The Decision Tree
Five questions that take you from "we should use AI for this" to a named diagnosis (A–G).
A Field Guide from B&A · $29
We build AI systems for a living. Most "AI problems" brought to us aren't.
Five questions, twelve red flags, and four autopsies — for finding out what your problem actually needs before you pay for what it doesn't.
Duplicable Notion template · No account, no code, no sales call.
The problem
Most problems brought in as AI problems are checklist problems, routing problems, missing-data problems, or process problems — wearing an AI costume because AI is what's in the headlines and the budget line.
The misdiagnosis is expensive in a specific way: the project ships. The tool gets bought, the demo goes well, and six months later the original problem is still there, now with a subscription attached.
What's inside
A diagnosis, not a hunch.
The Red-Flag Checklist
Twelve signs a problem is being misdiagnosed, checkable in one meeting, with a scoring guide.
Four Autopsies
Real patterns of misdiagnosis, the tell that gave each one away, and what the problem actually needed.
When It IS an AI Problem
What a genuine one looks like (it passes all five gates), and exactly what to do next.
How it works
Three steps to a straight answer.
1
Duplicate
Duplicate the template.
2
Work the tree
Work the tree on one specific task — not "our operations" — with the people who do it daily, not just the ones who saw the demo. Open only the answer that's true; your path ends at a diagnosis.
3
Second opinion
Run the Red-Flag Checklist as a second opinion. If the tree and the checklist disagree, believe the checklist — red flags are evidence, tree answers are self-report.
Who it's for
For pressure-testing the idea.
Who it's for
A skeptical buyer who wants to pressure-test an AI idea before spending — and anyone who suspects the honest answer might be "not yet."
Not for
Someone who's already confirmed a genuine AI problem and just needs to scope it (go to the Scoping Kit).
This is the Investigate step of the method — Identify → Investigate → Intervene → Document — applied to a single question: what kind of problem is this, actually?
Format & delivery
Yours in one click.
Duplicable Notion template — one click to copy it into your own workspace.
No account, no code, no sales call required.
Licensed for single-user use.
Get the guide
Get the Decision Pack — $29
Find out what your problem actually needs before you pay for what it doesn't.
Next rung
See the Scorecard →
Landed on Diagnosis G — a genuine AI problem? The AI Readiness Scorecard ($19) quantifies it; the AI Project Scoping Kit ($49) scopes it.