The interviews should produce, or help the buyer demand, a compact approval pack:
- [ ] One defined workflow and one accountable business owner.
- [ ] Baseline measures and an explicit non-AI comparator.
- [ ] Native-software capability and integration-permission checks.
- [ ] Permitted actions, prohibited commitments and reviewed escalation procedures.
- [ ] Privacy, marketing-permission and security evidence appropriate to the workflow.
- [ ] Passed acceptance tests, with remaining limitations recorded.
- [ ] Full cost scenarios and usage controls.
- [ ] A staffed exception process and documented fallback.
- [ ] Outcome measures, review dates and stop conditions.
- [ ] Account access, export and exit arrangements.
The desk’s recommended approval rule: Buy a bounded, supportable operational improvement—not a general promise of transformation. Keep “configure existing software”, “use human cover” and “do not proceed” available as legitimate conclusions.
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