Find where AI pays before you build
A fortnight of measurement that ends in a report you can act on, take to a board, or hand to a different firm. Credited in full if you build with us afterwards.
Four situations this was built for
You have run a pilot that did not ship
Usually the pilot proved the model works and nobody could name the workflow it would change.
The board has asked for an AI strategy
You need something defensible, with numbers, that is not a vendor deck.
Your data cannot leave the building
Every hosted product failed procurement and you want to know what is still possible.
You are being quoted six figures
A second opinion on scope, before you sign, from people who are not bidding on the build.
Six areas, examined in order
Workflows first. Every assessment that starts with the technology arrives at a tool nobody needed.
- 01WorkflowsTime and cost per step across the candidate processes
- 02DataWhat exists, where it lives, and whether it is usable as it stands
- 03ConstraintsResidency, contracts, regulation and the clauses that rule options out
- 04SystemsIntegration surface of the platforms the work would touch
- 05TeamWho would own it after launch, and whether they can
- 06EconomicsCost per unit of work today against modelled cost after
What happens on which day
Kickoff and access
Scope confirmation, read only access, and interviews booked for the week.
Workflow shadowing
We watch the actual work and time it. This is where most surprises appear.
Data and systems review
What is available, what is clean, and what the integration would cost.
Modelling
Cost per unit today, modelled after, with the assumptions written out.
Draft findings
Circulated before the readout so nobody hears a surprise in a room.
Report and readout
Final report, ranked recommendations, and a 90 minute session with your team.
What we need to start
If any of these cannot be arranged in the first two days, the assessment slips. We will say so rather than absorb it quietly.
- Read only access to the systems in scope
- Four to six interviews of 45 minutes with the people doing the work
- A named internal sponsor who can approve access quickly
- Sight of the contracts or policies that constrain the options
Six things land in your inbox on day fourteen
- Ranked opportunity list with modelled cost and effort per item
- Readiness score across data, systems, constraints and ownership
- The workflows we recommend you do not automate, and why
- Reference architecture for the top ranked opportunity
- Build or buy recommendation per item, including buy from someone else
- 90 minute readout with your team, recorded
What the scoring looks like
Four dimensions, scored independently. A high score on three and a failing score on one still means not yet, and the report says not yet.
Usable, but two sources need cleaning first
Integration surface exists and is documented
Residency clause rules out three of five options
Owner identified, needs capacity freed
Fixed, quoted after a scoping call
The band is a low five figure fee. The exact number depends on how many workflows are in scope, and it is fixed before we start.
- Duration
- 10 working days
- Your time
- About 8 hours
- Credited
- 100% against a build
If the assessment concludes you should not proceed, you keep the report and owe nothing further. That has happened twice and both clients came back for different work.
Three paths out of the report
Build with us
The fee is credited in full and we move straight into the Decide phase.
Build elsewhere
The report is vendor neutral and written so another firm can execute from it.
Do nothing yet
The report names what has to be true first, so you know when to revisit.
When not to buy this
- You already know the workflow and the constraint, buy Decide instead
- The decision has been made and this would be cover for it
- Nobody can free eight hours of the right people's time
- You need a build started this month
Asked before every assessment
What does it cost?
A fixed low five figure fee, quoted after a 45 minute scoping call. It is credited in full against a following engagement if you choose to proceed with us.
Can the answer be do nothing?
Yes, and it has been. Two assessments have concluded that the workflow should be fixed with process change rather than software. Both clients said that was the most useful outcome available.
Do we have to build with you afterwards?
No. The report is written so another firm could execute from it, and the reference architecture is vendor neutral.
Who runs it?
The engagement lead who would run the build, with one senior engineer. Not a researcher who hands off to a delivery team.
How much of our time does it take?
Roughly eight hours total across the fortnight, spread over interviews and one readout.
What if we already know what we want built?
Then buy the Decide phase instead, which produces the architecture without the opportunity analysis. We will tell you which one you need on the scoping call.