RAPIDITERATION — BUILD, BUY OR CONFIGURE DECISION RECORD
Version: 2026-11-01
Guide: https://rapiditeration.com/insights/build-vs-buy-association-software/

A blank decision template, not a recommendation or a product comparison.
Complete one copy per workflow, not one for the whole organization. The
value is in the reasoning you record, not the option you select.

ORGANIZATION:
WORKFLOW UNDER REVIEW:
DECISION OWNER:
DATE:
REVIEW TRIGGER (not a calendar date — the assumption that would change this):

IS THIS WORKFLOW A COMMODITY OR DISTINCTIVE?
Do other organizations in our sector solve this the same way?
Would anyone join, stay or leave because of how we do this?
Does it encode something specific to our mandate or regulatory position?
Conclusion (commodity / distinctive / unclear — investigate):

THE FOUR OPTIONS
For each, record what it would take and what it would cost.
Buy a product and adapt our process:
Configure a platform:
Integrate several tools:
Build:

EVIDENCE FROM DEMONSTRATIONS
Record journeys performed with representative sample data and real
permissions, not the vendor's prepared demonstration path.
Journey tested / out of the box / configuration / integration / not possible:

Second-step checks:
- Correcting a wrong record, and what happens downstream:
- Behaviour at the edge of the data model:
- What staff will work around every week:

TOTAL COST OVER FIVE YEARS (same scope on both sides)
BUY / CONFIGURE
Licence (note per-member or per-record pricing and expected growth):
Implementation and configuration:
Data cleanup and migration:
Staff administration time:
Annual increase assumption:
BUILD
Development:
Hosting, backups, monitoring:
Dependency and security updates:
Support arrangement:
Modernization or rewrite allowance (year five to eight):
Five-year total, each option:

EXIT COST
Was an actual export file obtained and inspected before signing?
Does it include history, attachments, audit trail and relationships?
Who holds the domain, DNS, application accounts and source repository?
Charges to leave (export assistance, parallel running, final extract):

DECISION
Option chosen:
Evidence it rests on:
Assumptions that would reverse it:
Accountable owner:

RapidIteration — Vancouver, BC — hello@rapiditeration.com