The course of action that will be taken by a party engaged in negotiations if the talks fail and no agreement can be reached. The term BATNA was coined by negotiation researchers Roger Fisher and William Ury in their 1981 bestseller "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In." A party's BATNA refers to what they can fall back on if a negotiation proves unsuccessful.

BATNAs may be developed for any situation that calls for negotiations, from negotiating a pay hike to resolving complex conflicts. While a BATNA may not always be easily identifiable, Fisher and Ury have outlined a simple three-step process for determining it: Develop a list of actions to take if no agreement is reached; convert the more promising ideas into practical options; and tentatively select the option that seems best.