/Find the right problems to solve
Target Use Cases
What Target Use Cases Is
Target Use Cases is the second phase of the START Framework. It’s about applying disciplined, problem-first thinking to find where AI can actually help your business — evaluating real friction, cost leakage and efficiency gaps, then filtering ideas by impact, risk, feasibility and measurability before you commit time or money.
Why Target Use Cases Matters
Most AI projects fail because they start with a tool looking for a problem, not a problem worth solving. Chasing the most exciting use case — rather than the most valuable one — is how businesses burn their first AI budget on something that never moves a number. Target Use Cases takes you from a long list of “we could try AI for that” to a short, ranked list of opportunities worth pursuing. As you move through the maturity levels, you’ll progress from:
- A first capture of AI ideas from across the business, in one place
- A prioritised shortlist scored on impact and practicality, not novelty
- A clearly defined use case with value, risk and success measures written down
- A repeatable way of selecting use cases that consistently filters opportunity from noise
/Level 1:
Exploring
At the Exploring stage, AI ideas are surfacing informally — a comment in a meeting, a frustration someone mentioned, a tool a competitor is rumoured to be using. There’s no shortage of suggestions, but they live in people’s heads and inboxes rather than anywhere you can actually compare them. Everything feels equally possible, which makes it hard to know where to look first.
This is exactly where Target Use Cases should begin. The goal here isn’t to evaluate or commit — it’s simply to get every idea out of people’s heads and into one place, described in terms of the business problem behind it. What’s slow? What’s expensive? What’s error-prone? What do customers complain about? Capturing the problem, not the tool, is what keeps you out of the “shiny object” trap later.
Target Use Cases at the Exploring level is about building a single, honest inventory of where AI might help — framed as problems worth solving.
/Level 1:
Resources & Downloads
AI Glossary
A plain-English reference for the AI terms you’ll come across as you move through the START Framework. Available across all maturity levels — bookmark it once and refer back as needed.
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Continue Your Journey
Level 2 — Preparing
Stop guessing which ideas are worth it. Score your captured use cases on impact and practicality so your shortlist reflects business value — not which idea was suggested most loudly.
Level 3 — Building
Turn a shortlisted idea into a properly defined use case. Document the problem, the expected value, the risks and what success looks like — so it’s ready to test rather than just talk about.
Level 4 — Scaling
Apply use-case selection consistently across teams and initiatives, so every new AI idea is evaluated the same disciplined way rather than reinvented each time.
Level 5 — Optimising
Make problem-first selection part of how the business plans. New opportunities are continuously surfaced, scored and defined against a shared standard — as a natural habit, not a one-off exercise.
Ready to Move Beyond Exploring?
Unlock all maturity levels and downloadable frameworks across the entire START journey. New tools are added as the platform grows — and as a member, your feedback, your challenges, and your priorities directly shape what we build next.
Get in Touch
Whether you're exploring AI for the first time or trying to move past stalled initiatives, we’ll meet you where you are. Share a bit about your business and what you're looking to solve, and we’ll come back with a clear, practical next step.