Everyone says use AI. Nobody says where.
Each possible use gets a plain yes or no. We check how often it happens and whether the answer can be checked. We also say where a fixed rule or a better form does it for less.
What to do next, in what order.
Where AI earns its place, and where it does not. A written, ordered plan of what to fix, build or buy off the shelf, for owners who know something has to change but not what comes first. Each step goes live on its own.
Why a roadmap
Why a plan before a build?
Each step is small enough to go live on its own. So you get value from the first step, not only at the end.
We run AI in our own live products, Estimonia among them. That is why the plan says no to AI wherever a plain rule, an existing tool or nothing at all would do better.
Small steps. Each one paying for the next.
2018
Building and running production software since
7
Products of our own we run in production
3
Model providers behind one interface
1 week
System review, delivered within a week
Where owners start
Something has to change. Nobody can say what comes first
Three things we hear before a roadmap, and what the plan does with each.
What you get
A written plan you can use with anyone
Build, buy or do nothing
01
Current-State Map
The tools, data and manual steps the business runs on, including the spreadsheet and inbox nobody calls a system.
02
Ordered Roadmap
Each step with its purpose, what it depends on, its risks and rough size. Each is marked as build, buy, change a setting, or do nothing.
03
The AI Test
Each possible AI use is checked: does it happen often, can a correct answer be checked, and does a person approve it where a mistake costs money.
04
Build, Buy or Keep
Whether WooCommerce or a SaaS tool you already pay for covers a step. Buy wins more often than builders admit.
The first step
Ready to price straight away.
The first step is written tight enough to go straight into Scope & Fixed Quote.
Where AI earns its place
The best first AI use is usually boring
Where AI helps
Repeated reading, sorting and drafting.
- Reading inbound emails or documents and filling a form a person approves.
- Sorting large amounts of email and pulling details out of documents, with an answer you can check.
- Staff questions answered from your own documents.
Where it does not
01
On top of messy data
AI on messy data repeats the mess faster. Often the first step is cleaning product data, customer records or document storage.
Where it does not
02
Rare or high-stakes work
Where volume is low or a mistake costs money, a plain rule, an existing tool or nothing at all usually does better.
How the roadmap is made
From the awkward cases to a priced first step
-
Step 01
Listen to the People Doing the Work
We look at the actual tools, exports and inboxes, because the useful detail is in the awkward cases.
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Step 02
Test the Candidates
Every idea is checked for how often it happens, the data it needs, the effort to connect systems, and the cost of a mistake.
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Step 03
Order the Steps
Each step earns its keep on its own, and nothing is built before what it depends on.
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Step 04
Hand Over and Price Step One
The roadmap is yours to use with anyone. The first step can go straight into Scope & Fixed Quote.
In production
Our line on AI comes from running it
FAQ
Questions owners ask before a roadmap
Use it where people read, sort or draft the same kind of thing many times. The answer must be easy to check, and a person must approve anything that costs money. Sorting incoming email, pulling details out of documents, and answering staff questions from your own documents usually qualify. Rare or high-stakes work usually does not.
No, you need a clear first step. We write the shortest plan that puts the work in order, in plain language any good team can price from.
For a single existing system, it is included in the System review, and that fee is credited against a build started within 30 days. Across several systems or teams, it is a fixed price quoted before we start. Current prices are on our pricing page.
No. We do not sit in management meetings or own your strategy. Hire a part-time tech leader (a fractional CTO) for that. We write the plan, build the steps you choose, and run them.
