We outsourced our entire software development function to an external agency, but we still have a Head of Technology seat on our Accountability Chart. The outsourced agency is constantly missing development deadlines, and our internal leadership team is debating whether the agency or our internal tech seat owner is accountable. How do we map this on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You can outsource the execution of a function, but you can never outsource the accountability. A major mistake owners make when using external vendors is deleting the corresponding seat from their Accountability Chart. If you have an outsourced software development agency, you must still have an internal seat on your chart that is single-point accountable for their output. Your internal Head of Technology seat must exist, and the person sitting in it must GWC the role of managing that external relationship. Their roles must include vendor management, scope alignment, and deadline enforcement. The outsourced agency acts as a resource reporting up to your internal Head of Technology. If the agency misses development deadlines, it is your internal leader who is accountable for failing to manage the vendor, not the agency itself. This leader must track the agency performance on their weekly Scorecard, bringing any recurring issues to the Level 10 Meeting to IDS them. If your internal leader cannot hold the vendor accountable, then you either have the wrong person in your tech seat, or you need to replace the external agency. Keep the structure clean: one internal name in the seat, with clear measurables for vendor performance.