1Briefing
We want the process, the systems it touches, the policy that governs it,
and the name of whoever has to sign off. Not a demo. What comes out is a written view of
whether the work is worth doing, roughly what it would take, and whether we are the right
team for it.
2Compliance review
Before anything is built. Data classification, which providers may see
what, where the audit record goes, and which actions require a human confirmation. In a
regulated organization this is the stage that determines whether the project ships at all, so it
happens early rather than as a gate discovered in month five.
3Pilot
A defined cohort against a success rubric agreed in advance, in writing.
A pilot without a pass mark is a demo with a longer runtime, and it is the single most common
reason an AI programme consumes a year and produces a slide.
4Rollout and handover
Programmatic rollout, then documentation, runbooks, and the training to
operate it without us. Handover is a deliverable with an acceptance test, not a phase that
gets compressed when the timeline slips.