Ready, stage by stage.
Five stages of the Layer Path against the four dimensions the Scan measures. Each cell is what ready looks like at that stage: not a maturity score, a checklist a CFO and a staff engineer can both read.
5 stages · 4 dimensions · 20 cells
What ready looks like.
Stages across, dimensions down. Each cell is the state a dimension has to be in before that stage's exit criterion can be met.
- 01 Signal0 to 11
- Data
- You can name where the workflow's data lives and who holds the keys.
- Workflow
- One workflow is named, with its volume and who runs it today.
- Readiness
- Someone can say what a good answer looks like.
- Governance
- Residency and regulator constraints are known before any build.
- 02 Shape12 to 19
- Data
- A real sample sits in a tenant both sides can reach, with its gaps labelled.
- Workflow
- The steps are written down and a wrong answer has a stated cost.
- Readiness
- A golden set exists; the eval bar and the cost ceiling are agreed.
- Governance
- Model and vendor policy is written down; the pilot runs in your tenant.
- 03 Ship20 to 26
- Data
- Production data arrives through a documented, permissioned path.
- Workflow
- Every action the system takes has an approval gate or a fallback.
- Readiness
- Evals run in CI and block a change that drops quality.
- Governance
- Change control covers prompts and models the way it covers code.
- 04 Scale27 to 32
- Data
- One context layer serves several workflows from the same place.
- Workflow
- The pattern is documented so the next workflow reuses it.
- Readiness
- The eval harness and the cost gateway are shared across teams.
- Governance
- One policy applies to every workflow and is audited.
- 05 Sustain33 to 36
- Data
- Data quality is measured on a schedule and drift is reported.
- Workflow
- Each workflow has an owner who reads its numbers every week.
- Readiness
- SLOs on accuracy, cost and latency are reported every week.
- Governance
- A model upgrade passes a documented test before it reaches production.
How the Scan places you.
01The Scan asks three questions per dimension and scores each answer 0 to 3, so a dimension runs 0 to 9 and the total 0 to 36. The total places you at a stage: 0 to 11 Signal, 12 to 19 Shape, 20 to 26 Ship, 27 to 32 Scale, 33 to 36 Sustain. It says where the first engagement starts, not how good the company is.
02The weakest dimension is the first thing a Signal Sprint fixes. A low Data score means the Sprint's first week is the data audit; a low Readiness score means it writes the eval bar and the cost ceiling before anything else. Ties go to the earlier column, Data first.
03Read across a row to see what the next stage asks of that dimension. Read down a column to see what a stage needs from all four before its exit criterion can be met. The Scan's result reuses the row and column you land on.