Split the Work Before You Make or Buy

Before hiring an agency or building a tool internally, break the work into parts. Your decision may need more than two boxes marked “make” and “buy.”

The UK government's Sourcing Playbook, chapter 3, describes delivery-model assessment as a comparison of internal, external and hybrid delivery. It asks buyers to consider service components, capabilities, risks and whole-life costs.

Practical interpretation: apply that structure to one business workflow. For a reporting service, your team might own definitions and final approval while a supplier builds the connector. This is an illustrative allocation, not a recommendation for every business or a legal requirement.

Today's action

Create a one-page responsibility map for your next purchase. List each component, who could deliver it, what internal skill must remain, and who resolves a failed handoff. Compare internal, supplier and mixed delivery using the same scope and time period. Mark unpriced work and unverified capabilities as unknown.

For each option, ask: “Who maintains this when the original builder is unavailable?” Record the answer in your toolkit decision memo. Choose a delivery arrangement only after those responsibilities are visible.