1) − (3×2) | −2 | No |
What This Table Immediately Reveals
A few important (and slightly uncomfortable) truths:
MVP items tend to:
- Be business critical
- Happen frequently
- Have no easy workaround
Post‑MVP items tend to:
- Be improvements, not blockers
- Happen infrequently
- Already have an acceptable alternative
And this is the key insight:
Many “important” items don’t belong in the MVP — and that’s okay.
Why This Table Is So Effective in Practice
This is where BAF really shines:
- It removes emotional escalation
- It makes prioritization explainable in one slide
- It turns “why not MVP?” into a math problem instead of a debate
- It protects teams from MVP scope creep disguised as urgency
Instead of arguing feelings, you’re discussing scores.
The Punchline
If someone asks:
“Why isn’t this in MVP?”
You can calmly point at the table and say:
“Because it scored a 4 — and we agreed MVP starts at 6.”
No drama.
No escalation.
No 90‑minute meeting.
Just Lean prioritization doing its job.
Final Thought
If everything is MVP, nothing is.
Lean MVPs aren’t about delivering more.
They’re about delivering what the business cannot function without — first.
BAF gives you a simple, honest way to make that call… and defend it.
Pragati sharma 