Build vs Buy Paradigm
While doing some random reading, I came across this good thread which talks about how to balance between buying and building when you need a new feature. This thread is a very good subconscious exposition of the Wardley Map Methodology.
The first questions which need an answer are
What are your immediate needs?
Does a readymade solution to your problem exists?
Now, let’s look at the Buy Paradigm. The premise is that their ten year old customer customer today is you after ten years. There will always be customers who are exactly like you in the past.
If you want to buy, what percentage of the offering are you going to use?
What else are they offering to their current customers?
Where do you fit in their customer base today, and where do you fit after ten years?
Come up with a cost estimate - what do you want now and what do you want in future multiplied by the likelihood of using it.
Before jumping into the Buy choice, have a look into the below flowchart. This is how Simon Wardley depicts the phases of evolution of a product.
Not just that, he asks us to look at where does the particular component sit in the grander scheme of things for you - is it customer facing(your core business) or is it a backend solution or whether it is easily available or whether it should be custom made. The ultimate purpose of this charting is to focus more on what is customer facing and and less on the more generic things which will support your core business.
Under this context, let’s look at the Build Paradigm.
Are you reinventing the wheel? What stage does it sit in the Wardley Map now and where does it sit after five years?
If you want to build it, will it distract you from what you are building now?
What's the cost estimate? What will be the maintenance cost for the next ten years?
If the development doesn't go according to plan, what will that distract you from focussing on?
In essence, the focus should be on
What will you need as a customer five or ten years down the line? Will your needs expand in this timeframe?
Will the custom solution which you are planning to build and the future changes you are going to make in the solution evolve towards a commodity in that timeframe?