Which of the following BEST describes the function of a Cost Benefit Analysis?

Question

Options

• AWeighing skills against budgets to prioritise the order of projects.
• BWeighing costs against benefits to determine the best course of action.
• CWeighing benefits against timescales to determine quick wins.
• DWeighing costs against benefits to secure senior management buy-in.

• A
  4% (1)
• B
  92% (22)
• C
  4% (1)

Explanation

A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is specifically defined as a systematic process for weighing costs against benefits to determine the best course of action - making B the only definition that captures both elements and the correct purpose.

Why the distractors fail:

• A introduces "skills" and "project prioritisation," which describe resource/portfolio management, not CBA.
• C replaces costs with "timescales" and shifts focus to speed ("quick wins"), which describes a different prioritisation method entirely.
• D is the trickiest - it correctly pairs costs vs. benefits, but frames the purpose as securing stakeholder buy-in (a potential use of a CBA, not its definition). The function of CBA is to inform decisions, not to persuade.

Memory tip: Think of CBA as a weighing scale - Costs on one side, Benefits on the other, with the outcome being the best course of action. The letters C-B-A literally spell out the core formula: Cost vs. Benefit → Action.

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