# AI Value Engineering Scorecard

Use this worksheet to review one bounded AI-enabled workflow with its accountable owner. Keep evidence references and detailed calculations in an approved working record. Teaching figures are hypothetical; replace assumptions with evidence for your own scope.

An accepted outcome is work that an independent check or accountable reviewer can accept or reject. The counterfactual is what would have happened without the change. Residual loss is remaining harm not already deducted from the benefit; mark it unknown when it has not been measured.

## Start with these questions

1. What work should improve, for which cases, and who owns the result?
2. Who can reject an incorrect result independently of the system producing it?
3. What may the service read or change, and what loss would make the owner stop it?
4. What benefit remains after adoption, all service costs, and remaining harm or loss?

Record unknown answers as unknown. Use the four gates below to assess pilot admission, continuation, or expansion. The twelve factors help identify missing work.

Workflow and boundary: ____________________
Accountable outcome owner: ____________________
Assessment author and date: ____________________
Population, exclusions, period, currency: ____________________
Evidence stage: Forecast / Demonstrated / Realized
Decision being reviewed: ____________________

## Four gates

For each, record Pass / Fail / Unknown, evidence, owner, and missing work.

| Gate                           | Evidence needed                                                      | Status, reference, owner, next evidence |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Owned outcome                  | One measurable result, defined population, accountable owner         |                                         |
| Independent verifier           | A check or reviewer able to reject the producing system's result     |                                         |
| Bounded authority and loss     | Permitted reads/effects, approvals, loss limit, stop/recovery        |                                         |
| Positive value after full cost | Plausible benefit after adoption, lifecycle cost, and remaining loss |                                         |

A failed or unknown gate prevents pilot admission, continuation, or expansion. Defer, narrow, pause, or stop as appropriate; specify the bounded investigation or repair needed. Even passing all four gates does not approve a production release.

## Twelve factors

Use Undefined / Declared / Demonstrated: you have not defined it, you have written it down, or you have shown it works under stated conditions. If using 0 / 1 / 2, do not add the scores into a pass mark. Evidence applies only to its named workflow, population, period, and environment.

| Factor                                         | State, evidence reference, owner, next evidence |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| 1. Observe the real work                       |                                                 |
| 2. Own the outcome                             |                                                 |
| 3. Bound the eligible work                     |                                                 |
| 4. Establish the counterfactual                |                                                 |
| 5. Name the verifier                           |                                                 |
| 6. Engineer the workflow and adoption          |                                                 |
| 7. Use the smallest sufficient intelligence    |                                                 |
| 8. Bound authority and loss                    |                                                 |
| 9. Price the whole service                     |                                                 |
| 10. Prove it on representative work            |                                                 |
| 11. Measure attributable realized value        |                                                 |
| 12. Expand, constrain, or retire from evidence |                                                 |

## Economics and uncertainty

- What would happen without the change, and how will you make that comparison? ____________________
- How much work qualifies, how much reaches the service, and how much is independently accepted? ____________________
- Which benefit is supported? If time is released, what happens to that capacity? ____________________
- What one-time delivery cost is allocated to this period, and what is the recurring full service cost? ____________________
- What harm or loss remains, with what evidence? Write Unknown if it has not been measured. ____________________
- What do the base and downside calculations show? State units, period, and exclusions. ____________________
- What else changed, which outcomes are still pending, and which assumptions remain unresolved? ____________________

Released hours are not cash savings. Include review, corrections, rejected work, integration, change, support, incidents, and recovery; avoid overlapping costs or benefits. Deduct residual loss separately only when it has not already been netted from the benefit. Zero loss requires evidence.

## Next decision

Decision: Investigate / Narrow / Defer / Do not build / Continue / Constrain / Pause / Retire
Decision authority and basis: ____________________
Permitted next step and evidence required: ____________________
Owner, budget/time ceiling, due date: ____________________
Stop or reversal conditions: ____________________
Next review date and prior assessment reference: ____________________

This worksheet records a value decision. It does not approve a production release or certify compliance, safety, or realized benefit.

Caisi - David Ahmann - Created 12 October 2026