Do-it-yourself game plans
Move from a baseline to a controlled pilot, with clear gates at every stage.
- Pages
- 15
- Sources cited
- 11
- Last updated
- 26 October 2026
Build the test before the model.
Editorial planning allowances, not observed averages. Bars show each stage’s duration range; they are not a dated project schedule. Work may overlap and approvals can extend it.
Read the full research.
What should we build first?
Build a repeatable test and a cost ledger before a trained model.
Who needs to participate, and what should they deliver?
One person may cover several roles in a small team, but no responsibility should disappear.
Stage 1: define a task and an economic hurdle
Planning allowance: 2–4 working days.
Stage 2: inventory data and settle permission
Planning allowance: 3–10 working days, with legal review potentially longer.
Stage 3: create development and protected evaluation sets
Planning allowance: 3–7 working days initially, then review effort as needed.
Stage 4: establish the best practical baseline
Planning allowance: 3–5 working days.
Stage 5: run a small, controlled adaptation experiment
Planning allowance: 3–10 working days after data preparation.
Stage 6: test the actual service, not only the checkpoint
Planning allowance: 3–7 working days.
Stage 7: calculate costs and make the stop/go decision
Use actual invoices or dated list prices and label every unmeasured input.
Stage 8: hand over, rehearse exit and operate
Planning allowance: 1–3 weeks for a bounded rollout, with subsequent ongoing ownership.
What should the final decision memo contain?
A coherent small pilot could occupy several weeks; the stage allowances above are deliberately not a fixed delivery promise.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions buyers ask.
Read →13 / REFERENCEWhat remains unproven
Evidence gaps and limits that still need resolving.
Read →14 / REFERENCEEditorial self-assessment
The research’s own quality scores and limitations.
Read →15 / REFERENCESources
Trace the section’s claims to the original sources.
Read →Useful evidence.
Visible limits.
Complete staged path with owners, artefacts, practical gates and costing. Timelines are explicit planning allowances; there is no executed pilot or validated customer budget.