Build vs. Buy Decision Framework

Q: Build vs. Buy Decision Framework

This question evaluates a product manager's decision-making competency in trade-off analysis, commercial judgment, stakeholder alignment, and risk assessment within the product/decision-making domain, requiring both conceptual understanding and practical application.

Q: How do I approach Product / Decision Making interview questions?

Product / Decision Making questions require understanding of core concepts and practice. PracHub provides solutions with explanations to help you master product / decision making interviews.

Question

Build vs. Buy Decision Framework

Scenario

Your team needs to deliver a new system to support a product. You can either build it in-house or buy an off-the-shelf/SaaS solution.

Prompt

Describe how you would decide whether to build or buy. Present a structured framework and discuss how you would evaluate at least the following criteria:

Cost (total cost of ownership)
Time-to-market
Scalability and reliability
Maintenance and operational burden
Vendor lock-in and data portability
Strategic differentiation (core vs. commodity)

Outline how you would gather data, compare options, de-risk the choice (e.g., pilots/POCs), and make a recommendation.

Build vs. Buy Decision Framework

Build vs. Buy Decision Framework

Scenario

Prompt

Solution

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