Start with the work.
AI is the easy thing to reach for. The harder questions come first. What is the team trying to accomplish? Where does the work slow down? Which parts depend on experience that has never been written down? What would a trustworthy result look like?
I learn the workflow before recommending a tool. The people doing the work define what is correct, what is sensitive, and what cannot be handed over to a model.
Map the workflow
We follow a real piece of work from its raw inputs to the decision or deliverable at the end. That means looking at the documents, spreadsheets, handoffs, repeated cleanup, and judgment calls that make the process what it is. The map shows where time is being spent and where AI might actually help.
Give the AI the right context
A model cannot infer years of domain knowledge from a short prompt. We make the useful context explicit: source material, terminology, examples, constraints, preferences, and the signs that an answer is wrong. That context becomes part of the working environment, not something the team has to reconstruct in every conversation.
Test it on real work
A polished demo proves very little. We use real examples, including the awkward and incomplete ones, and compare the result with the way the team works now. When the output is wrong, we trace the failure back to its source and adjust the instructions, context, or workflow. Sometimes the right answer is a person, a spreadsheet, or leaving the process alone.
Keep the work inspectable
The team should be able to see what went into a result, how it was transformed, and where human review belongs. Prompts, instructions, source files, and intermediate steps stay visible. The goal is not to remove judgment from the process. It is to put that judgment where it matters most.
Leave it with the team
We build on tools the team can access and understand. The prompts, instructions, and working materials are theirs. Working sessions include using the system on live tasks, correcting it, and changing it as the work changes. No continuing relationship is required to keep it running.