Overview
What this challenge is about.
Quantify technical debt for an acquired HR tech platform. Build a backlog, budget, and CTO readout. Earn a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The HR-tech company (Series-B at AUD 50M raised) paid AUD 14M for the acquisition and cannot afford a 12-month rewrite — but cannot integrate broken architecture either.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Quantify the technical debt of an acquired SaaS in AUD and produce a fundable 1-year remediation roadmap with integrate-vs-rewrite framing.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Quantify technical debt in engineer-days using SQALE-style estimation
- Categorize debt across code, architecture, infra, security, docs, and knowledge
- Frame integrate-vs-rewrite honestly with cost + risk trade-offs
- Build a fundable remediation roadmap with multiple scenarios
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Software Evolution and Maintenance
Master · Software Engineering
Strong alignment
This challenge maps to Software Evolution and Maintenance at the Master level. It sharpens the same practical skills your coursework expects — but in a real industry context with actual constraints and deliverables.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Technical Debt
Apply technical debt to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Code Analysis
Apply code analysis to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Estimation
Apply estimation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Stakeholder Communication
Apply stakeholder communication to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Process Design
Apply process design to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Risk Management
Identify, assess, and mitigate risks across business operations and projects.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles: