Under this framework, recommend a live pilot only when all of the following are true:
- Questions 6–12 each score 3. Authority, integration, safety, privacy, communications, staffing and failure handling must be evidenced for the proposed scope.
- Questions 1–5 and 13–15 each score at least 2. The problem, opportunity, baseline, records, alternatives, costs, supplier terms and evaluation plan cannot remain largely speculative.
- No unresolved critical issue remains, even if the respondent selected a high-scoring answer.
These conditions necessarily produce a score of at least 37/45. A total of 37 or more alone is insufficient.
Illustration: A business scoring 43/45, with Q8 at 1 and every other answer at 3, is not ready for a live customer-facing pilot. Its safety boundary is still unresolved.
Two further buying overrides apply:
- No worthwhile opportunity: If Q2 reveals insufficient realizable benefit, stop the purchase rather than trying to improve the score.
- An adequate simpler alternative: If Q5 shows that existing software or human support meets the need better, choose that option. A score of 45 does not justify an agency premium.
A deliberately restricted internal workflow can meet these conditions without autonomous booking or outbound messaging. However, those activities must genuinely be excluded—not merely described as unlikely.
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