What is an AI Decision Memo?
A fixed-scope advisory engagement that answers one real AI decision, such as build versus buy, vendor selection, feasibility, sequencing, or where to start, and ends in a written memo leadership can act on.
AI Decision Memo
An AI decision memo your leadership team can act on.
When a specific AI decision is on the table (build or buy, which vendor, whether it is even feasible, where to start), a short, fixed-scope engagement turns it into a clear, evidence-backed memo. Not another open-ended retainer.
What the engagement produces
The AI Decision Memo is productized on purpose: a focused, time-boxed engagement that answers one real decision and ends in a written memo your executives can defend and your technical team can act on. No standing retainer, no scope creep.
Typical contents are the decision framed plainly, the options with their tradeoffs, a build-vs-buy and vendor read, feasibility and risk notes, a recommended path, and the first concrete steps to take.
When this is the right fit
It fits a board moment, a vendor commitment, a budget cycle, or a "should we even do this" question, anywhere a team needs a senior, independent read before committing money or engineering time. If the question is broader than a single decision, AI strategy and roadmap is the better fit.
Examples of decisions the memo can answer
The format works when leadership needs to decide whether to build a custom workflow or buy a platform, whether a vendor's AI claims are credible enough to proceed, whether the data is ready, whether the first pilot is scoped correctly, or which use case should be funded first.
The memo is not meant to replace implementation. It is meant to remove ambiguity before implementation starts, so the next step is smaller, clearer, and easier to defend.
Answers
Questions leaders ask before commissioning an AI Decision Memo.
When is an AI Decision Memo the right fit?
When the team has one decision on the table and needs an independent read before committing budget, vendor attention, engineering time, or executive credibility.
What should the memo include?
The decision, options and tradeoffs, feasibility and risk, a build-vs-buy or vendor read where relevant, a recommended path, and the first concrete steps.
How is this different from an AI roadmap?
The memo answers one scoped decision. An AI roadmap covers a portfolio of decisions, priorities, owners, sequencing, and investment over time.
Can the memo be used with executives or a board?
Yes. It is written so leadership can understand the decision, rationale, risks, and recommended next step without needing to translate a technical discovery process.
What happens after the memo?
The next step may be a pilot, vendor negotiation, technical due diligence, a broader roadmap, or a decision to wait. The point is that the next move is explicit.
Next step
Have a specific AI decision on the table?
Bring the build-vs-buy, vendor, or feasibility question that needs a senior, independent read.