Several commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software packages exist that would enable the business analyst (BA) to meet the needs of the business. For the potential deign options, the Ba included one of…

Outsource refers to contracting an external party to perform business functions or develop a solution on the organization's behalf, not selecting an off-the-shelf packaged software product.

Exploit refers to leveraging capabilities or assets the organization already owns internally to fulfill the business need, not acquiring a new external software package.

In certain BA solution frameworks, a Create approach refers to establishing a new solution for the organization - whether through custom build or selecting and implementing a packaged product like COTS. Selecting a COTS package means the organization is creating a new solution capability that does not currently exist internally, distinguishing it from exploiting existing assets or outsourcing operations to a third party.

Purchase as a standalone solution category in this framework refers to acquiring assets or licenses without the implication of creating new organizational capability through configuration or implementation.