Engagement 1.2 · AI strategy & roadmapping · Planned
We assess where you actually are and score candidate use cases on value, feasibility and data readiness. You get a sequenced roadmap of decision points across 6–18 months. Each one lists the conditions that must hold before it unlocks.
The brief covers what the engagement includes, how each step works, what we need from you and the published evidence behind the method. Every figure in it is sourced.
Step 1 · Assessment
The scan is step one, so the roadmap starts from your live footprint rather than the licence list.
It runs in week 1, read-only and scoped in writing at kickoff. Findings are attributed to teams, so the workshops can talk about what people actually do. We route findings to the people who can close the gap, not into performance reviews.
Free tool · same method
The self-serve version of this engagement. Score your ideas on value, feasibility and data readiness, apply the risk gate, and get a first-pass 18-month roadmap and a Roadmap Score.
Bring the report or CSV to the kickoff and the discovery workshops start from your list. In the engagement your self-scores are tested against evidence: the scan, data samples and value ranges checked with finance.
What AI and SaaS is actually in use, by which teams, with a posture score you can re-measure.
Every candidate with value, feasibility, data readiness, a risk check and a named owner. A spreadsheet you keep.
Decision points across 6–18 months, each with the conditions that unlock it.
A written position per use case, with vendor viability checked.
A short deck and a one-page summary for your executive team.
One sponsor, about 10 hours of their time. Around 8 hours each from 6–12 workshop participants.
An implementation, a vendor bake-off or a board pack. Those are separate engagements (4.2, 2.2 and 1.3), and the roadmap tells you whether you need them.
Starting from an inventory takes longer than starting from a shortlist. You get fewer, better-supported use cases rather than a long list of possibilities.
| Week | What happens | Your time | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0Mobilise | Kickoff with the sponsor: scope, success criteria and who we talk to. Your security team approves read-only access for Shadow Scanner. The free AI Readiness Scorecard goes to 8–15 leaders. | Sponsor 1.5 h · IT/security 2–4 h · Scorecard 8 min each | Signed scope, access approved, calendar locked |
| 1Inventory | Shadow Scanner runs. Current-state interviews cover data, identity, existing pilots and budget. | 6–10 interviewees, 45 min each | Live footprint report and posture baseline |
| 2Discover | Two discovery workshops with the business, seeded with scan findings. Typically 20–40 candidate use cases. | Participants 2 × 3 h | Candidate long list, each with a proposed owner |
| 3Test | Data-readiness checks on the shortlist (usually 8–12): owner named, reachable by software, quality sampled, usage rights confirmed. Value estimates worked through with finance. | Data owners ~1 h each · Finance 2 h | Readiness evidence per use case |
| 4Score & sequence | Scoring workshop. Risk gate applied. Build, buy or leave positions written. Vendor viability checked. Roadmap drafted as decision points with unlock conditions. | Participants 3 h · Sponsor 1 h | Scored register, draft roadmap |
| 5Decide | Sponsor review of the draft. Executive readout. Handover of the register and roadmap. First quarterly re-scan date set. | Sponsor 1.5 h · Executives 1.5 h | Final roadmap, readout deck, one-page summary |
Why six weeks: access approvals for the scan, two rounds of workshops and data owners' availability each take a week of elapsed time in most organisations. If access is approved and workshop dates are held before kickoff, it can run in five.