| Starting view | A working option when the mandate needs broad technology, product or global-operations talent. | A working option for technology, engineering and enterprise-operations mandates. | A working option for engineering, technology and enterprise-operations capability. |
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| Talent question | Validate depth at the exact role, level and domain required. A large market does not remove specialist scarcity. | Test function-specific depth rather than assuming adjacent technology experience will transfer. | Test the depth of each specialist cohort and how much hiring would depend on relocation. |
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| Leadership question | Test founding-leader availability, notice periods and competition for people who can build the operating system. | Validate the pool of leaders who have built a function, not only managed an established team. | Validate leaders with the required sector context and cross-border operating experience. |
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| Economics question | Model role-level compensation, premises and replacement cost. Do not use a blended city average. | Compare total employment and operating cost with the roles actually planned for the first two waves. | Model mobility, premises and replacement assumptions alongside compensation. |
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| Control question | Test concentration, business continuity and the effect of any existing India footprint. | Test ecosystem dependencies, resilience and proximity to the client governance team. | Test connectivity, continuity and fit with the enterprise technology and control environment. |
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| Watch first | Competition for specialist and leadership roles can change the ramp and retention case. | A broad talent narrative can conceal gaps in niche functions and founding leadership. | The city can fit one function well and a neighbouring function poorly. Test them separately. |
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