Scenario: a CRM partner has implemented a sales system for a distributor that sells industrial equipment and provides maintenance. The assessment tests which operational dependencies are relevant and which information must be obtained before recommending further work.
1. Business model assumptions
In the hypothetical scenario, the client sells equipment, parts and maintenance. Equipment sales create an installed base; service activity creates recurring commitments and may depend on asset condition, site, technician availability and contract entitlement. These dependencies explain why an operational record could matter, but they do not establish that anything is broken.
| Business layer | Observed in scenario | Not established |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | CRM has accounts, deals, sales values and basic contact history | Whether maintenance contracts, renewals or asset relationships are represented |
| Operational | Business provides service visits and repair work | Which system holds work orders, technician schedules and asset history |
| Economic | Services consume labour and parts | Whether actual job costs can be compared to quoted scope |
| Authority | Sales commits to customer work | Who authorises capacity, exceptions and changes of scope |
2. Identify the decision and its owner
In this hypothetical business, service commitments could require approval of technician availability, contract entitlements and job cost estimates. The fact that Sales signs a contract does not show who may accept delivery risk, or whether this approval already happens in a service-management application or manual review.
| Decision to verify | Evidence that may be required | Responsibility status |
|---|---|---|
| Accept a new service commitment | Scope, response times and available capacity | Decision owner not established |
| Schedule maintenance for an asset | Asset status, location, entitlement and work history | System of record and approver not established |
| Review a contract’s economics | Quoted labour/parts and actual costs at a comparable unit | Whether this decision is required is not established |
These are research questions, not evidence of absent control. If the client already has clear owners and adequate operational systems, I would narrow or close the relevant candidates.
3. Document system coverage and unknowns
The CRM implementation is only known to cover commercial processes. That makes it inappropriate to conclude that the business lacks operational records. A second tool, a manual process or a separate division may already own the relevant data. The assessment marks these as unknown until verified.
4. Create candidates with rejection conditions
Installed asset lifecycle
- Dependency
- Maintenance decisions may depend on asset state, location and service history.
- Possible economic relevance
- Poor asset information might affect repeat visits, service capacity or contract performance. The effect is not measured.
- Operating decision / owner
- Who decides when equipment requires service and authorises work? The accountable function is unknown.
- Before technical design
- Establish the system of record, who updates it, and whether current scheduling and asset records meet operational needs.
- Unknown
- What is the authoritative record for each asset and its maintenance events?
- Validation
- How do service teams identify equipment and plan work across customer sites?
- Possible paths
- Existing service system; integration into CRM; missing event capture; or no intervention.
- Stop condition
- The existing operational system is sufficient and relevant commercial decisions already receive timely information.
Quote-to-job profitability
- Dependency
- Labour and parts may change the economics of individual service commitments.
- Possible economic relevance
- Unrecorded labour or parts may affect pricing or contract renewal decisions, if those costs are material.
- Operating decision / owner
- Who reviews estimated versus actual job cost and is authorised to change pricing or scope? Not established.
- Before technical design
- Confirm the job identifier, capture events, cost definitions and whether anyone uses this comparison to make a decision.
- Unknown
- Are estimated and actual hours recorded against a shared job or contract identifier?
- Validation
- What cost information is available before repricing or renewing a service contract?
- Possible paths
- Existing reporting; better job-level data capture; system integration; or a process change.
- Stop condition
- Current job-level evidence is adequate for relevant decisions, or costs cannot materially alter them.
5. Determine evidence maturity
Neither candidate is a qualified opportunity. The client has not confirmed that either decision is impaired, that an accountable owner is missing, that current tools are inadequate or that a new project has an economic case. An unanswered question about ownership is not itself proof that the business fails to manage the activity.
6. Recommend specific validation actions
First ask where assets and work orders are managed. If that information is available and dependable, close or narrow IC-01. Then determine whether job-level profitability is a decision that matters to this client and whether its current data support it. If the findings do not reveal a consequential gap, recommend no further build.
Example output: two candidate questions, neither qualified as a new project. Both require evidence from the end client before any technical scope is proposed.
Read how I assess business decisions before software changes, where operational records belong and job-level cost evidence. For the service scope see Account Intervention Assessment · £850.