From Data To Profit

CHAPTER 16Assessing the Business's AI Maturity

The assessment framework creates a baseline snapshot of the business's AI maturity to build from. The process avoids a significant misstep I see frequently made early in transformation initiatives when businesses just start implementing and changing things.

Diving straight into a playbook without understanding where the business is and what's been tried before rarely ends well. The initial assessment framework delivers much needed context about why the company is the way it is today. There's always a backstory that informs how we should move forward to get better results.

The frameworks are adaptable, and what I learn from the initial assessment tells me precisely what they must be adapted to. It's easy to develop unrealistic expectations and build an even more unrealistic strategy without it.

Most businesses have one or more silos. The assessment starts the process of building coalitions to help break silos down. The simple act of talking to people outside of the data team or strategy organization can be a huge step toward building relationships. People buy in when they are involved from the start and not treated as afterthoughts.

Assessing the business moves from implementation to execution. For the first time in the book, we're producing tangible artifacts and deploying the frameworks.

Starting the Assessment

The initial assessment gives the business enough information for data and AI strategy planning. It's the starting point ...