Free checklist

The AI build scope checklist

How we keep a 6 week AI build at 6 weeks. Go through it before kickoff, keep it open during the build, and don’t call it launched until every box is checked.

Most AI builds don’t blow up. They drift. Someone asks "can it also do this one thing?", nobody wrote down what done means, every new integration adds a week, and support shows up before launch with nothing budgeted for it. Each box below closes one of those gaps.

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Watch for these

Signs it’s already drifting

"While you're in there..." A new request with no estimate attached. Run it through the change rule.
"We'll know it when we see it." There is no definition of done. Stop and write one.
"Can it also connect to..." A new integration. That's about a week plus support, so it gets costed before it gets a yes.
"Let's just get it perfect first." Launch keeps sliding. Ship the 80% that passes the test and pilot it.
"Who's handling it when it breaks?" Asked after launch, this means support was never priced. Fix that before the next build.

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2. During the build

Hold the line

Week 1, someone asks "can it also do this one thing?" It sounds small. It almost never is. This is where you keep it at 6 weeks.

Every "can it also" goes on the list, not in the build.Write it down, say thanks, keep building. Go through the list at the weekly check-in, not in the middle of the week.
Run every request through the change rule.Estimate it, then pick one: swap it in for something of equal size, or phase 2. There is no third option.
Demo it every week against the acceptance test.Show it working on the real examples. Count how many pass. That number is the progress report.
Watch the integration count.A new system showing up is a new line item with its own week and its own support. Re-cost it before anyone says yes.
Keep the definition of done frozen.If done has to change, the owner signs the new version and the timeline and price change with it. In writing.
Log every decision.Date, what was decided, who decided it. It ends the "I thought we agreed" conversations before they start.

3. Launch and pilot

Ship 80%, then pilot

Waiting for 100% is how 6 weeks turns into 8 months. Ship the part that works, then let real users tell you what's next.

Ship at 80%.It passes the acceptance test on the main path. The rare edge cases get handled by a person for now and go on the phase 2 list.
Pilot with real users on real work.A small group, a fixed window of 2 to 4 weeks, actual customers or staff. Not a demo, not test data.
Keep a person approving anything that sends, pays or deletes.Approve first. Automate it fully once the pilot shows it gets it right.
Log every miss.Every wrong answer, failed run or manual fix gets written down with the example. That log is your phase 2 list and your support baseline.
Support is live on day 1.Who gets the alert, how fast they respond, where people report problems. Already priced, already agreed, so nobody is surprised.
The owner signs off.The owner reruns the acceptance test and signs. That's launch. Everything after this is support or phase 2.

4. Phase 2

Everything else is a new scope

Phase 2 isn't a failure. It's where the good ideas from week 1 go, with their own price and their own timeline.

Move everything left over to phase 2.The "can it also" list, the pilot misses, the 20% you didn't ship. All of it, in one place.
Rank it by what the pilot showed.Build what real users hit most, not what sounded best on the kickoff call.
Scope phase 2 like a new build.New one-pager, new definition of done, new acceptance test, new price, new timeline. Start this checklist again from the top.
Re-price support.Every new workflow or integration adds to the monthly support. Update that number before you add the scope, not after.

Fill it in

Everything in section 1 on one page. Fill it in with the owner, both of you sign it, and it becomes the thing every new request gets checked against.

Scope one-pagerscope-one-pager.txtDownload

AI BUILD SCOPE (one page)

Workflow, in one sentence:
Trigger:
Output, and where it lands:
Who uses it, and how often:

Definition of done:

Acceptance test (10 to 20 real examples, each with the right answer):
1.
2.
3.

Integrations (about 1 week each, plus ongoing support):
1.
2.
3.

Access needed before day 1:

Out of scope:

Support (who fixes it, how fast, cost per month):

Change rule: every new request gets written down and estimated in days and dollars,
then it swaps out something of equal size or moves to phase 2.

Owner and sign-off:
Pilot (who, how long, what we track):
Target launch date:

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Book a call and we’ll go through it together: the one workflow, what done looks like, which integrations are worth the week, and what support should cost. If it’s a fit, our team builds it. If not, you leave with a tighter scope.

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