Free guide · AI Stage Map

Map the AI stage before the big SOW

Teams fund five-figure AI work before they agree which stage they’re in. Design still open. Proto already flaky. Eval undefined. Integrations assumed. The SOW absorbs the confusion — and the build stalls anyway.

What “stage” means here

A practical ladder for product/eng leads (not a maturity theater):

  1. Design — problem, users, success metric still contested
  2. Proto — something demos; reliability and scope unclear
  3. Eval — no shared golden set / judge / pass bar
  4. Harden — works in the lab; fails under load, tools, or policy
  5. Integrations / MCP — model is fine; contracts and side effects aren’t

If two stakeholders point at different rungs, you don’t have a build plan — you have a debate with a budget.

The free move

Start with a Free AI Stage Map: pick the stage you’re actually in, name the blocker, leave with a clearer next slice. No call required.

Get the free Stage Map

Want the worksheets after the map is useful? $59 pack — optional, soft secondary only.

Who this is for

Founders, Heads of AI, VP Engs, and tech PMs about to fund a build who don’t agree on the bottleneck yet.

What this is not

Not Soft LI. Not an agency pitch. Not “buy before you try.”