From idea to action

Six steps take an initiative from a first idea to a decision about its future: screen, score, select, plan, track, reflect.

Define success up front. Finalize it after evaluation. During intake, proposers draft intended KPIs, OKRs, and efficacy measures as a starting point. This drives clarity and focus without requiring perfection. Formal success planning happens only after rubric evaluation and selection.

  1. ScreenDescribe it; draft KPIs, OKRs & efficacy
  2. ScoreRate five dimensions as a team
  3. SelectProceed, pause, or revise
  4. PlanFinalize targets & timeframes
  5. TrackRecord actuals in the pilot
  6. ReflectCapture lessons; decide
Reflect ends in one of four decisions:ScaleIteratePauseStop
Success is drafted at intake and finalized only after selection. An iterate decision loops back to Plan for another pilot.
  1. Screen: the proposer describes the initiative and drafts intended outcomes, outputs, and efficacy measures.
  2. Score: a cross-functional team rates the five dimensions and records its reasoning.
  3. Select: the total and review band inform the decision to proceed, pause, or revise.
  4. Plan: selected initiatives finalize OKRs, KPIs, and efficacy measures with targets and timeframes.
  5. Track: owners record actuals against targets through the pilot, including how accurately and fairly the AI performs.
  6. Reflect: the team captures lessons and decides to scale, iterate, pause, or stop.

The full workflow

The six steps with every decision point and loop shown: where an initiative escalates, where it can revise or stop, and how a live tool comes back for re-review. Every initiative follows the same path, but how formal each step is scales with its band. For who does each step, see the cross-functional view.

AI Strategic Compass workflowAn idea is screened, then scored by the team. A 5 on ethics or stakeholder impact escalates the decision one level. The band's decision-maker decides: revise loops back to screening, pause or stop records the rationale, proceed moves to planning. Plan sets targets, exit criteria and re-review triggers; the pilot is tracked. If an exit criterion is hit, the initiative pauses or stops early. Otherwise the team reflects and decides: iterate loops back to planning, pause or stop records lessons, scale moves to registering and operating. A re-review trigger sends an operating initiative back to scoring. INTAKEEVALUATE & SELECTPLAN & PILOTREFLECT & DECIDEOPERATEIdea for an AI initiativeRe-review trigger → re-scoreScreenDescribe it; draft KPIs, OKRs & efficacyScoreTeam scores independently, then discussesA 5 on ethics orstakeholder impact?YesEscalate one levelregardless of totalNoSelectBand's decision-maker decidesDecision?Pause/stopRecord rationalehold or closeReviseProceedPlanTargets, exit criteria & triggersTrackRun the pilot; record actualsExit criterionhit?YesPause or stop earlyrecord whyNoReflectCompare to targets; capture lessonsNext step?Pause/stopPause or stoprecord lessonsIterateScaleRegister, operate& monitor
Who decides at the Select step depends on the band. See decision rights. Approved initiatives are documented in the Campus AI Registry at the Register step. Exit criteria and re-review triggers are set at Plan. See examples.
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A representative process. The steps, decision points, and loops show one way to run the Compass. Your institution may combine, add, or reorder steps to fit its own governance.