8D AI Solution Engineering Framework

Executive summary

8D is the primary user journey of the AI Playbook: practitioners navigate Define → Deliver. Each dimension has a stage gate. The legacy 20-stage ConsultAI lifecycle remains available as detailed tools under each dimension.

When to use this page

• Use as the methodology spine for engagements and playbook navigation.
• Use to check stage gates before advancing work.
• Pair with VALUE quality gate before executive send or stage advance.

Executive view

Use stage gates to insist on problem clarity, evidence and explicit asks—before tech lock-in or scale funding.

Decision required: Which 8D stage are we in, and has that stage’s gate been met?

Technical view

Map delivery work and ConsultAI tools to the eight dimensions; produce the artefacts listed per stage.

Do not skip De-risk or Demonstrate evidence in favour of demo theatre.

Owners

Owner · Engagement / AI Solution lead

Contributors · Business owner, architecture, security, risk, delivery, change

8D is the primary user journey of the AI Playbook. Practitioners navigate Define → Deliver. The legacy 20-stage ConsultAI lifecycle remains available as detailed tools under each dimension.

The eight dimensions

Stage	Purpose	Stage gate
Define	Problem, decision, outcome, metrics, stakeholders, scope—without naming an AI product	Problem expressed without a particular AI product or model
Discover	Business / systems / team / AI lenses; maturity and opportunity capture	Evidence-backed opportunity list exists
Diagnose	Root cause, MECE, pain-to-value, prioritisation themes	Every proposed solution addresses a verified cause
Design	To-be workflow, human–AI allocation, architecture, operating model	Workflow and allocation documented before tech lock-in
De-risk	Risk, ethics, privacy, controls with owners—not end-of-project paperwork	Owner, control, evidence, residual risk for each material risk
Demonstrate	Pilot / proof with evaluation evidence—not demo theatre	Go / modify / stop recommendation with evidence
Decide	Business case, executive narrative, explicit ask, decision log	Explicit ask and decision log entry
Deliver	Roadmap horizons, adoption, ops, benefits, closure	Approved roadmap and benefits plan with owners

Decision required

Do not advance an 8D stage until its gate is met—especially problem-without-product (Define), controls with owners (De-risk), and evidence-backed go/modify/stop (Demonstrate).

Mapping from ConsultAI stages 0–19

8D	Legacy stage IDs (short titles)
Define	0 Qualify, 1 Introduce, 2 Mobilise, 5 Identify (problem framing)
Discover	3 Discover, 4 Assess
Diagnose	5 Identify, 6 Prioritise
Design	7 Strategise, 10 Design
De-risk	8 Govern
Demonstrate	11 Prototype
Decide	9 Roadmap (investment), 18 Expand
Deliver	12–17 Build → Optimise, 19 Close

Open the live toolkit: ConsultAI OS.

Required outputs (summary)

8D	Typical artefacts
Define	Problem statement; decision; outcome; metrics; stakeholders; scope
Discover	Discovery lenses; opportunity list; maturity notes
Diagnose	Root-cause map; quantified pain; hypotheses; themes
Design	To-be; options; recommendation; oversight; architecture; dependencies
De-risk	Risk register with controls and residual risk
Demonstrate	Pilot charter; evaluation evidence; go/modify/stop
Decide	Brief; business case; decision log; explicit ask
Deliver	Roadmap; cadence; benefits; change; handover

Output

Per-stage artefacts from the table above, plus a clear current stage and whether its gate has been met.

8D stage-gate checklist

• Current 8D stage named
• Stage gate criteria reviewed against evidence
• Required artefacts for this stage exist or gaps logged
• De-risk items have owner, control, evidence and residual risk
• Demonstrate / Decide include go-modify-stop or explicit ask

Related

• VALUE quality gate
• Article: What is AI Solution Engineering?
• Product spec: docs/product/sitemap-and-page-specification.md in the repo

Key takeaways

• 8D organises the journey from Define to Deliver with explicit stage gates.
• Legacy ConsultAI stages map under the eight dimensions.
• De-risk and Demonstrate require owners and evidence—not paperwork theatre.
• Decide requires an explicit ask and decision log.

What to do next

1. Apply VALUE quality gate to artefacts before stage advance.
2. Start the guide series at AI Solution Engineering Overview.
3. Open ConsultAI OS for live tools.