A brief that asks for the right decision

The sponsor needs to decide whether to expand a pilot. A positive observation is not enough to claim a productivity gain.

Illustrative example · Fictional data · By Harold Vazquez

What does the evidence actually support?

In this fictional AI pilot, teams have tried a project-update workflow twice. The next review concerns adding one workflow. No time or quality improvement has been measured.

I would use AI to compare workstream notes and prepare a short draft. The leader still has to decide what the evidence justifies asking the sponsor to approve.

Source notes

E1: Facilitator note

Second test cycle completed for the project-update workflow. Review logs show participants used the checklist. No baseline or follow-up time and quality measurements were collected.

E2: Governance issue log

Teams interpret tool-access and data-boundary guidance differently. Governance owner is not yet assigned. Clarification is required before expansion.

E3: Sponsor agenda

Next cycle decision: whether to add one management workflow. Sponsor must assign a governance owner and approve any controlled expansion.

The recommendation goes too far

This sample draft was written to demonstrate the errors. It is not a recorded model response.

The pilot has improved productivity and is ready to scale across the business. Approve the rollout next cycle.

What I would change

  • Remove the productivity claim: E1 contains observations, not measured improvement.
  • Narrow the recommendation: E3 concerns one workflow, not an organization-wide rollout.
  • Keep the dependency visible: E2 makes governance clarification a prerequisite, not a minor footnote.

The decision brief

Evidence: The project-update workflow completed a second test cycle, and review logs record checklist use. Time and quality improvement have not been measured. [E1]

Risk: Tool and data guidance remains inconsistent across teams. [E2]

Recommendation: Consider one additional management workflow only after the governance owner confirms data boundaries. This is a proposed next step, not a proven outcome. [E2] [E3]

Decision requested: At the next-cycle review, assign the governance owner and decide whether to approve a controlled expansion once that dependency is closed. [E3]