/product-analysis

Build/Buy/Partner Decision Brief: [Capability]

Date: [Date] Decision Owner: [Name] Status: [Draft / Under Review / Approved / Implemented]

Executive Summary

Capability: [What we're deciding about]

Decision: [BUILD / BUY / PARTNER / DEFER / DO NOT ENTER]

One-line rationale: [Single sentence explaining the decision]

Key risk: [Most important thing that could make this wrong]

Strategic Classification

Category: [Core Differentiator / Strategic Enabler / Infrastructure / Nice-to-Have]

Why this classification:

• Does this create competitive advantage? [Yes/No] — [Evidence]
• Would customers notice our implementation vs. standard? [Yes/No] — [Evidence]
• Is this in our differentiating 20%? [Yes/No] — [Evidence]

Substitution test result: If we said "we use [alternative] for this," prospects would:

• Not care → Infrastructure
• Be slightly disappointed → Strategic Enabler
• Question our differentiation → Core Differentiator

Market Landscape

Market pattern: [Pattern name from framework]

Interpretation: [What this means for our decision]

Switching Catalyst Analysis

Do we have a switching catalyst? [Yes / No / N/A]

If yes:

• Type: [Price / Integration / Job Fit / Platform / Experience / Architecture]
• Specific catalyst: [What would make customers switch]
• Evidence: [Why we believe this]
• Defensibility: [Why competitors can't easily match]
• Validation status: [Validated / Hypothesized / Untested]

If no (and entering crowded market):

• Why entry is still justified: [Rationale]
• OR Recommendation: Do not enter

Good Enough Threshold

Feature Parity Baseline

Must have to be taken seriously:

• [Feature/capability 1]
• [Feature/capability 2]
• [Feature/capability 3]

Catalyst Implementation

How our switching catalyst must manifest:

• [Requirement 1]
• [Requirement 2]

Switching Friction Reduction

What makes transition easier for customers:

• [Migration/transition support 1]
• [Migration/transition support 2]

Gap Assessment

Decision: [BUILD / BUY / PARTNER]

Primary Rationale

[2-3 sentences explaining why this is the right choice]

Supporting Factors

1. [Factor 1]
2. [Factor 2]
3. [Factor 3]

Factors Against (Considered and Rejected)

1. [Counter-argument]: [Why we're proceeding anyway]
2. [Counter-argument]: [Why we're proceeding anyway]

Implementation Plan

If BUILD:

Scope:

• [What specifically to build]
• [What explicitly NOT to build]

Timeline:

Resources:

• Team: [Who]
• Budget: [Amount]
• Dependencies: [What's needed from others]

Success Criteria:

If BUY:

Selected Solution: [Name]

Alternatives Considered:

Cost Analysis:

Integration Scope:

• [What needs to be connected]
• [Data flows required]
• [User experience impact]

Lock-in Assessment:

• Data portability: [Easy/Medium/Hard]
• Integration depth: [Surface/Moderate/Deep]
• Switching cost if needed: [Estimate]

Exit Strategy: [What we would do if this solution fails or vendor fails]

If PARTNER:

Partner: [Organization name]

Partnership Structure:

• Type: [Integration / Reseller / Co-development / Other]
• Formal agreement: [Required / Informal / TBD]

Contribution Analysis:

Dependency Risk:

• If partnership fails: [What happens]
• Mitigation: [How we protect ourselves]

Negotiating Position:

• Our leverage: [What gives us power]
• Their leverage: [What gives them power]
• Assessment: [Strong/Balanced/Weak position]

Risk Assessment

Biggest risk: [Which risk concerns us most and why]

Reversibility Assessment

How hard to change course: [Easy / Moderate / Difficult / Very Difficult]

What changing would require:

• [Effort/cost 1]
• [Effort/cost 2]

Decision review trigger: [What would cause us to revisit]

Approval

Changelog