1 min lesson
The 7-dimension discovery framework
Use "You map seven dimensions, and every answer gets one of three tags" to say what you would do next.
Step 1 of 3
Structured discovery beats charisma. You map seven dimensions, and every answer gets one of three tags - a fact, a hypothesis or an unknown (each defined below the table).
That tagging discipline is what separates a real account plan from a wishlist.
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Advanced table
Seven dimensions
- Dimension
- Org shape
- What you're really after
- Team count, reporting lines, who owns dev tooling, champion vs. economic buyer
- Killer question
- Who decides what every engineer's editor is - and who pays for it?
- Dimension
- SDLC
- What you're really after
- How work flows: request → design → code → review → merge → release
- Killer question
- Where does a change wait the longest between idea and prod?
- Dimension
- CI/CDContinuous Integration / Continuous Delivery. The automated pipeline that builds, tests and ships code so changes reach production safely and often. Press Enter for the full definition.
- What you're really after
- Pipeline maturity, gates, test coverage, deploy frequency
- Killer question
- How long is your PR-to-merge and merge-to-deploy cycle today?
- Dimension
- Security posture
- What you're really after
- Data residency, model approvals, ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. needs, compliance regime
- Killer question
- What's your bar for a tool that sees source code - and who signs off?
- Dimension
- Current AI usage
- What you're really after
- What's already in use, sanctioned or not - incl. shadow AI
- Killer question
- What AI tools are engineers using today that procurement doesn't know about?
- Dimension
- Pain
- What you're really after
- The concrete, measurable bottleneck worth money
- Killer question
- If you could delete one recurring delay, which one?
- Dimension
- Buying process
- What you're really after
- Budget, cycle, paper, security review, who can say no
- Killer question
- What did your last six-figure tooling purchase actually require to close?
| Dimension | What you're really after | Killer question |
|---|---|---|
| Org shape | Team count, reporting lines, who owns dev tooling, champion vs. economic buyer | Who decides what every engineer's editor is - and who pays for it? |
| SDLC | How work flows: request → design → code → review → merge → release | Where does a change wait the longest between idea and prod? |
| CI/CDContinuous Integration / Continuous Delivery. The automated pipeline that builds, tests and ships code so changes reach production safely and often. Press Enter for the full definition. | Pipeline maturity, gates, test coverage, deploy frequency | How long is your PR-to-merge and merge-to-deploy cycle today? |
| Security posture | Data residency, model approvals, ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. needs, compliance regime | What's your bar for a tool that sees source code - and who signs off? |
| Current AI usage | What's already in use, sanctioned or not - incl. shadow AI | What AI tools are engineers using today that procurement doesn't know about? |
| Pain | The concrete, measurable bottleneck worth money | If you could delete one recurring delay, which one? |
| Buying process | Budget, cycle, paper, security review, who can say no | What did your last six-figure tooling purchase actually require to close? |
Seven dimensions. Tag every answer fact / hypothesis / unknown. The unknowns are your next-meeting agenda.
The most dangerous tag is a hypothesis you've recorded as a fact. 'They have mature CI/CDContinuous Integration / Continuous Delivery. The automated pipeline that builds, tests and ships code so changes reach production safely and often. Press Enter for the full definition.' because the champion said so stays a hypothesis until you've seen the pipeline. Pilots die when an assumed fact turns out false in week three.
- Fact
- Stated by the org AND corroborated by a number, a screenshot or a doc. Safe to build a pilot on.
- Hypothesis
- Your inference or their unverified claim. Confirm it before it shapes scope.
- Unknown
- A gap that materially affects the deal. It becomes an explicit agenda item, never silently ignored.
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Optional practice
Practice: The 7-dimension discovery framework
QWhich is the correct characterization of how to record a champion's claim that 'our security team will approve anything SOC 2 Type II'?