Build, Buy, or Wait?
A decision brief separating implementation, organisational change and domain expertise.
- State the decision and the smallest outcome worth funding.
- Inventory technical capability, process ownership and domain expertise separately.
- Compare a manual improvement, a constrained purchased tool and an internal build.
- Include integration, support, security, training, exit costs and consequences of failure.
- Choose a reversible next test or defer pending evidence. Set an accountable decision owner.
Your worksheet
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Optional prompt · use only approved inputs
Help compare manual improvement, buying a constrained tool, and building a system. Ask what decision we need, our real capabilities and the cost of mistakes. Include ongoing ownership and domain expertise. Separate estimates from measured costs. Recommend a reversible test or waiting for evidence. Do not invent a universal build/buy ratio.
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Before you use the result
- Is the smallest useful alternative included?
- Who maintains and supports the result?
- Are cost estimates clearly labelled and bounded?
Sources & scope
Edition 2026-10-09.3. AI-assisted editorial revision; independent specialist and reader review pending. Educational material, not legal, medical or financial advice. Examples are hypothetical unless explicitly documented.
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