AI Opportunity Audit: Where to Start and What to Prioritize

Preview Cards

Here are the first 5 questions. Create a conversation to invite someone and discuss each card.

1. <section> <h2>Start here: Make the AI Opportunity Audit deliver real, measurable value</h2> <p>Organizations ask two related questions when they think about AI: "What could AI do for us?" and "Which projects deserve our limited time and budget?" This audit exists to answer the second question in a clear, repeatable way—so your team stops chasing shiny pilots and starts delivering measurable outcomes.</p> <p>What this resource helps you do:</p> <ul> <li>Capture candidate projects consistently so they can be compared fairly.</li> <li>Score each opportunity on value, feasibility, and risk to prioritize work defensibly.</li> <li>Identify readiness gaps—especially data, people, and process issues—before you commit engineering time.</li> <li>Create short, aligned decision artifacts (one-page briefs) that speed pilots into production or rule them out early.</li> </ul> <h3>How to use this audit right now</h3> <ol> <li>Start with one or two candidate ideas and use the Opportunity Intake form to capture facts consistently.</li> <li>Use the Scoring & Prioritization Guide to score each idea. Dont guess—use supporting evidence where possible.</li> <li>Run the Risk & Readiness Checklist to see what must be fixed before a pilot.</li> <li>Create an Opportunity Brief for the highest-priority idea and run a short discovery sprint (1 6 sessions) to validate assumptions.</li> </ol> <h3>Who benefits</h3> <p>This audit is practical for small teams, product managers, operations leaders, analysts, and technical leads who must choose between many competing AI ideas. It also helps leaders and funders compare projects across business units without being swayed by buzz or vendor demos.</p> <h3>Practical expectations</h3> <p>The goal is not perfect prediction. The goal is disciplined decision making: capture the right facts, make trade-offs explicit, reduce wasted effort, and learn faster. Use this audit as a living tool—re-score after discovery and update action plans based on real evidence.</p> <p><strong>Next step:</strong> Use the Opportunity Intake form to add your first candidate idea. Then open the Scoring & Prioritization Guide to score it against consistent criteria.</p> </section>
2. { "FormType": "InteractiveForm", "Title": "AI Opportunity Intake", "IntroductionHtml": "<p>Use this short form to capture the facts for a candidate AI project. Be concise and evidence-based—this information will be used for scoring and prioritization.</p>", "SubmitLabel": "Save Opportunity", "SuccessMessage": "Opportunity saved. Use the Scoring & Prioritization Guide to continue.", "DataType": "OpportunityIntake", "SchemaVersion": 1, "Fields": [ { "Key": "title", "Label": "Candidate project title", "HelpText": "Give the idea a short, descriptive name.", "FieldType": "text", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "Invoice OCR + validation", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "problem_statement", "Label": "Problem or pain this would solve", "HelpText": "Describe the current pain, who experiences it, and why it matters.", "FieldType": "textarea", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "Manual invoice processing requires X hours per week and causes delay in payments...", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "desired_outcome", "Label": "Desired outcome or metric", "HelpText": "What measurable outcome would indicate success? (e.g., hours saved, error rate reduced, conversion uplift)", "FieldType": "textarea", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "Reduce processing time by 60% and decrease errors by 80%", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "estimated_value", "Label": "Estimated annual value (time saved or cost reduction) — optional", "HelpText": "A rough numeric estimate in your preferred unit (hours or dollars). Use best guess if needed.", "FieldType": "number", "IsRequired": false, "Placeholder": "1200", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "frequency", "Label": "How often does this happen today?", "HelpText": "Select the closest frequency.", "FieldType": "select", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [ { "Value": "daily", "Label": "Daily" }, { "Value": "weekly", "Label": "Weekly" }, { "Value": "monthly", "Label": "Monthly" }, { "Value": "ad_hoc", "Label": "Ad hoc / irregular" } ] }, { "Key": "primary_users", "Label": "Primary users or beneficiaries", "HelpText": "Who will use the output or be affected? List roles or teams.", "FieldType": "text", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "Accounts payable, Finance analysts", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "data_availability", "Label": "Data availability", "HelpText": "Is the necessary data accessible and of reasonable quality?", "FieldType": "radio", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [ { "Value": "good", "Label": "Accessible and good quality" }, { "Value": "partial", "Label": "Partially available or needs cleaning" }, { "Value": "poor", "Label": "Not available or poor quality" } ] }, { "Key": "estimated_effort", "Label": "Estimated implementation effort", "HelpText": "Choose an approximate effort level for a small pilot.", "FieldType": "select", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [ { "Value": "low", "Label": "Low (weeks, small team)" }, { "Value": "medium", "Label": "Medium (1-3 months)" }, { "Value": "high", "Label": "High (several months)" } ] }, { "Key": "safety_regulatory_risk", "Label": "Regulatory, safety, or privacy risk", "HelpText": "Rate the potential for legal, safety, or privacy harm if the output is wrong.", "FieldType": "scale", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "", "Minimum": 1.0, "Maximum": 5.0, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "dependencies", "Label": "Important technical or operational dependencies", "HelpText": "E.g., external APIs, legacy systems, vendor tools, approvals.", "FieldType": "textarea", "IsRequired": false, "Placeholder": "Requires integration with ERP X and legal sign-off for data sharing", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "deadline_or_timing", "Label": "Timing constraints or deadlines", "HelpText": "Is there a fixed deadline or seasonal window?", "FieldType": "text", "IsRequired": false, "Placeholder": "Board decision in Q4", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "confidence_level", "Label": "Team confidence in the key assumptions", "HelpText": "How confident are you that the desired outcome is achievable?", "FieldType": "scale", "IsRequired": true, "Placeholder": "", "Minimum": 1.0, "Maximum": 5.0, "Options": [] }, { "Key": "notes", "Label": "Additional notes or links (datasets, docs, demos)", "HelpText": "Paste links or short notes that help reviewers evaluate the idea.", "FieldType": "textarea", "IsRequired": false, "Placeholder": "Link to sample dataset or demo video", "Minimum": null, "Maximum": null, "Options": [] } ] }