The 10 Processes You Must Lock Down to Fix Your AI Data Problems

Jan 12

Many AI initiatives fail for the same reason: bad data.

But “bad data” isn’t just incorrect information. It’s missing context, inconsistent definitions, and unclear ownership—conditions that make it easy to misunderstand, misuse, or ignore. And when that kind of data feeds an AI system, the results are predictable: outputs that sound confident but can’t be trusted. Garbage in, garbage out.

Most companies try to solve this by cleaning data after it’s created—somewhere between creation and use. That approach is expensive (there’s a lot to fix), slow (you can’t trust the data until it’s cleaned), and imperfect (downstream teams often lack the original context, and rework can introduce new errors).

A better approach is to prevent bad data from being created in the first place. This is made possible by first identifying where engagement data originates and then standardizing and governing the workflows that create it—locking them down. Clean, dependable data doesn’t just improve AI; it improves operations, automation, reporting, and the customer experience.
(See how here)

Locked-down workflows are user-centric—designed to be easy to complete and hard to mess up—and deliver consistent, unambiguous data through governed picklists and smart business logic. They also follow the same steps and patterns regardless of where the workflow is implemented.

Most organizations have dozens—if not hundreds—of separate processes that record engagement data across marketing, sales, product, and service. While this may feel overwhelming, by using the 6Qs (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW), these processes can be grouped into one of ten distinct workflow categories. By deliberately designing, implementing, and governing process solutions for these categories, you can collect the data AI needs quickly and easily at the moment it is created.

The 10 Customer Engagement Processes to Lock Down

Developing and Approving the Offerings List

This process category identifies and defines the business’s offerings—the products or services the company sells. This list should be highly granular: every variation in SKU features, service-tier elements, rate-card line items, and similar distinctions should result in a new offering and ID.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Product descriptions—metadata that differentiates offerings (features, packaging, regulatory constraints, distribution model)
Intended audience(s), selected from governed WHO classifications (SegmentID—see process 5)
Who created and approved the offering

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new OfferingID.

Developing and Approving Business Priorities

This process category defines which objectives the business will work on and fund. All businesses—formal or informal—have processes where priorities are set and tradeoffs are made. This list includes all business needs, from basic “keep the lights on” activities to high-visibility transformational initiatives. The goal is to capture and categorize objectives only; how those objectives are met is defined later.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Supported offerings, audiences, or channel classifications (from processes 1, 4, and 6)
Customer lifecycle stage addressed (when objectives directly impact engagements)
Time horizon (evergreen vs. short-, medium-, or long-term)
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new ObjectiveID.

Developing and Approving Programs and Campaigns

This process category establishes the budgets used to meet objectives and begins to define the type of work required. In this article, Programs and Campaigns mean the same thing: approved funding buckets allocated to support an approved objective.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

ObjectiveID supported (see process 2)
Note: Programs automatically inherit all classifications applied to their Objective
Additional offering, audience, or capability specificity (from processes 1, 4, and 6)
Topic/subtopic supported (from process 10, if applicable)
Sponsor and approver
Funding source (if relevant)

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new ProgramID.

Capturing Audience Data

This process category records who the business engages with, how that data may be used, and who is permitted to use it.

Metadata Captured:

Descriptive attributes
Demographic attributes
Profile attributes (industry- or business-specific)
Behavioral attributes
Observed actions—directly observed or attested by the data source (see process 8)
Personally Identifiable Information
Source and method of acquisition
Permissions and constraints (regional, contractual, communication preferences)
Sponsor and approver of acquisition

Creating and Using Audience Segments

This process enables the business to manage engagement using segments built from attributes captured in process 4.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Descriptive and behavioral attributes
Inherited permissions and constraints
Initial purpose or intended use (e.g., related project or initiative—see process 9)
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new SegmentID.

Establishing Engagement Channels and Locations

This process category defines where engagements happen and on which channel. All engagements occur through a channel (email, website, sales visit, call center) and at a physical or virtual location.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Channel
Channel-specific subcategories
Physical or virtual location (address, URL, inbox)
Targeting context (when audience-driven)
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new LocationID.

Define and Create Engagement Patterns

This process defines reusable engagement templates (modules, scripts, placements). A new pattern is created whenever there is a material change to the template or how it is populated.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Engagement pattern type
Primary metrics or conversion types
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new EngagementPatternID.

Define and Create Playbooks

This process defines repeatable combinations of engagement patterns used to drive business and audience actions—from single steps to multi-stage experiences. Playbooks should be granular enough to compare similar actions across contexts while retaining sufficient metadata for analysis within and between other categories and classifications.

Playbook engagement can also be used to derive audience behavioral attributes (see process 4).

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

Playbook category and name
Customer lifecycle stages supported
Intended outcome
Engagement patterns and channel categories used (using EngagementPatternID and process 6 classifications)
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new PlaybookID.

Develop and Approve Projects

This process enables approval of specific work funded by programs and campaigns. Projects document plans, tasks, materials, and assignments.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

ProgramID supported (see process 3)
Note: Projects inherit classifications from their Program and Objective
PlaybookID used (see process 8)
SegmentID, LocationID, EngagementPatternID, or existing MaterialID required
Topic/subtopic (if applicable)
Sponsor and approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new ProjectID.

Create and Approve Materials

This process defines materials created for projects and their readiness for distribution. Each material receives a unique MaterialID. That ID persists until the material is materially changed. Approval state is also captured.

Metadata Captured and ID Created:

ProjectID supported (see process 9)
Note: Materials inherit classifications from Project, Program, and Objective
EngagementPatternID, SegmentID, and/or LocationID supported
Topic and format
Version and timeframe
Source and usage permissions
Approval status
Approver

Each unique combination of metadata results in a new MaterialID.

Extra Credit: Prioritize Engagement Timing and Messaging

This process determines which message an audience receives when multiple teams want to engage simultaneously. Initially, this may be manual or rule-based (e.g., audience-driven engagements take precedence). Over time, it becomes more formalized.

Metadata Captured:

Target audience or segment (see process 4)
Competing campaigns, playbooks, or projects (see processes 3, 8, and 9)
Calendar constraints
Business priority context

Practical Guidelines for Locking Down Process Categories

Locking down isn’t bureaucracy. It’s an operating rule: capture the minimum necessary context at the moment work is created using workflows that are easy to complete and hard to mess up—so reporting, automation, and AI can trust what they see downstream.

Start With What Already Exists—Then Standardize It

Most processes already exist. Formalize them into reusable workflow patterns and make those the default.

Define the Governed Vocabulary Once—and Enforce It Everywhere

No free-text descriptors. Metadata comes from governed lists.

Architect Governance

Governance isn’t managed by a committee; it’s designed.