Define the basis of comparison
Two day rates tell you little when the services offered differ. Start by defining the work, capabilities and results you need. Include quality, availability and the division of responsibilities between your teams and the external unit.
Use the same planning horizon and scope assumptions for every option. A setup with initially low utilization cannot meaningfully be compared with an established team unless those differences are made explicit.
Capture the complete cost categories
Separate one-off and recurring effort. Selection, preparation and transition often occur at the beginning. Delivery and internal governance continue through operations. With your own hub, include your location and organizational structure too.
Capture your organization’s contributions: who develops requirements, answers business questions and checks results? This capacity is not automatically free simply because it already exists within the company. What matters is how much working time the model actually uses.
| Category | What it includes | How to assess it |
|---|---|---|
| Selection and preparation | Target model, assessment, selection and alignment. | One-off effort before starting. |
| Setup and transition | Team setup, onboarding, handovers and knowledge transfer. | Ramp-up effort with explicit assumptions. |
| Service delivery | Agreed external services or your own hub’s operations. | Recurring costs for a comparable scope. |
| Internal governance | Prioritization, business coordination and performance assessment. | Recurring internal capacity. |
| Collaboration | Suitable tools, communication and necessary travel. | According to the working model and needs. |
| Development | Additional teams, changed services or later transitions. | Scenarios rather than implicit assumptions. |
Work with assumptions and scenarios
Document the volumes, capacity and ramp-up periods you expect. Then examine how the comparison changes if onboarding takes longer, utilization is lower or more internal coordination is required. This reveals sensitive assumptions.
Keep the calculation straightforward: one-off effort plus recurring costs over the selected period, including internal contributions. Quantified assumptions should have a clear basis. Describe uncertain risks separately rather than assigning an exact financial value without sound evidence.
Connect cost with delivery and governance
A viable model must be able to deliver the services you need. Alongside the cost picture, examine how quality, knowledge and collaboration will be supported. Different models may require different internal capabilities.
Before starting, agree how assumptions will be checked. Review actual governance effort, delivery capability and knowledge transfer together. This helps you adjust early if expected benefits do not materialize or the scope of collaboration changes.
Prepare a decision others can follow
Summarize the options with their cost categories, prerequisites and open assumptions. The result is a comparable basis for a decision, not a blanket promise of savings.
Lupus helps assess partner and hub models while considering their organizational implications. We then support the selected approach so the business case stays connected to day-to-day collaboration.