Developing an action plan for the implementation of your AI strategy: all our advice

At a time when artificial intelligence is infiltrating all sectors of activity, implementing AI in your company is a prerequisite for gaining in productivity, competitiveness and profitability. But how do you lead such a digital transformation? To help you in this process, discover all our advice to develop a relevant, adapted and exhaustive action plan for the implementation of your AI strategy.

 

Why implement an AI strategy?

Implement an AI strategy in its organization is today a powerful lever in many respects. This makes it possible to:

• Automate repetitive and monotonous tasks;
• Optimize business processes;
• Free up time to allow teams to focus on higher value-added missions;
• Facilitate decision-making ;
• Analyze data quickly;
• Strengthen risk management;
• Improve the customer experience ;
• …

In short, installing artificial intelligence tools in your company is a great way to boost operational efficiency field teams and maximize the performance of its organization. It is also an essential step to remain competitive in the market and Gain agility, adaptability and resilience.

 

The action plan, a key step in your AI strategy

However, defining an artificial intelligence strategy is a complex, large-scale, and highly technical project. It also requires the involvement of a large number of stakeholders ( CIO – Information Systems Department, General Management, Project Manager, publishers, integrators, etc.). To carry out such a transformation, it is therefore imperative to first define a structured action plan adapted to real needs. The purpose of this roadmap is to translate objectives into concrete actions, to prioritize tasks by priority and deadline, and to ensure rigorous and methodical management, in compliance with deadlines and budgetary constraints. The action plan is also intended to identify the material, human and financial resources to be allocated to the project, and to Define the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. It is marked out in several stages limited in time and allowing for progress in a gradual and structured way, while remaining in line with the organization’s major strategic orientations.

 

How to develop an action plan for the implementation of your AI strategy?

The development of an action plan for an AI strategy must be subject to a structured and methodical approach, and must be organized around several key steps:

• Clarifying strategic objectives

First of all, it is essential to lay the foundations and intentions of the project: what needs does it meet? What is the final vision? What are the SMART goals to be achieved (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and defined in time)? What are the business challenges associated with this transformation: reducing costs, Improve productivity, quality, personalize the customer experience… ? This preliminary phase makes it possible to explain a clear and common vision, and to ensure that the project remains connected to the reality on the ground.

• Carry out a maturity diagnosis

The next step will be to assess the organization’s digital maturity, through a maturity diagnosis. The purpose of this audit is to analyse the existing situation, as well as any obstacles, whether human, technical or cultural, and opportunities. In particular, the following questions will have to be asked: what is the level of acculturation of teams in terms of AI? This digital transformation risks giving rise to resistance to change? ? What will then be the possible causes of this reluctance? Is the data reliable and actionable? Will current information systems be able to properly accommodate new AI tools? …

• Identify and prioritize actions

It will then be necessary to identify the steps and actions necessary for the deployment of the project. This starts with identifying use cases by business function, for example: facilitating the sorting of CVs and automating the management of applications for the HR function; setting up chatbots for customer service; generating editorial content and posts for networks for the marketing function… Then, it will be necessary to choose the projects to be deployed as a priority.

To develop a comprehensive and structured action plan, it will also be necessary to list and prioritize all the actions from the beginning to the end of the transition to AI, setting clear and realistic deadlines for each:

• Organization and sorting of data;
• Choice of technology;
• Technical deployment;
• Tests;
• Change management;
• Training and awareness of the teams;
• Monitoring of results;
• …

• Allocate the right resources to the project

Once the action plan has been established, it will be necessary to ensure that the right human, financial and material resources are allocated to the project: who will be in charge of steering the AI strategy? What expertise will need to be mobilized internally or externally (data scientists, developers, integrators, IS architects, etc.)? What will be the roles and responsibilities of each person? What will be the budget to be allocated to tools, data collection, team training, etc.? What will be the hardware needs (tools, software, powerful servers, cybersecurity devices, etc.)?

• Measure and monitor results

Finally, it is imperative to integrate the artificial intelligence strategy into a continuous improvement approach. To do this, it is necessary to identify the Relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as: the rate of adoption of AI tools by end users; time saved; project ROI; error rate; Improving customer satisfaction quality improvement; increased operational efficiency…

These indicators must be monitored regularly and continuously : depending on the results observed, the necessary adjustments will have to be made. It is also essential to carry out regular monitoring in order to keep abreast of the progress of AI technologies, which are evolving at full speed, and to regularly implement modern and up-to-date models and tools.

 

Would you like to be supported in the development of the action plan of your AI strategy? WAYDEN identifies, within its large pool of experienced interim managers, an interim CIO who is an expert in artificial intelligence and has the human qualities essential to managing such a project. Operational from day one, it quickly identifies the challenges related to this transformation and supports you at each stage of the deployment of artificial intelligence in your company: maturity diagnosis; development of the action plan; choice of tools; team training, etc.

Contact us to find out more.