Build versus buy: what to get right first

There is no clever trick in this one, just a handful of decisions worth making deliberately. If you only fix one thing about build versus buy this quarter, make it the first item below.

Clear scope protects the client at least as much as it protects the agency. The teams that stay on top of it are the ones who put it on a calendar rather than a wish list.

Start here

Build what makes you different, buy the rest. There is a version of this that is over-engineered, and it is worth avoiding. The teams that stay on top of it are the ones who put it on a calendar rather than a wish list.

Then this

Off-the-shelf is cheaper until the customisation starts. The teams that handle this well are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.

Eventually

Count ongoing maintenance in the build column. In practice this is a scheduling problem more than a technical one. Assume whoever inherits this will have half your context and none of your patience.

How to tell if yours is fine

Strategy work is mostly deciding what not to do, and writing it down so it stays decided. Three things worth confirming about build versus buy before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Count ongoing maintenance in the build column — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Worth checking on your own setup before it becomes someone else's problem to fix.