# AI build-or-buy decision worksheet

Use this worksheet for one defined workflow. It is a proposed decision aid, not a scoring standard or a recommendation to buy custom development. Record evidence separately from assumptions. An unresolved mandatory requirement cannot be offset by a high score elsewhere.

Prepared by:  
Decision owner:  
Review date:  
Workflow:

## 1. Define the work

- Trigger that starts a case:
- Observable outcome that completes a case:
- Current systems and their owners:
- Expected case volume and its measurement source:
- Current handling time, review, and rework:
- Business improvement sought:
- Consequential errors to prevent:
- Conditions that must stop or escalate a case:
- Manual route when the system cannot finish:

## 2. Name the options being compared

Include an existing software feature, a configured/integrated option, and a custom workflow where each is plausible. Include a conventional integration or process change if it could solve the problem without AI. Custom delivery can use commercially supplied models; model training is a separate decision.

| Option                         | Product or proposed approach | Scope included | Work left to our team |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | -------------- | --------------------- |
| Existing software              |                              |                |                       |
| Configure and integrate        |                              |                |                       |
| Custom workflow                |                              |                |                       |
| Simpler process or integration |                              |                |                       |

## 3. Record mandatory requirements

Use Pass, Fail, or Unproven for each option. Attach the observed result or artifact behind each Pass. A product feature description is not evidence that it works with your actual permissions and process.

| Requirement                                             | Existing software | Configure/integrate | Custom workflow | Evidence or unresolved question |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Permitted users can access the required records         |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Restricted records remain inaccessible                  |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Required business rules are enforced                    |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Consequential actions need the agreed approval          |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Normal cases reach the intended destination             |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Missing or ambiguous inputs reach a visible review path |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Duplicate submissions do not cause duplicate effects    |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Uncertain write outcomes can be reconciled              |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Operators can pause and recover the workflow            |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Data handling meets the agreed requirements             |                   |                     |                 |                                 |
| Additional workflow-specific requirement:               |                   |                     |                 |                                 |

Requirements that can be changed, and the business owner authorized to change them:

## 4. Run the same representative cases

Agree the expected outcome before each demonstration. Record remaining manual steps and review time as well as whether the AI response looks correct. Use approved examples with appropriate access and handling.

| Case                        | Expected outcome | Option tested | Observed outcome | Review/rework left | Evidence |
| --------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ | -------- |
| Normal case                 |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Missing input               |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Ambiguous record match      |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Access denied               |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Dependency unavailable      |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Repeated submission         |                  |               |                  |                    |          |
| Workflow-specific exception |                  |               |                  |                    |          |

Cases not yet represented, and the consequences of that gap:

## 5. Compare the full operating commitment

Common planning period:  
Expected volume:  
Review-time assumption and source:

Avoid counting review time twice if it is already included in the assumed time saving. Separate known quotes from modeled inputs. Record volume, seat, or usage limits that would change the comparison.

| Cost or effort                         | Existing software | Configure/integrate | Custom workflow | Quote or assumption; how it changes |
| -------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Licenses and subscriptions             |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Configuration and delivery             |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Internal access, testing, and training |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Model/tool usage and infrastructure    |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Human review and correction            |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Support and maintenance                |                   |                     |                 |                                     |
| Migration or exit work                 |                   |                     |                 |                                     |

Operating responsibilities to assign:

| Responsibility                      | Accountable owner | Included in agreement? | Evidence or next action |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Product/application operation       |                   |                        |                         |
| Integrations and credentials        |                   |                        |                         |
| Failed-case recovery                |                   |                        |                         |
| Release testing and change approval |                   |                        |                         |
| Operator coverage and escalation    |                   |                        |                         |
| Budget and usage limits             |                   |                        |                         |

## 6. Check the exit path

- Which business records and case histories can we export? In what format?
- Can we export configuration, prompts, evaluation examples, and approval history where needed?
- Which extensions or workflows would need rebuilding with a different provider?
- What source access, documentation, and usage rights would another operator receive?
- Which provider accounts, credentials, and hosting resources do we control?
- Who can demonstrate restoration or migration, and what remains untested?
- What contract terms, notice periods, retention requirements, or charges affect exit?

## 7. Fund the next evidence-producing step

- Provisional choice and why:
- Mandatory requirements still failed or unproven:
- Smallest test that could change the decision:
- Test owner and budget:
- Evidence required to proceed:
- Stop condition:
- Decision date:
- Final decision: proceed / narrow scope / resolve dependency / stop
- Rationale and remaining limitations accepted by the decision owner:

Prepared by PlatformBridge. Companion guide: https://www.platformbridge.ai/guides/build-vs-buy-ai