The Closed Gap
www.theclosedgap.com

SME Agent Brief Builder

What should you actually build?

You probably do not need "an AI agent" just because everyone is talking about agents. Start with the business problem.

This short diagnostic will help you identify the right type of solution and create a structured brief you can use with an AI builder.

Takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.

Step 1 of 5 · The problem

Start with the work, not the technology.

Describe the actual process. The clearer this is, the more useful everything after it becomes.

Write it as it happens today, step by step if you can.

For example: founder, salesperson, assistant, customer service team.

How often does it happen?
Approximately how much human time does it consume?
What makes the current process painful?

Choose as many as apply.

The result you want, not the method.

Step 2 of 5 · Solution type

Do you actually need an agent?

Six questions about the shape of the work. Answer for the process as it needs to run, not as you imagine a tool would run it.

Does the system mainly need to create, summarize or answer?

Writing, drafting, explaining, pulling an answer out of documents.

Does the process follow mostly predictable steps?

The same steps happen in the same order nearly every time.

Does the system need to evaluate information before deciding what happens next?

Someone has to read, weigh or judge something before the next step is chosen.

Should it take actions in other systems?

Writing into a CRM, sending an email, creating a task, updating a record.

Does it need to handle different situations differently?

A new customer, an angry customer and a routine repeat order need different handling.

Would incorrect autonomous action create meaningful business risk?

Money, a legal commitment, a customer relationship or a compliance obligation is on the line.

Step 3 of 5 · The job

Define what the system should actually do.

This is the part a builder will read first. Be specific about the work, and leave the technology out of it.

Complete the sentence: the system should...

Trigger

What starts the process?

Inputs

What information does the system need? Choose as many as apply.

Name the judgment. If there is no judgment, say so, that is a useful answer too.

The thing a person actually opens, reads or acts on.

Step 4 of 5 · Boundaries

Decide what the system is allowed to do.

Good AI systems are defined as much by their boundaries as by their capabilities.

For example: approve payments, change prices, delete customer records, make contractual commitments.

Risk level

Think about the consequence of the system making the wrong decision.

Step 5 of 5 · Success

How will you know this is worth building?

A number you can check in ninety days is worth more than a good intention.

Primary expected benefit

Choose one. The one that would justify the spend on its own.

What happens today? Add a number if you know it.

What does an hour of that person's time cost the business?

Salary, employer costs and overheads, roughly. A band is enough. This is what turns the hours into a number worth deciding on.

How important is this problem?
1 = Nice to solve5 = Material business problem

The Closed Gap · AI system brief

Your AI system brief

A business specification for an implementation discussion. Generated from your answers, in this browser.

What this brief does not define

This brief defines what the system should accomplish. It intentionally does not prescribe:

  • technical architecture
  • AI models
  • prompts
  • APIs
  • integrations
  • databases
  • security architecture
  • implementation approach

Those decisions depend on your existing systems, data, operating environment and risk profile.

Ready to turn the brief into a working system?

The next step is validating the workflow, decision logic, data boundaries, integrations and implementation approach.

If you cannot clearly define the problem, decision logic, data boundaries and ownership, you are probably not ready to build the agent. And that is exactly where the work should start.

Read: 5 facts before you build an agent Get one method every week

The Closed Gap. Practical AI for real businesses, written by someone who builds the things she writes about.

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Any of those writes the whole brief for you. Everything goes to theclosedgap@gmail.com.

Strategy | Systems | Outcomes · www.theclosedgap.com

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