i. Identify the product or service.

ii. Which components of your scope would you consider for procurement?

iii. What should go into the make-or-buy analysis?

iv. What are your vendor selection criteria?

v. Describe some of the tools and techniques you would use for planning and managing communications and work performance.

A make-or-buy analysis is a general project management technique that is used to determine whether a particular task can be accomplished by the project team or should be handled via external sources. Since the project management team may source work from outside the organization to meet the scheduled commitments, it is important to understand the good practices and factors that influence make-or-buy decisions.

Understanding the good practices and factors that influence make-or-buy decisions may mean evaluating whether to contract the work out or to do it within the team. It could also mean deciding whether to build a solution to your problem or buy one that is already available. Some questions to consider include the following: How much does it cost to build it as opposed to buying it? How will this decision affect the scope of your project? How will this decision affect the project schedule? Do you have time to do the work and still meet your commitments?

As you plan out what you will and won’t contract, you will notice that it is important to think through your reasoning very carefully.

To support the make-or-buy analysis, communication processes are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, and retrieval of project information. Project managers spend time communicating with team members and project stakeholders, including vendors with different cultural and organizational backgrounds, different levels of expertise, and different perspectives and interests. Being aware of the good practices in project management communication supports project execution and outcomes.