Sometimes you need a couple of hands on a backlog you already run. Sometimes you need a slice nobody in-house will close. They look alike because someone from outside walks in. They differ in who decides it is done.
Extra hands
You own the list. You prioritise. You say what gets merged. The other side brings hours and technical judgement. There is no single "deliverable". There are sprints.
This fits when the product already exists, the backlog does not stop, and the bottleneck is capacity, not clarity. You know what to build. You do not have the time.
It does not fit when there is no list. Putting people into a blank does not create scope. It creates meetings.
You carry the risk. If the month turns into something else, the extra hands turn with it. That is fine if you know it on day one.
Closed project
There is one scope sentence. There is an in / out. There is a date when someone can say done. The other side closes that slice. You do not use them as the backlog's overflow.
This fits when the slice can be written before you start. One flow. One MVP. A bridge between two systems. A tool that replaces a sheet.
It does not fit when the scope is "whatever comes up". That is not a project. That is staffing with a project price on it.
Whoever closes carries the cut. If you cannot name the cut, do not ask for a project. Ask for help writing the scope, or wait.
How not to mix them
Do not hire a project and then change the list every week. Then there is no date. There is staffing in costume.
Do not add extra hands and expect a finished product on day 40. Nobody owned the close.
Do not do "a bit of both" in the same contract. Either you run the list, or a sentence does. Both at once is how a quote never ends.
A test
Write down who says "it is done".
If it is you, every Monday: extra hands.
If it is a sentence written on day one, and you can point at it: project.
If you do not know: do not hire yet. First the sentence or first the list. Not half of each.
How this sits with the rest
If the slice is a product for a stranger, read when an MVP makes sense. If it is the company's month, it is a tool. If it is a cable between two systems, it is integrate or build. This page only chooses the shape of the commission.
After
Both shapes fit in the same studio. You do not need a new URL for each. When you know whether you run the list or the sentence, the path is custom software.