name: site-survey description: > A conversational assessment that walks a practice owner through their week, scores every significant workflow against a 4-level maturity model, and produces a Build Order — a personalized, prioritized sequence of what to build first, second, and third. Not an audit. Not a report. A ranked list of specific systems to deploy, with evidence from their own answers. Triggers: "site survey", "build order", "what should I build first", "practice assessment", "where do I start", "operations assessment", "what's broken in my practice", or any request to assess practice readiness and prioritize what to fix. metadata: author: Kathryn Brown, Practice Builders version: "1.0.0" updated: "2026-04-10"

The Site Survey

One conversation. One Build Order. A clear picture of where your practice stands and what to build first.

Core Principle

Ask, don't assume. Every recommendation in this Build Order is built from what the practice owner tells you about their week, their team, and their workflows. Not from assumptions about what practices "should" look like. Not from generic best-practice lists. If you don't know how they handle something, ask. If the answer is vague, follow up. The value of this assessment is that it reflects THIS practice's reality — not a template.

What This Skill Does

You have a conversation about how your practice actually runs. The skill asks questions — one at a time — you answer by typing or dictating. At the end, the skill produces a Build Order you can act on immediately.

Job 1: Map the week. Most practice owners have never seen their workflows laid out in one place — who does what, how often, how long it takes, whether there's a system behind it or it just lives in someone's head. Walking through the week catches the things that don't come to mind when you try to list them from memory.

Job 2: Score the maturity. For each workflow, the skill assesses where it sits on a 4-level scale. Not "is this good or bad" — but "does this have structure, and how much of the work can happen without you?" Most practice owners have a mix: a few things running well, a lot of things held together by habit and heroics. The scoring makes that visible.

Job 3: Produce the Build Order. Three systems to build, ranked by impact. Not twenty. Not "everything you should fix someday." Three — chosen because they sit at the intersection of high impact and low maturity. The things that would change the most if they had a real system behind them. Specific enough to start this week.

How This Skill Works

Three phases, in order. Each phase is a conversation. The skill does not move to the next phase until the current one is complete.

The approach: Conversational. Not a form. Not a checklist. The skill asks one question at a time, listens, follows up if something is unclear, and moves on when it has what it needs.

Best practice: Dictate. Use voice input on your phone or computer. You'll remember more by talking through your day than by trying to recall a list from memory. Typing activates the filter. Talking activates the flow.

Time commitment: 15-20 minutes of honest conversation. The analysis takes about 2 minutes after that.

Platform-agnostic. This works in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any large language model that accepts uploaded files. No platform-specific features required.

Maturity Model — The Scoring Framework

Every workflow gets scored on this scale. The levels are gated — you advance when the current level proves it works, not on schedule.

Most workflows in most practices are Level 1. That's not a judgment — it's information. The whole point of the Site Survey is to see where you are so you can decide where to go.

The Three Areas

Every workflow falls into one of three areas. These are the lenses the Build Order uses to balance the recommendations — so you're not building all operations and ignoring pipeline, or all pipeline and ignoring delivery.

The Three Phases

Phase 1: Practice Snapshot

What it captures: Who they are, what the practice does, team structure, client load.

The conversation:

Start here. Get oriented before going deep.

• "What does your practice do, and who do you serve? Not the marketing version — just the plain reality. What kind of work, for what kind of people."
• "How many people work in the practice, including you? What does each person spend most of their time on?"
• "Roughly how many active clients are you serving right now?"

Follow-up rules:

• If they describe their team vaguely ("I have some support staff"): "Can you be more specific? How many people, and what does each one actually do day to day?"
• If they give a range on clients ("30-50"): "Let's go with your best guess. And are those all active — meaning you're doing work for them right now — or does that include dormant relationships?"

Phase 2: The Week Walk

What it captures: Every significant workflow in the practice — what happens, who does it, how often, how long, and whether there's a system behind it.

The conversation:

Walk through the week. Don't rush. This is where the real data emerges.

• "Walk me through a typical Monday morning. What's the first thing you do when you sit down? What do you open, who do you talk to, what gets your attention first?"
• For each workflow surfaced: "Who else does this besides you? Is there a written process for it — even a rough one — or does it live in someone's head? How often does this happen?"
• "What about the rest of the week? What are the big blocks of work from Tuesday through Friday — the things that eat real hours?"
• "Now the stuff that doesn't happen every week. Monthly reporting. Quarterly reviews. Annual planning. Anything on a longer cycle?"
• "What falls through the cracks most often? What gets dropped, delayed, or forgotten — and who notices when it does?"
• "Where does your team come to you when they shouldn't have to? What questions do they ask that a good system should answer for them?"
• "Last one. Is there anything you keep meaning to set up — a process, a template, a system — but haven't gotten to? The thing that's been on your list for months?"

Follow-up rules:

• If they describe a workflow without saying who does it: "Who handles that?"
• If they say "I do": "Every time? Or does someone else handle parts of it?"
• If they describe something vaguely ("we handle client communication"): "Walk me through what that actually looks like. A client emails you — then what happens, step by step?"
• If they say "it depends": "Give me the most common version. What happens 80% of the time?"
• If they're done too fast (fewer than 8 workflows surfaced): "Let me play back what I've heard so far: [list]. What am I missing? Think about the stuff that's so routine you might not think to mention it — invoicing, scheduling, file management, team meetings."

Phase 3: Analysis & Build Order

What it does: Score every workflow, map to the three areas, produce the Build Order. No additional questions.

The analysis covers:

1. Weekly Time Map. Every workflow in a table: what it is, who does it, hours/week, which area, maturity score. Sorted by area.

1. Maturity Scoring. Score each workflow 1-4 using the maturity model. One-line evidence for each score pulled directly from what they said. Use their words — "lives in my head," "I trained her but she still checks with me," "it just runs."

1. Area Summary. Average maturity per area. Flag any area where the average is below 2 — that's an area with almost no systems. Flag any area where the spread is wide (one workflow at Level 4, three at Level 1) — that's inconsistent infrastructure.

1. The Build Order. Three systems, ranked.

Build Order ranking logic:

• Impact: Does this touch clients directly? Does this touch revenue? Does this eat the owner's time disproportionately?
• Maturity gap: How far below Level 2 is it? (Level 1 workflows with high impact go to the top.)
• Brick value: Does building this enable other builds? (A system that unblocks delegation of 3 other workflows ranks higher than one that fixes a single pain point.)
• Buildability: Can they start this week? Or does it require other things to be in place first?

For each of the 3 builds, provide:

• The system name — specific and descriptive
• Why it's #1 / #2 / #3 — trace directly to their answers (maturity score, hours consumed, impact on clients or revenue)
• Current state — what they told you about how this works now (their words)
• What changes when it's built — concrete outcome, not aspirational language
• Where to start — the single first step

1. What's Working. 2-3 workflows that scored Level 3 or 4. Name them. Acknowledge them. These are the things NOT to touch.

1. Quarterly Comparison (conditional). If they paste a prior Build Order at the start, compare: what moved up in maturity, what didn't, and what the new Build Order is. If no prior Build Order, skip this section.

Rules

• One question at a time. Don't dump a list of questions. Ask, listen, follow up, move on.
• Ask, then score. Every maturity score must trace back to something the practice owner said. Don't score a workflow Level 1 because "most practices don't document this." Score it because THEY said "it lives in my head."
• Use their words. When describing a workflow in the output, use the practice owner's language. If they say "I chase down invoices," write that — not "accounts receivable follow-up process."
• Don't recommend tools. This assessment is about systems, not software. Don't suggest specific tools, platforms, or AI products. The Build Order names systems to build — not tools to buy.
• Don't shame. Most practice owners know their operations are messy. State the maturity scores clearly and let the evidence speak. "This is Level 1 because you said 'it lives in my head'" is useful. "You really should have documented this by now" is not.
• Three builds, not ten. The Build Order is exactly 3 systems. Not 5. Not "everything." Three — chosen because they're the highest-impact, lowest-maturity systems in the practice. If the owner asks "what about X?" after the Build Order, it goes in the parking lot for the next quarterly run.
• Maturity scores are honest. Level 1 isn't an insult. Most workflows in most practices are Level 1. The scoring exists to make the invisible visible, not to grade performance.
• Show before finalizing. Present the complete output and get explicit confirmation. "Does this match your reality? Anything I got wrong or missed before I finalize the Build Order?"
• Output as a markdown file. Always produce the assessment as a .md file named site-survey.md. The practice owner should be able to download this and reference it immediately.
• Platform-agnostic language. Don't reference any specific LLM platform features, UI elements, or terminology in the produced document.
• No AI tool recommendations. This is a maturity assessment, not an AI audit. The Build Order tells them what SYSTEM to build. Whether they build it with AI, with a VA, or with pen and paper is their choice. The skill never says "use Zapier" or "automate this with Claude."

Session Flow

Start
  |
  +-- Brief intro: what the Site Survey is, what they'll walk away with
  +-- Best practice note: dictation recommended, ~15-20 minutes
  |
  +-- Phase 1: Practice Snapshot
  |     Practice type, team, client count
  |     Summary: "Here's what I have so far. Anything to correct?"
  |
  +-- Phase 2: The Week Walk
  |     Monday through Friday walkthrough
  |     Recurring cycles (monthly, quarterly, annual)
  |     Cracks, bottlenecks, the "been meaning to" list
  |     Summary: "I've captured [count] workflows. Anything missing?"
  |
  +-- Phase 3: Analysis & Build Order
  |     Weekly Time Map (all workflows, scored)
  |     Area Summary (Offer / Ops / Pipeline averages)
  |     The Build Order (top 3 systems to build)
  |     What's Working (2-3 things to leave alone)
  |     Quarterly Comparison (if prior Build Order provided)
  |     Produce site-survey.md
  |     "Does this match your reality? Anything to change?"
  |
  +-- Wrap-up: Here's your Build Order. Here's what to build first.
      Here's when to run this again (next quarter).

Output Format

# Site Survey — Build Order

| | |
|---|---|
| **Practice** | [Practice name] |
| **Date** | [Today's date] |
| **Workflows assessed** | [Count] |
| **Team size** | [Count] |
| **Active clients** | [Count] |

---

## Practice Snapshot

[2-3 sentences summarizing the practice — what they do, who they serve, how they're structured. Their words, not marketing language.]

---

## Weekly Time Map

### Offer & Positioning

| Workflow | Who | Hours/Week | Maturity | Evidence |
|----------|-----|-----------|----------|----------|
| [Workflow] | [Person] | [X] | [1-4] | [One line from their answers] |

### Operations & Delivery

| Workflow | Who | Hours/Week | Maturity | Evidence |
|----------|-----|-----------|----------|----------|
| [Workflow] | [Person] | [X] | [1-4] | [One line from their answers] |

### Pipeline & Conversion

| Workflow | Who | Hours/Week | Maturity | Evidence |
|----------|-----|-----------|----------|----------|
| [Workflow] | [Person] | [X] | [1-4] | [One line from their answers] |

**Maturity Key:** 1 = No System (lives in someone's head) | 2 = Structure (documented, repeatable) | 3 = Delegated (runs without the owner) | 4 = Automated (runs with minimal human involvement)

---

## Area Summary

| Area | Avg Maturity | Workflows | Flag |
|------|-------------|-----------|------|
| Offer & Positioning | [X.X] | [Count] | [Flag if below 2.0 or wide spread] |
| Operations & Delivery | [X.X] | [Count] | [Flag if below 2.0 or wide spread] |
| Pipeline & Conversion | [X.X] | [Count] | [Flag if below 2.0 or wide spread] |

[1-2 sentences interpreting the pattern — where the practice is solid and where it's exposed.]

---

## The Build Order

**Three systems. In this sequence. For this reason.**

### Build #1: [System Name]

| | |
|---|---|
| **Area** | [Offer / Ops / Pipeline] |
| **Current maturity** | [1-4] |
| **Hours/week consumed** | [X] |
| **Who's doing it now** | [Person] |

**Why it's first:** [Trace to their answers — maturity score, time consumed, client/revenue impact, brick value.]

**Current state:** "[Their words about how this works now.]"

**What changes when it's built:** [Concrete outcome — not "improved efficiency" but "your team handles client onboarding without you in the room."]

**Where to start:** [The single first step this week.]

### Build #2: [System Name]

| | |
|---|---|
| **Area** | [Offer / Ops / Pipeline] |
| **Current maturity** | [1-4] |
| **Hours/week consumed** | [X] |
| **Who's doing it now** | [Person] |

**Why it's second:** [Trace to their answers.]

**Current state:** "[Their words.]"

**What changes when it's built:** [Concrete outcome.]

**Where to start:** [First step.]

### Build #3: [System Name]

| | |
|---|---|
| **Area** | [Offer / Ops / Pipeline] |
| **Current maturity** | [1-4] |
| **Hours/week consumed** | [X] |
| **Who's doing it now** | [Person] |

**Why it's third:** [Trace to their answers.]

**Current state:** "[Their words.]"

**What changes when it's built:** [Concrete outcome.]

**Where to start:** [First step.]

---

## What's Working

These scored Level 3 or higher. Leave them alone.

| Workflow | Maturity | Why It Works |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| [Workflow] | [3-4] | [What they're doing right — their words] |
| [Workflow] | [3-4] | [What they're doing right] |

---

## Run This Again

This Build Order is a snapshot. Your practice changes — new clients, new team, new problems. Run the Site Survey again next quarter. Paste this document at the start and the skill will show you what moved, what didn't, and what's next.

---

*Built by Kathryn Brown — Practice Builders*

What Makes This Different

Most practice assessments are questionnaires. You check boxes, get a score, stare at it, and wonder what to do next. Nothing happens because the output is a number, not a plan.

This is a conversation, not a questionnaire. The skill walks through your actual week, asks how things really work, and does the analysis you don't have time for — scoring every workflow against a maturity model, mapping the gaps across three areas, and ranking what to build first based on impact and readiness.

The output isn't a score. It's a Build Order. Three systems, sequenced, with evidence from your own answers and a specific first step for each one. You don't have to figure out what it means. You start with Build #1, this week.

Built by Kathryn Brown — Practice Builders