The Discovery Programme

You leave with clear, written output packs that includes:

• A prioritised shortlist of high-value workflows where agentic AI can deliver impact

• An assessment of feasibility, constraints and readiness

• Governance and control principles specific to your organisation

• A clear recommendation on next steps: build, retain advisory, or pause

This is designed to support board-level and senior decision-making, not just technical exploration.

It is a decision-making product.

The Discovery Programme sits between high-level strategy and delivery. It is designed to answer three questions quickly and defensibly:

• Where should we apply agentic AI?

• What needs to be true for this to be safe and viable?

• Should we proceed now, later, or not at all?

Some organisations stop at discovery. That is an acceptable and expected outcome.

Typically 3 to 4 weeks end to end.

This includes:

• Two or three facilitated workshops

• A short synthesis period between sessions

• Production of the final outputs and recommendation

We time-box deliberately to avoid analysis overload or momentum drift.

We typically ask for:

• A small senior group for the first workshop, usually C-suite or SLT

• Operational leaders or domain experts for the second workshop

• One clear internal owner for follow-up decisions

You do not need large numbers. Clarity and ownership matter more than attendance.

In most cases, none at this stage.

The Discovery Programme focuses on:

• Workflows

• Decisions

• Constraints

• Governance

• Readiness

We do not require production data access to identify viable use cases or define next steps. Any future data access is discussed explicitly and agreed before moving forward.

We assume regulated and sensitive environments as standard.

During discovery:

• No production systems are accessed

• No sensitive data is required

• Discussions remain conceptual and process-focused

If you proceed beyond discovery, data handling, security posture and access models are agreed formally before any build activity begins.

Yes. This is where the Discovery Programme is most valuable.

The Programme is designed to:

• Surface regulatory, compliance and governance constraints early

• Identify where agentic AI strengthens control rather than weakens it

• Avoid pilots that later fail procurement, audit or board scrutiny

Many clients engage precisely because experimentation alone is not an option.

That is a valid outcome.

The Discovery Programme is explicitly designed to:

• Prevent wasted build spend

• Avoid risky or premature deployments

• Provide defensible reasons to pause or deprioritise initiatives

In those cases, the outputs still support internal alignment and future planning.

No.

The Discovery Programme has clear exit points by design. We will recommend:

• Deliver, if value and readiness are clear

• Advisory consulting, if further governance or planning is required

• Pause, if the timing or conditions are wrong

This protects trust and ensures any follow-on work is earned, not assumed.

Procurement teams typically engage positively because:

• Scope is clear and time-boxed

• Outputs are explicit

• There is no hidden commitment to further spend

• Governance and risk are addressed upfront

We are used to supporting procurement conversations and documentation where required.

If the recommendation is to proceed, next steps may include:

• Retained Advisory to refine governance, roadmap or readiness

• A scoped Deliver build proposal focused on specific outcomes

• A phased pilot approach with clear controls

Nothing proceeds without explicit agreement on scope, risk and ownership.

The Discovery Programme is priced as a fixed, standalone engagement.

This covers preparation, facilitation, synthesis, expenses and delivery of outputs. There are no hidden costs or automatic follow-on commitments.

Most consultancies either:

• Stay at high-level strategy, or

• Jump straight into pilots and tooling

Zygens sits deliberately in between. We focus on:

• Real workflows

• Real constraints

• Real governance

• Real decisions

The Discovery Programme exists to stop organisations wasting time, money and credibility.