Appendix G: The “Air Cover” Memo (Template)

Managers are often the ones who have to “sell” the learning curve to the C-suite. If you tell them it will be “faster” and it initially gets “slower” (due to rigorous testing and learning), you lose your political capital.

Use this template to set expectations with your VP of Engineering or CTO before the pilot starts.

Internal Memo: AI Adoption Pilot & “The Rigor Tax”

To: [VP of Engineering / CTO] From: [Engineering Manager/Director] Subject: Q[X] Strategy: Engineering Evolution (AI Integration Pilot)

1. The Objective We are initiating an AI Adoption Pilot with [Team Name]. Our goal is not just “Velocity,” but Flow Efficiency. We are moving from a Code-Centric model to a Context-Centric model.

2. The “Rigor Tax” (Expectation Setting) During the first 30-60 days, you may see a slight decrease in feature velocity as measured by story points. This is intentional. We are mandating a 10:1 test-to-code ratio for all AI-generated logic to prevent the accumulation of “Vibe Debt.” We are focusing on quality and auditability first.

3. Success Metrics (The KPI Shift) We will stop reporting on “Lines of Code” or “Ticket Throughput.” Instead, we will track:

• Idea-to-Invoice Time: Our ability to move from a spec to a verified deployment.
• Verification Loop Speed: How fast our automated scaffolds find and fix AI hallucinations.
• Context Health: The degree to which our core architectural boundaries remain unpolluted.

4. The Sentinel Layer We have implemented a Sentinel Layer to ensure no proprietary IP or PII is leaked. Compliance and Security are built into our “Chain of Liability” (Appendix D).

5. Recommendation I request your “Air Cover” for this team for the next 8 weeks. I will provide a bi-weekly “Attribution Report” showing the ratio of human-curated vs. synthetic-generated code and our verification success rates.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with an automated verification scaffold and a human-in-the-loop signature.” — Venkatesh