A forward deployed engineer works with a customer to turn a real workflow into an operable system. The first deliverable is a shared understanding of the problem. A request for “an AI assistant” is too broad to define success.
Observe the current workflow
For a support team, follow a ticket from arrival through document lookup, response drafting, review, and resolution. Ask who performs each step, where information lives, how exceptions are handled, and which actions require approval. Ask a user to demonstrate a recent example rather than only describe the ideal process.
Capture a baseline using a small representative sample. Record elapsed time, active effort, error types, and rework separately. Label estimates as estimates.
Write a pilot brief
Include the user, task, available data, constraints, excluded actions, owner, and acceptance criteria. For example: “Draft a policy-grounded reply for human review” has a clearer boundary than “automate support.” State explicitly whether the system may send messages or only propose them.
Agree on how the customer will judge quality and what happens when the system cannot answer. Confirm access to representative data before promising an integration.
Exercise
Interview a peer acting as a support lead and create a one-page brief. List three assumptions that still need validation and an owner for each.
Check: a second engineer can describe the pilot’s scope and decide whether a proposed feature belongs in it. Every acceptance criterion has an observable test.