# How Edward runs an engagement

# How Edward runs an engagement

Answers to the questions hiring managers and sponsors ask, in Edward's own terms.

## Failed engagements

Edward has not had an AI or transformation engagement fail, and he attributes that to setting proper expectations up front. That is why Proticom does a proof of concept before committing: he will not risk a client's time or money on something that has not been shown to work.

## Work he declines

Robotics, so far. He would like to get into it someday, since he holds a mechanical engineering degree, but it is not work he takes on today.

## References

References are allowed to say anything about Edward, good and bad.

## The first two weeks

It depends on the purpose of the engagement. For most engagements that are just starting, the first two weeks are Edward meeting the stakeholders, understanding the pain points, and identifying the workflows where AI will return the best ROI. He pays attention to organizational culture throughout, so the plan for the rest of the engagement is built with both the workflows and the culture in mind.

## Success at 90 days

Working workflows, user acceptance, and a clear ROI. The greatest success is when a client asks for the next 90 days.

## When a sponsor wants a "ChatGPT wrapper" next sprint

Edward first works to understand why and for what purpose. If he has concerns, he voices them; then he does what the customer wants, provided it does not cross any ethical lines. And in practice a ChatGPT wrapper is an easy build.

## Who owns IP, prompts, and models at the end

The client.

## Why Edward instead of a strong staff engineer plus a model subscription

Not every organization can afford a strong staff engineer; the cost is simply too high. With Edward you get a seasoned executive consultant for a fraction of that, in the way a fractional CTO works, and you can call on him whenever you need him. As a consultant he has worked across many verticals, and that experience is not gained through a certificate or a degree.

The goal of AI enablement is the same as the reason for hiring a seasoned consultant: get the work that distracts from your core value done, so you can focus on what makes you or your company special. That work is rarely paperwork, invoicing, or other overhead. Edward puts the systems in place so you do not have to worry about them, enabling the organization to use AI and agents to take work off its plate.

## Disagreements with a sponsor

Edward documents everything. He has been doing this for 25 years and has survived on repeat business, which comes from open communication and understanding the client well enough that disagreements rarely arise. When one does, he first checks whether he did anything wrong, then works to make it right. He has never had a disagreement that was not resolved amicably. His goal is not a one-time customer but a lifelong one.

## What he needs before starting

Case by case. Essentially he needs to talk to the people who do the workflows and identify what can be automated, then understand those flows in depth; through that process he tells the client which systems he needs access to. One advantage of hiring a consultant is that he will not burn hours waiting: he starts once everything is in place, and he guides the client through getting there.

## After a scoped delivery

It works like any other engagement, except the scope is predefined. Any change is a scope change to the SOW. Nothing is ever a surprise.