Most problems in outsourcing arrangements come from things nobody asked about at the start. This is the list worth working through before the first package leaves your office.
About the work itself
1. Who will actually draw my project, and how experienced are they? You want to know whether the people on your work are the people you met.
2. Will the same team stay on my projects? Continuity is what makes a partner faster over time. Rotating staff means paying for the learning curve repeatedly.
3. Can you work to my CAD or Revit standards? The answer should be yes without hesitation, including when you have no documented standard and need help writing one.
4. What software and versions do you work in? Version mismatches cause avoidable friction on every exchange.
5. Who checks the work before it reaches me? If nobody does, you have moved the checking rather than removed it.
About working together
6. Who is my point of contact, and what hours can I reach them? Some overlap with your working day matters more than most people expect.
7. How do you handle queries? You want questions raised early, in one place, not assumptions made silently.
8. What do you need from me for a task to run smoothly? A partner who can answer this precisely has thought about the process.
9. What is a realistic turnaround for a package like mine? Ask about a specific piece of work, not in general.
10. What happens when you are at capacity or someone is on leave? This is the question that reveals whether there is a business behind the individual.
About commercial terms
11. How is this priced, and what exactly is included? Scope precision prevents most later disagreements.
12. What counts as a revision, and what counts as new scope? Get this in writing before you need it.
13. Who owns the drawings, models and files? The answer should be that you do, unambiguously.
About risk
14. What confidentiality arrangements are in place, and do they cover my client's information? Including how file access is controlled and what happens when staff leave.
15. What happens to my files if we stop working together? You want the archive handed over, in usable formats, without argument.
The one that matters most
Beyond all of these, run a small paid test. Answers to fifteen questions tell you how a firm presents itself. One package of real work tells you what actually arrives. If the answers are good and the test is good, you have found something worth building on.