Choose the partner who will agree a measured baseline before building, show you the evidence their systems produce before the demo, put you in touch with customers in production rather than pilot, and tell you when a process isn't worth automating. Ask how they're paid and what leaving looks like.
George McKenna, Chairman and CTO, ETT Group. Updated 15 October 2026.
Questions that separate good partners from good presentations:
- Will you measure the process before you build? A partner who skips discovery is guessing.
- What evidence does your system produce? Ask to see the record of a real decision, not a feature slide.
- Who can I talk to in production? Pilot references prove the demo, not the delivery.
- When have you told a client not to automate? If the answer is never, be careful.
- How are you paid, and by whom? Vendor funding and partner incentives are normal, but you should know them.
- What does leaving look like? Your data, your rules and your workflows should go with you.
A fixed-price discovery engagement is a good way to test a partner before committing to a programme. You learn how they think, and you keep the findings either way.
Show Your Working
A fortnightly piece on building and buying AI that pays its way. What I'm building, what it costs, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.