The Dormouse Method
From curiosity to working systems.
AI transformation should not begin with a tool. It should begin with understanding your business. The Dormouse Method moves from evidence to architecture, from architecture to implementation, and from implementation to measurable improvement.
BEFORE PHASE 1
01 · Request an AI Assessment
Tell me about your business, what is taking too much time, what is not working as well as it should, and what you are curious about improving. Requesting an assessment is an enquiry and does not commit you to paid work.
02 · Free 15-minute Zoom conversation
If there looks to be a good fit, we arrange a free introductory Zoom meeting of approximately 15 minutes. We discuss your situation, objectives and expectations and decide whether Phase 1 is the right next step.
Everything after this introductory meeting is billed at €500 per hour.
PHASE 1 · STEPS 1–4
AI Assessment
Phase 1 establishes the organisation’s current reality before anything is built. Step 1 · Assessment: examine readiness at company, department, team and individual level across leadership, culture, technology, data, skills, governance, change capacity and processes. Because these dimensions are interconnected, the assessment identifies the weakest blocking gap and determines how much decision-making authority the organisation is genuinely ready to delegate. Step 2 · Define AI Opportunities & Risks: identify where AI or automation can create value, where it should not be used and what risks need managing. Step 3 · Develop an AI Strategy & Roadmap: turn the evidence into a practical direction. Step 4 · Prioritize Objectives: decide what matters most and what should happen first.
Deliverable 1
Key Findings Report (KFR)
A clear decision document containing the key findings, opportunities, risks, priorities and recommended next steps.
Investment
€3,000
Phase 1 is a fixed-scope strategic assessment. You receive the Key Findings Report, and you are not required to continue with Dormouse Consulting afterwards.
DECISION POINT
You decide what happens next.
The assessment does not lock you into an implementation project. You can use the KFR internally, stop here, or ask Dormouse Consulting to develop the selected opportunities further.
The Dormouse Agentic Readiness Lens
Nine questions every agentic system must answer.
Golden rule: never automate an undefined conversation or decision. Before an agent receives decision-making power, we define what happens, why it must happen, who decides, what they need to know and what could go wrong.
Why this matters: powerful technology cannot compensate for an undefined process. Bad agentic systems usually result from premature building and a skipped planning and strategy phase—not inadequate technology.
1 · Outcome
What result must the agent produce, and how will success be recognised?
2 · Workflow
How does work move between agents, systems and people?
3 · Context
Which knowledge, data, policies and operating procedures form the source of truth?
4 · Decisions
Which decisions belong to the agent, the human or both?
5 · Authority
What is the agent permitted to access, change, approve or communicate?
6 · Actions
How are actions recorded, governed, monitored and, where necessary, reversed?
7 · Exceptions
What happens when the situation falls outside the normal workflow?
8 · Evaluation
How will the system be tested against expected outcomes and edge cases?
9 · Accountability
Which person or organisation remains responsible for the agent’s outputs and consequences?
If one of these areas is undefined, the system is not ready to be designed or deployed.
PHASE 2 · STEPS 5–6
Workflow Analysis
Phase 2 turns priorities into a workflow that can actually be built. Step 5 · Interview Team Members: involve the people who do the work and capture the knowledge, exceptions and practical realities that documentation alone misses. Step 6 · Submit a Detailed Workflow Plan: translate what we learn into the blueprint for how people, processes, data, AI and automation should work together.
Deliverable 2
Value Architecture Board + Detailed Workflow Plan
This becomes the blueprint for the solution. Phase 2 is billed at €500 per hour. Before work begins, you receive an estimate of the expected hours based on the scope identified in Phase 1.
PHASE 3 · STEPS 7–9
Build the System
The approved workflow becomes a trusted, interactive working system. Step 7 · Data Management & Prep: prepare the data and information the system needs. Step 8 · Source Resources & Collaborate: assemble the expertise and resources required for the build. Step 9 · Design & Deploy: build, test and deploy the system around the way the business actually works, with appropriate human oversight, permissions and documentation.
Deliverable 3
Built and implemented systems + implementation documentation
The result is not technology for its own sake, but a system people can interact with, understand and trust. Dormouse Consulting assembles the expertise and resources required for implementation while remaining responsible for the method and client engagement.
Investment: €500 per hour, with the expected scope and hours agreed before implementation begins.
PHASE 4 · STEP 10
Monitor & Optimize
Step 10 · Monitor & Optimize: deployment is not the end. We monitor how the system performs in real work, maintain appropriate human oversight, examine reliability and adoption, identify problems and opportunities, and continuously improve the system as the organisation changes.
Deliverable 4
Optimisation improvements + recommendations and next-step roadmap
Step 10 is billed at €500 per hour, with scope agreed before the work begins.
AFTER IMPLEMENTATION
Managed AI & continuous improvement
AI systems are not static. If you want continued support, Dormouse can help monitor, maintain and improve what has been implemented as your tools, people and business needs evolve. Ongoing work is billed at €500 per hour unless a separate service agreement is agreed.
No AI for the sake of AI. Just the right technology, in the right places, for your business.
START HERE
Curious what might be hiding inside your business?
Request an AI Assessment and tell me a little about what you would like to improve. I’ll review your enquiry and, if there looks to be a good fit, we’ll arrange a free 15-minute introductory Zoom conversation.
Dormouse Consulting
We make AI work for your business.
Business-first AI consulting, workflow design, implementation and training. No AI for the sake of AI — just the right technology in the right places.
Start a conversation
Curious what AI could improve in your business? Start with a free 15-minute Zoom introduction.
