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Build vs. Buy Template: Free Scorecard & Decision Checklist
Skip the spreadsheet. This template gives you a pre-configured build vs. buy scorecard with proven evaluation dimensions, stakeholder scoring, and exportable results. Use it online for free or adapt it to your team's process.
Use this template online — free, instant, no signup
Open the Build or Buy tool to create a rubric with these dimensions pre-loaded. Customize weights, invite stakeholders, and export results in under 2 minutes.
Template: Recommended Scoring Dimensions
The following dimensions cover the most important factors in a build vs. buy decision. Each dimension is scored on a consistent scale (we recommend 1–10) and weighted according to your team's priorities.
| Dimension | What to Evaluate | Default Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Differentiation | Is this capability a core competitive advantage? | 3× |
| Total Cost of Ownership | 3–5 year cost comparison: build (dev + maintenance) vs. buy (licenses + integration) | 2× |
| Time to Value | How quickly will each option deliver a working solution? | 2× |
| Internal Capacity | Do you have the engineers, expertise, and bandwidth? | 2× |
| Integration Complexity | How deeply must this integrate with your existing stack? | 1× |
| Risk & Compliance | Regulatory, security, and data sovereignty requirements | 1× |
| Vendor Maturity | Vendor track record, stability, migration path, and lock-in risk | 1× |
How to Use This Template
Step 1: Define Your Decision
Start with a clear problem statement. What capability are you evaluating? Who are the users? What does success look like? A well-defined scope prevents the evaluation from drifting into adjacent problems.
Example: "We need a solution for real-time event streaming from our application to our data warehouse, supporting 10K events/second with at-least-once delivery."
Step 2: Customize the Dimensions
The seven dimensions above work for most technology decisions, but you should tailor them to your context. Consider adding dimensions like:
- Scalability — Can the solution handle 10× growth?
- Developer Experience — How easy is it for your team to work with?
- Data Ownership — Who controls the data, and can you export it?
- Support & SLAs — What level of support does the vendor offer?
- Customization Depth — How much can you modify the vendor's solution?
Step 3: Set Weights
Weights reflect your team's priorities. Use a simple multiplier system (1×, 2×, 3×) rather than percentages — it's easier for stakeholders to understand.
Weight guidance:
- 3× — Critical to the decision. A low score here is a dealbreaker.
- 2× — Important but not decisive on its own.
- 1× — Worth evaluating but unlikely to change the outcome alone.
Step 4: Invite Stakeholders
A build vs. buy decision affects multiple teams. Include at minimum:
- Product manager — Strategy, user impact, roadmap alignment
- Engineering lead — Technical feasibility, maintenance, integration
- Engineering IC — Hands-on assessment of build complexity
- Operations/DevOps — Infrastructure, reliability, on-call burden
- Finance — Budget, TCO analysis, contract terms
Each stakeholder should score independently to avoid anchoring bias. The Build or Buy tool handles this automatically — share a code, each person scores on their own, and results are aggregated.
Step 5: Review Results
Look at three things in the aggregated results:
- Weighted total score. Does the overall score clearly favor build or buy?
- Score distribution. Are there dimensions where stakeholders strongly disagree? High variance often reveals hidden assumptions.
- Dealbreaker dimensions. A heavily weighted dimension with a low score may override a favorable overall score.
Build vs. Buy Checklist
Use this checklist before finalizing your decision:
- Have you clearly defined the capability and its requirements?
- Have at least 3 stakeholders from different functions scored the rubric?
- Have you calculated TCO for both options over 3–5 years?
- Have you evaluated at least 2 vendor solutions (if leaning "buy")?
- Have you accounted for opportunity cost of engineering time?
- Have you identified the top risks for each option?
- Have you documented the decision rationale for future reference?
- Have you defined success criteria and a review timeline (e.g., 6-month check-in)?
Scoring Scale Options
Different scoring scales suit different contexts. Here are the most common options and when to use them:
| Scale | Best For | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 Numeric | Detailed analysis with nuanced scoring | Slower; people overthink fine distinctions |
| 1–5 Numeric | Quick assessments with clear gradation | Good balance of speed and granularity |
| 5-Star Rating | Teams familiar with review-style scoring | Intuitive; may skew high (3-star feels "bad") |
| Thumbs Up/Down | Binary decisions or quick pulse checks | Fast but loses nuance |
| 0.0–10.0 Slider | Precise scoring with continuous values | Maximum granularity; slower to complete |
Example: SaaS vs. Custom Build for Internal Analytics
Here's how a real evaluation might look for a product analytics platform:
| Dimension | Weight | Build Score | Buy Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Differentiation | 3× | 3 | 3 |
| Total Cost of Ownership | 2× | 4 | 7 |
| Time to Value | 2× | 3 | 9 |
| Internal Capacity | 2× | 4 | 8 |
| Integration Complexity | 1× | 8 | 6 |
| Risk & Compliance | 1× | 7 | 6 |
| Vendor Maturity | 1× | N/A | 8 |
| Weighted Total | 48 | 79 |
In this example, "buy" wins decisively. Internal analytics is rarely a competitive differentiator, and mature SaaS solutions offer faster deployment with lower TCO. The build option scores well only on integration and compliance — not enough to overcome the weighted advantage.
Related Resources
- Build vs. Buy Framework Guide — Deep dive into the methodology behind this template
- Make or Buy Decision Guide — Procurement and operations perspective on build vs. buy
- Build or Buy Tool — Create a free rubric and start scoring now