Calculating the True ROI of Engineering Partnerships: Beyond the Hourly Rate

Comparing engineering partners by hourly rate is like comparing cars by the price of the steering wheel.

The costs that dominate are elsewhere: months spent hiring, ramp-up time, attrition, rework from junior output and the opportunity cost of a roadmap that slips.

Measure time to productive contribution, retention at twelve months and defect rates. The partner that looks expensive per hour is often the cheapest per shipped feature.