A decision worksheet for small technical teams
Use this with the people who operate the service and the people who depend on it. Compare keeping the current system, improving it, and moving to a managed alternative. Record evidence and unresolved questions before choosing a direction.
This is a planning framework, not a scored product ranking. It does not assume that either self-hosting or outsourcing is the right answer.
1. Define the service people actually need
Service under review: ____________________
Users and teams affected: ____________________
Decision owner and review date: ____________________
Describe three tasks users must be able to complete. Include the steps between applications: scheduling a meeting, sharing a document with the right people, or removing access when someone leaves.
| User task | Current friction | Evidence of a satisfactory replacement |
|---|---|---|
2. Make the operating work visible
Use tickets, calendars, maintenance records, and incident notes where available. Mark estimates as estimates. Include ordinary months and unusually demanding periods.
| Work | Primary owner | Backup owner | Typical monthly hours | Evidence or uncertainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Updates and maintenance | ||||
| Security monitoring and response | ||||
| User support and account changes | ||||
| Integration and configuration | ||||
| Backup and recovery exercises | ||||
| Unexpected incidents |
What other work slips when this service needs attention? ____________________
What happens when its primary operator is unavailable? ____________________
3. Compare complete options
For each cell, record what you know and how you know it. “Included” is insufficient if nobody has checked that the feature meets your actual requirement.
| Decision area | Keep current service | Improve current service | Managed alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required user workflows | |||
| Identity and access requirements | |||
| Integrations that must keep working | |||
| Ongoing work your team retains | |||
| Subscription, hosting, and support costs | |||
| Migration and parallel-running effort | |||
| Recovery responsibilities and evidence | |||
| Export and future exit process |
List any non-negotiable requirement separately. An option that fails one needs a resolution; a collection of attractive features does not cancel it out.
Requirement: ____________________
Evidence needed: ____________________
Owner of the unresolved question: ____________________
4. Plan the administration handoff
A managed service still needs an operating team. Name responsibilities before assuming that a change of platform will free the current administrators.
| Administration task | Future owner | Training or practice needed | Escalation destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding and offboarding | |||
| Routine user requests | |||
| Access and permission changes | |||
| Incident triage | |||
| Configuration changes |
Choose a routine task and have its future owner walk through it in an appropriate practice environment. Record the missing instructions and decisions. Use those findings to shape the handoff.
5. Define milestones separately
| Milestone | Evidence that it is complete | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot users can complete required tasks | ||
| Production cutover | ||
| Data migration and validation | ||
| Support accepts routine administration | ||
| Old service is ready for retirement |
Before retirement, identify remaining dependencies, required records, recovery needs, and the person authorized to approve the step. Cutover alone does not prove that the old system can be removed.
6. Record the decision and revisit it
Chosen option and reason: ____________________
Tradeoffs accepted: ____________________
Unresolved questions and owners: ____________________
Conditions that would change the decision: ____________________
Review date: ____________________
At the review, compare the evidence with the original expectation: support demand, operator time, user workflow problems, and administration ownership. Separate measured changes from impressions. Both can inform the next decision when clearly labeled.