AI Opportunity Assessment
A fixed-scope engagement that tells a leadership team where AI can change a result, what it would take, and what to do first.
- Format
- Fixed fee, quoted after an initial conversation.
- You leave with
- A ranked short list, a recommended approach for each opportunity, and a sequenced roadmap with owners.
What the assessment covers
Seven pieces of work, in the order they happen. Each one is written into the scope before work starts.
- 01
Leadership discovery
Structured conversations with the executive team on objectives, constraints, and what a good result looks like.
- 02
Systems and workflow review
The data, tools, and workflows that any AI effort would depend on, as they are today.
- 03
Opportunity identification
Candidate use cases drawn from how the business actually runs, not from a vendor's feature list.
- 04
Impact, effort and risk
Each candidate weighed against the result it could change, the effort to get there, and the risk it carries.
- 05
Prioritized recommendations
A short list, ranked, with the reasoning shown.
- 06
Sequenced roadmap
What to do first, who owns it, and the decision points along the way.
- 07
Executive readout
A working session with leadership to walk through the findings and agree the next steps.
Three movements
Discovery, assessment, readout. The timeline is agreed with you at the start.
- 01
Discovery
Leadership conversations and workflow walkthroughs. I learn how the business runs and what a good result would change.
- 02
Assessment
Systems, data and workflow review. Candidate opportunities come from real work and are weighed against impact, effort and risk.
- 03
Recommendations and readout
A ranked short list, a recommended approach for each, a sequenced roadmap with owners, and a working session with the leadership team.
Who it is for
If one of these is you, the assessment is usually the right first step. If none is, say so and I will tell you what is. The other two offers are compared side by side on the services page.
You will recognize yourself here
- Leadership teams with approved AI spend and no agreed plan
- Organizations with several pilots in flight and no shared view of which ones matter
- Operating partners who need an independent read on a portfolio company
What you hold at the end
- Current-state review of workflows, data and systems
- Opportunity list, ranked, with the reasoning shown
- Recommended approach for each opportunity
- Sequenced roadmap with owners and decision points
- Executive summary
What people ask first
- Who should be involved?
- The executive sponsor, the leaders whose teams would be affected, and the people who run the workflows in question. Technical staff join when the systems review needs them.
- What does Northway need from us?
- Access to the people above, a view of the current tools and reporting, and candor about what is working and what is not. No data extraction. The assessment works from how the business operates, not from a data dump.
- How long does it take?
- Long enough to talk to the people who run the work, and short enough to matter this quarter. There is no standard duration. The timeline is agreed with you at the start, based on scope and your team's availability.
- How is it priced?
- Fixed fee, quoted after an initial conversation and written into the scope before work begins. The fee depends on how many workflows and stakeholders are in scope. You hear plainly whether it fits before you commit to anything.
- Do we have to start here?
- No. The assessment is for leadership teams that do not yet know where to begin. If you already know the problem, the AI Sales Intensive or a Commercial Operating Systems build may be the right first engagement, and the first conversation will say so.
- What happens after the readout?
- The roadmap is yours. Your team can execute it, you can bring in technical partners, or Northway can stay involved through implementation or ongoing advisory. There's no obligation to continue.
Thirty minutes. No deck.
A straight read on your situation from someone who has sat where you sit, and a straight answer on fit, including when the right answer is someone else.