Fits best when the work belongs to a clear queue, role or responsibility: intake, research, scheduling, follow-up or documentation.
← AI BUSINESS SYSTEMS
DIAGNOSTIC / 15 POINTS
Find the workflow worth automating first.
The best first AI project is not the flashiest one. It is a frequent, bounded and measurable workflow where people can retain decisions, exceptions and control.
READ THE WORKED EXAMPLE AND GUIDE ↓
Educational prioritization self-assessment. It is not a guarantee of ROI, security, compliance or technical feasibility.
HOW TO USE THE RESULT
The score prioritizes workflow shape, not technology hype.
READING AND APPLICATION GUIDE
Score a unit of work, not an entire department.
Choose a named workflow with a recognizable start and finish. “Improve operations” is too broad; “prepare a reviewed response to a complete service request” is testable. Answer for the process that exists today. If access, ownership or exception handling is only planned, leave the corresponding point unchecked.
Worked example: frequent work with weak oversight
A fictional coordinator evaluates recurring service-request preparation. The workflow earns 5/5 for frequency and value, 4/5 for structure and access, but only 1/5 for oversight: 10/15 in total. The missing oversight is not compensated by high volume. No one has yet agreed who accepts exceptions or how to stop an incorrect action.
A sensible first pilot produces drafts in a review queue. The coordinator compares them with the current process, records corrections and defines escalation ownership. Only then is it meaningful to discuss writing to live systems. A high total is a reason to investigate a pilot, not permission to make it autonomous.
| Dimension | What to observe | Common blind spot |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency and value | How often work arrives, where it waits and what a useful result looks like. | Counting clicks saved without counting new review work. |
| Structure and access | Inputs, approved sources, repeatable rules and actual permissions. | Assuming a tool can be integrated because someone can open it manually. |
| Control and oversight | Who approves, who receives exceptions and how recovery is tested. | Treating an unassigned notification as a completed handoff. |
An exercise for your project
- Describe the start, finish and owner in one sentence; collect a small representative sample of past work.
- Include incomplete requests, contradictory records and a tool outage in the sample. Agree what a good response would be.
- Re-score after ownership and access are confirmed. Use your notes as the pilot brief rather than treating the total as a business case.
Concepts worth distinguishing
- Baseline
- Observed performance of the current process, including waiting and review time.
- Exception
- A case outside approved rules that needs an identified person or a defined alternate path.
- Reversible pilot
- A bounded test that can be stopped without losing the authoritative work record.