Build, Buy or Partner: How You Chose a Path to Close a Capability Gap

Tell me about a strategy you put together to close a technology gap at your company. How did you decide whether to build the capability, buy it, or get it through a partnership? ```hint Show why the other options lost Name the criteria you compared the three options on, and the evidence that moved the decision, so the interviewer can see why the paths you did not take were weaker. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does the gap need to be in the product customers use, or can it be an internal platform or tool the company lacked? - Does an example count if I shaped and recommended the decision but a leader made the final call? - How much technical depth do you want: how the capability works, or mainly the business reasoning behind the choice? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clear definition of the gap, why it mattered to customers or the business, and the cost of leaving it open - The criteria used to compare building, buying and partnering, applied to this specific capability - How evidence was gathered and how engineering, finance, legal and other stakeholders reached the decision - Execution and outcome, including the risks of the chosen path and how they were managed - Reflection on what the candidate would change and when the decision should be revisited ### Follow-up Questions - What would have had to be true for you to choose the option you rejected? - How did you plan for a vendor or partner failing, raising prices or being acquired? - If you built it, how did you keep the capability from becoming a maintenance burden once the gap was closed?