1. Core Activities & Roles (Discovery & Strategy)¶
Purpose
Overview of the core activities and role assignments during the Discovery phase, from problem exploration to data evaluation and risk assessment.
When to use this?
You are in the Discovery phase and want to know which activities to perform — from problem exploration and data evaluation to risk assessment.
1. Core Activities¶
Problem Exploration¶
We define the challenge from the end user's perspective, not from the technology's perspective.
- Question Articulation: What is the real problem? What are the pain points?
- AI Suitability: Is AI truly the right solution here? Or can it be solved more simply?
- Success Indicators: How do we measure whether we have solved the problem?
Data Evaluation¶
An analysis of the required information across three dimensions:
Access¶
- Question: Are we legally permitted and technically able to access it?
- Check: Legal rights, APIs, databases, security
Quality¶
- Question: Is the data complete and consistent?
- Check: Completeness, accuracy, currency, duplicates
Relevance¶
- Question: Does the data contain the answer to the question?
- Check: Correlation with the objective, representativeness
Risk Inventory¶
An initial scan for legal and ethical obstacles.
- EU AI Act Classification: Does the system fall under the high-risk category?
- Privacy & GDPR: Which personal data is being processed?
- Ethical Questions: Can the system discriminate or cause harm?
- Organisational Risks: Do we have the right people and resources?
1b. Project Type Classification¶
Two project types at a glance
- Type A — Building with AI: The development team uses AI tools and agentic AI as part of the development process. The end product itself does not need to contain AI.
- Type B — AI in the Product: The end product integrates AI functionality for end users.
Before proceeding with the core activities, determine the type of AI project. The Blueprint distinguishes two fundamentally different project types:
| Characteristic | Type A — Building with AI | Type B — AI in the product |
|---|---|---|
| Description | AI/agents are used as development tools (code assistants, test generation, documentation automation) | The end product contains AI capabilities for end users (recommendations, classification, generation, agentic workflows) |
| Risk profile | Standard software risks; AI errors affect the development process, not the end user | AI-specific risks; errors directly affect end users, customers or business processes |
| Collaboration Mode | Typically Mode 1–2 (the developer reviews AI output) | Mode 2–5 depending on risk and volume (full lifecycle required) |
| Blueprint scope | Selective: use Risk Pre-Scan, Governance Model and relevant cheatsheets | Full: all phases, Gate Reviews, Collaboration Modes and monitoring apply |
This Blueprint is primarily designed for Type B projects
Type A projects (building with AI) may use selected modules but do not require the full lifecycle. Classify your project deliberately — a wrong classification leads to either unnecessarily heavy governance or insufficient safeguards.
Not sure? If the AI system generates output that is directly seen or used by end users without human intervention, it is a Type B project.
2. Team & Roles¶
| Role | Responsibility in Discovery |
|---|---|
| AI Product Manager | Accountable: Owner of the business case and problem articulation. |
| Data Scientist | Responsible: Performing the Data Evaluation. |
| Business Sponsor | Consulted: Validates the problem and the value hypothesis. |
| Guardian (Ethicist) | Consulted: Conducts the initial ethical and legal scan. |
| Stakeholders | Informed: Are kept informed of findings. |
5. Related Modules¶
Templates:
See also: Phase 1 Overview · Deliverables
Next step: Complete the Goal card and run the Collaboration Mode Assessment. → Use the Project Charter as your starting point. → See also: Collaboration Mode Assessment | Risk Pre-Scan