U2xAI
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AI Opportunity & Model Strategy

Build vs buy vs fine-tune decisions Interview Questions

23 questions. All 23 carry a written answer.

  1. #1Lay out the decision tree for build, buy, prompt, retrieve or fine-tune.ConceptFoundational
  2. #2What conditions make buying a vendor solution the right call for an AI feature?ConceptFoundational
  3. #3Explain the strategic risk of building your core differentiator on a third-party model.ConceptIntermediate
  4. #4When does fine-tuning pay for itself relative to a better prompt?ConceptIntermediate
  5. #5Your vendor's pricing changes annually. How does that affect a build-versus-buy analysis?CalculationAdvanced
  6. #6Describe the total cost of ownership of a self-hosted open model versus an API.CalculationAdvanced
  7. #7What is the switching cost of a fine-tuned model versus a prompted one?ConceptIntermediate
  8. #8A vendor offers 90 percent of what you need. How do you evaluate closing the last 10 percent yourself?CaseAdvanced
  9. #9Explain when building your own retrieval layer beats using a managed one.ConceptIntermediate
  10. #10How does team capability change a build-versus-buy answer that is otherwise identical?ConceptIntermediate
  11. #11Describe the reversibility test you would apply to this decision.ConceptAdvanced
  12. #12What data volume and quality do you need before fine-tuning is even worth considering?ConceptAdvanced
  13. #13Your CFO wants predictable costs. How does that shape the build-buy-finetune choice?CaseIntermediate
  14. #14Compare time-to-market for the three paths on a feature you specify yourself.CaseIntermediate
  15. #15When does building become a hiring decision rather than an engineering decision?ConceptAdvanced
  16. #16Explain the argument for buying now and building later, and its main failure mode.ConceptIntermediate
  17. #17Describe how vendor lock-in shows up in an AI stack specifically.ConceptIntermediate
  18. #18What would make you reverse a build decision six months in?CaseAdvanced
  19. #19Structure the one-page recommendation memo for a build-versus-buy decision.Artifact critiqueIntermediate
  20. #20How do you factor in that the buy option's capability improves without your effort?ConceptAdvanced
  21. #21Your competitor built; you bought. How do you assess whether that was a mistake?CaseAdvanced
  22. #22Explain when the right answer is buy the platform and build the workflow on top.ConceptIntermediate
  23. #23Walk me through a build-versus-buy decision you would make for a company I name.InterviewAdvanced