Question 1Discovery and scoping
A customer says “we want AI in our claims process.” What do you ask in the first meeting?
Most FDE work starts this vague. They want to hear you find the real problem before you pick a tool.
“Run discovery and translate ambiguous business problems into clear requirements, scope, and acceptance criteria”Senior Forward Deployed Engineer, Applied AI · Juniper Square
The answerFour steps
- 1
Map the current process: who touches a claim, in what order, with which systems
Say it like this
“I'd ask them to walk me through one real claim, start to finish…”
Why it scores
Starts with the work. One real claim tells you more than a process chart.
- 2
Find the slowest or most error-prone step and ask what it costs them
Say it like this
“claims per week, minutes per claim, and what a wrong payout costs them.”
Why it scores
Gets the numbers that size the prize. Interviewers notice candidates who ask what things cost.
- 3
Agree on one measurable goal (for example time per claim, or error rate)
Say it like this
“Then the goal is “cut handling time from 25 minutes to 15,” not “add AI.””
Why it scores
Turns a wish into a target you can measure, and later prove.
- 4
Ask what data you can access, and who signs off on security
Say it like this
“I'd ask who owns the claims data and who signs off on security, because that decides whether we start in two weeks or in three months.”
Why it scores
Names the slow part of enterprise deals before anyone asks.
StrongAll together
About a minute, out loud. The marked parts are the four steps; hover one to find it above.
I wouldn't bring up AI in the first meeting. I'd ask them to walk me through one real claim, start to finish:1 who opens it, which systems they type into, where it sits and waits. Then three numbers: claims per week, minutes per claim, and what a wrong payout costs them.2 Say adjusters spend a third of their day retyping data from PDFs. Then the goal is “cut handling time from 25 minutes to 15,” not “add AI.”3 Before I leave, I'd ask who owns the claims data and who signs off on security, because that decides whether we start in two weeks or in three months.4
WeakThe answer that fails
Sounds fine. Common. Scores low.
“I'd ask which models they want to use, GPT or open source, whether they have budget for GPUs, and what their data looks like so we can start fine-tuning.”
Interviewer's note
Picked the tools before learning what a claim is. Nothing here would tell us if the project worked.
PracticeTwo minutes, then they push back
Your turn
A customer says “we want AI in our claims process.” What do you ask in the first meeting?
Answer like you're in the room: about two minutes, no notes. Say it out loud, even alone. It feels different from thinking it. Then check your answer against what interviewers score.