Breakdown: Vendor vs. In-House

Jan 28, 2013

Hello! Thoughts on the breakdown between what is developed by a vendor vs. in-house (rapid). Have a large curriculum, moving to mostly all CBT with some ILT. Trying to make a case for a few thoughts I have on this direction not to mention ensuring the CBTs offer value, we have follow-through, etc.

Thank you all!

Alicia

3 Replies
Steve Flowers

It can make sense to outsource help if:

  • You don't have the capacity internally and can't support a long-term full time position to support the work. In surge situations, you might not have a choice but to divide the work over the short term by hiring in mercenary talent.
  • You need specialized support (narration, 3D, programming, implementation). Outsourced help can be far more cost effective than using internal help that lacks the skill or time to ramp to the skill. For example, a narrator can seem expensive but when you weigh the cost of that short term service against what you pay for the person to read and edit audio, you may see the internal effort costs significantly more for markedly less quality.
  • Your team hasn't produced something like this before or would like some consultation / guidance. External help can be great at helping you form up internal processes and establishing patterns, styles, and strategies. Even if your team has been doing it awhile, an infusion of new ideas can be really refreshing.

I would consider not thinking either / or. There are benefits to using internal staff to drive the core of the output with the help of externally sourced assistance. It depends on your schedule, expectations, and the help you're able to find. Many consultants are less expensive than you would expect for the quality they provide. With a consultant you have the benefit of measuring value by the outputs they provide and if it's not up to snuff, it's usually easier to replace a consultant than an internal employee.

Jerson  Campos

I'm interested in this topic. I've been considering starting a business that would provide specialized animation, graphics, and other design packages to elearning designers that don't have the time or skill to this themselves. One of my questions is if there is actually a need for this?  What kind of graphics are most needed or wanted by other designers?

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