In house or Outsource Development?
Fact: Occasionally, you need new software, a new package, a new library, whatever...
Options: do it yourself, get someone else to do it or get it already done.
This is what this post is all about: to do or not to do? That, my dear programmers, is (sometimes) the question.
Like most technical dilemmas, this is not as straightforward as it may seem.
Let's take a look at some major considerations:
- Cost
- Ownership
- Time to Business Value
- Knowledge
Cost: This is usually one of the major concerns. Consider not only how much you would be charged if you sent it outside your team, but also how much it would cost to do it inhouse (in fact, this is the first criteria you should consider). Figure out the costs of your team being assigned to this one project.
Ownership: As far as inhouse goes, it's granted. However, when outsourcing you have to make sure it's specified on the contract (don't forget to do this) or on the license agreement.
Time to Business Value: It's cheaper to do it inhouse and the ownership is obvious... but can your team get it done on time? It's normal for projects not to be ready on time for a million reasons. If you outsource the project, you can assure this on the contract (include a clause on the contract stating that the supplier has to pay you a specific amount for each day of delay). If you prefer to buy it or get it already done, make sure that it does what you need and that you have support. Also verify if its source is open or not and if the supplier won't be going bankrupt anytime soon.
Knowledge: Even if it's done by your inhouse team, make sure that the knowledge gained is not limited to one particular individual or two. Guarantee that there is technical documentation and that the skills needed to support it are common to most programmers on your team (or at least that you can easily find that kind of resources).
I've kept this list short. It should be enough for most cases.
Do your decisions already take all of this into account?
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