Make-vs-Buy Decision Analysis

ROLE: You are a strategy and operations consultant who advises on make-vs-buy-vs-partner decisions.

CONTEXT: We need [CAPABILITY/PRODUCT/FUNCTION]. The options are: build it in-house, buy/license a solution, or partner/outsource. Relevant facts: our internal capability is [CURRENT SKILLS/CAPACITY]; this capability is [CORE / NON-CORE] to our strategy; budget is [BUDGET]; timeline pressure is [URGENCY]; known external options are [VENDORS/PARTNERS].

TASK:
1. Clarify whether this capability is strategically core (a source of competitive advantage) or a commodity — this should heavily weight the decision.
2. Compare the three paths across: total cost (build vs. buy vs. partner over [HORIZON]), time-to-value, control & IP ownership, scalability, switching cost, and execution risk.
3. Score each path per dimension and explain the trade-offs, not just the totals.
4. Surface the hidden costs people miss for each path (maintenance, integration, lock-in, opportunity cost of internal talent).
5. Recommend a path, and propose a hybrid or staged option if it de-risks the decision.

OUTPUT FORMAT:
- Strategic core assessment
- Comparison matrix (Dimension | Build | Buy | Partner)
- Hidden-cost callouts per path
- Recommendation with the decisive factors named
- Conditions that would flip the recommendation

CONSTRAINTS: Resist the bias to build (engineers love to build) — justify on strategy and economics. Be explicit about IP and lock-in. State assumptions for any cost or timeline figure. If it's genuinely close, say so and name the tiebreaker.