# AI project scope checklist

Use this worksheet before requesting or approving a proposal. It helps separate the work you are buying from assumptions, third-party charges, and responsibilities your business retains. Fill in unknowns as questions; this is not a pricing calculator or a contract.

Prepared by: ____________________
Business / team: ____________________
Date / version: ____________________
Provider or proposal being reviewed: ____________________

## 1. Define the engagement

Which help do we need now? Choose the primary purpose and describe the result.

- [ ] Readiness and roadmap
- [ ] Team training
- [ ] A first working workflow
- [ ] Adoption or maintenance support
- [ ] Another defined task: ____________________

Decision or deliverable we want to receive: ____________________
Who will use it: ____________________
Who can approve the scope: ____________________

## 2. Describe one complete task

Trigger and frequency: ____________________
Person doing the work today: ____________________
Current inputs and where they live: ____________________
Accepted output and what happens next: ____________________
Current preparation, review, and correction effort: ____________________
Problem we want to investigate: ____________________
What a new process must preserve: ____________________

## 3. Set the first boundary

Team / user group included: ____________________
Sources included: ____________________
Outputs included: ____________________
Actions the system may prepare: ____________________
Actions requiring a person's approval: ____________________
Explicit exclusions: ____________________
Current process or fallback during testing: ____________________

## 4. Make dependencies and assumptions visible

For each item, record what has been checked, who checks the remainder, and what happens if it is unavailable.

| Requirement | Confirmed evidence or open question | Owner | Effect on scope / next decision |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tool plan, account, and relevant settings | | | |
| Permitted data and source preparation | | | |
| Integration or authorized export | | | |
| Team access and availability | | | |
| Required specialist or internal review | | | |
| Other dependency | | | |

Investigation needed before implementation: ____________________
Decision point before committing to further work: ____________________
Who approves a revised scope: ____________________

## 5. Separate the cost categories

Ask for actual proposal terms and supplier charges. Mark estimates clearly and avoid combining setup fees with recurring operating costs.

| Category | Included in engagement? | Paid to whom? | Known amount or estimate to obtain | Who checks it? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Discovery / planning | | | | |
| Source preparation | | | | |
| Configuration / development | | | | |
| Testing / correction | | | | |
| Training / documentation | | | | |
| Software accounts / subscriptions | | | | |
| Usage-based charges | | | | |
| Hosting, if required | | | | |
| Ongoing support / maintenance | | | | |
| Our staff's preparation and review effort | | | | |

Payment arrangements and approval steps: ____________________
Recurring-cost review owner and review date: ____________________
Unresolved cost questions: ____________________

## 6. Agree on acceptance evidence

Who reviews and accepts the deliverable: ____________________
Ordinary example to test: ____________________
Incomplete example to test: ____________________
Conflicting-information example to test: ____________________
Required facts, fields, or source references: ____________________
How missing information should appear: ____________________
Required approval and action boundaries: ____________________
Preparation, review, and correction effort to record: ____________________
How failures are addressed within the agreed scope: ____________________
Limits that remain after delivery: ____________________

Continue / revise / stop decision and who makes it: ____________________
Estimated benefit we still need to test: ____________________
Observed evidence available today: ____________________

## 7. Understand changes, support, and handoff

- [ ] The proposal distinguishes correcting an agreed deliverable from adding a requirement.
- [ ] Changes need an identified approver and agreed fees before work begins.
- [ ] Source, tool, or integration changes have an owner and a review process.
- [ ] Support covers named work and explains its boundaries.
- [ ] Account administration and continuing charges are assigned.
- [ ] Ownership or licenses for code and materials are written in the agreement.
- [ ] Instructions, configuration, and test examples are included where agreed.
- [ ] The team knows how to pause the workflow and use the fallback.

Questions to resolve before approval: ____________________
Our internal responsibilities: ____________________
Next action / owner / date: ____________________

Use this worksheet with any provider. John Rice offers a free 30-minute introductory AI consultation; detailed planning and implementation are separately scoped paid work. Bring a general task description and questions, without confidential records or system credentials.