Avoid the wrong first pilot
Use the guide to avoid starting with the biggest system, the most sensitive repo, or a workflow with no owner or validation path.
Repo selection scorecard PDF
Legacy Repo AI Pilot Selection Guide
How to pick the right first repo for AI adoption
A practical five-page guide for choosing a safer, smarter first AI pilot inside legacy engineering environments.
CIOsIT directorsEngineering managers
Avoid common first-pilot mistakes like starting with the biggest, messiest, or most politically sensitive system.
Score candidate repos by business value, technical complexity, documentation, test coverage, security sensitivity, ownership, stakeholder risk, and repeatability.
Compare three possible pilots and turn the winning repo into a focused 30-day AI workflow pilot plan.
Download the guide
Get the PDF
Enter your email and the page will unlock the guide immediately. Use it to compare candidate repos, choose the strongest first pilot, and plan the first 30 days.
What it helps you decide
Pick the best learning opportunity, not the most important system.
Score candidate repos
Compare repos across business value, complexity, documentation, tests, security sensitivity, ownership, stakeholder risk, and repeatability.
Turn selection into a pilot
Move from repo choice to a focused 30-day plan with owners, boundaries, validation, and a recommendation to expand, revise, or stop.
Inside the guide
Five pages built for a practical repo selection conversation.
Why first repo choice matters
Repo selection scorecard
Candidate repo comparison worksheet
Decision guide and 30-day pilot plan
Example: picking the better first pilot
Scorecard criteria
Business value
Technical complexity
Documentation availability
Test coverage
Security sensitivity
Developer availability
Stakeholder risk
Repeatability
Proof example
See what a selected workflow can become.
In an anonymized government engineering case study, one AI-assisted unit test became a repeatable testing workflow. The pattern helped avoid setup time, onboard another engineer quickly, and create a path for generating useful tests on command.
The best pilot selection is not just about choosing a repo. It is about finding the first workflow your team can repeat.
Read the testing workflow case studyWant help applying this with your team?
If the scorecard surfaces a few possible first pilots, we can help choose the strongest workflow and turn it into an 8-week implementation path.