A sponsor says, "We need AI in our support team." What do you do first?
Why C is the answer
Clarify the business problem, a baseline metric and the success target
Discovery sets the measure of success. Without a baseline, nobody can show later that the project worked.
In detail
- Discovery sets the measure of success.
- Without a baseline, nobody can show later that the project worked.
- Measure the baseline before the project starts.
Use case
An illustrative scenario, not a real incident.
A sponsor wants "AI in support". Discovery finds the real goal is shorter handling time, currently 11 minutes, with a target of 8. Now success can be shown.
See it in different ways
flowchart LR A["Business problem"] --> B["Baseline metric"] B --> C["Success target"] C --> D["Pilot"] D --> E["Decision to scale"]
sequenceDiagram participant S as Sponsor participant A as Architect S->>A: A broad ask A->>S: Problem, baseline and target A->>A: Build and measure A-->>S: Result, limits and options S->>A: Named decision
flowchart LR S0["Business problem"] --> S1["Baseline metric"] --> S2["Success target"] --> S3["Pilot"]
Key point: No baseline, no proof.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Start a pilot straight away, so that the team can see progress quickly
- A pilot with no target cannot prove anything.
- B. Recommend a model and share a cost estimate for the first year
- A model and a cost come after the problem is known.
- D. Book a vendor demonstration for the whole of the leadership team
- A demo shows a product, not your problem.