CDAIO Playbook

Six questions decide whether AI transforms your enterprise.

A playbook for Chief Data & AI Officers. See where you stand, make the decisions that matter, and act on them.

Start the quick checkRead the six questions

Quick check

Example profile. Set each pillar to where you are today.

ValueDataContextProcessGovernancePeople
ValueEstablishing
DataScaling
ContextExploring
ProcessEstablishing
GovernanceEstablishing
PeopleExploring
Start with context, the lowest level in this profileAgree the ten definitions that matter
Open the play

See every next move on the map

Six questions

Each pillar answers one question your board will ask, with a maturity scale, the key decisions and plays to move forward.

Can we prove what AI is worth to the business?AI Value RealizationExample: EstablishingIs our data ready for the AI we want to run?AI-Ready Data EstateExample: ScalingDoes our AI understand how our business works?Enterprise Context LayerExample: ExploringWhere does AI change how work gets done?AI in the ProcessExample: EstablishingHow do we stay in control as AI scales?Governance & TrustExample: EstablishingWill our people and structures carry the change?Organization, Skills & Operating ModelExample: Exploring

See how the pillars connect on the map

How to use the playbook

Start with where you are. Leave with a decision and a next step.

1

Assess

Place your organization on four levels across the six pillars.

2

Decide

Each pillar sets out the key decisions, trade-offs and anti-patterns.

3

Act

Plays are short working sessions that end with a concrete output.

Two layers, clearly marked

Thinking first. Implementation second.

Concept

Vendor-neutral principles, decisions and maturity levels. Useful on any platform.

On Microsoft

How to build it with Microsoft, with honest ratings of what is ready and what is not. Written by a Microsoft advisor, and labeled as such.

Field notes

Dated perspectives from customer work. Evergreen guidance lives in the pillars.

The context layer is the new semantic modelIn writing
Stop counting hours savedIn writing
What the EU AI Act means for your agent inventoryIn writing