The SHIM Guide

01

SHIM in 60 seconds

SHIM stands for Systems Harmonization & Iterative Modernization. It is a workflow-first methodology for AI transformation.

Most important processes already use software. They just use too much of it. One process may span email, spreadsheets, CRM, ERP, documents, chat, approvals, and knowledge held in people’s heads. Employees become the integration layer.

SHIM first gives one process a clear place to operate while the existing systems remain behind the work. It then introduces AI through measured production improvements that remove manual steps over time.

02

Why SHIM exists

Giving employees another AI tool does not fix a fragmented process. Before AI can take work off their plates, the process needs one place to live.

SHIM was formalized from patterns observed across years of building and operating AI-enabled workflows inside established organizations. Some of the work preceded the SHIM name, but it revealed the implementation and adoption patterns the methodology now makes explicit.

An AI tool can make one task faster. It cannot transform a process it cannot see end to end.

03

The two core moves

04

Core terms

Track

The process being transformed. A Track has a clear trigger, owner, outcome, and business case.

System of work

The purpose-built interface through which the team understands and runs the process across existing systems of record.

SHIM Loop

The recurring cadence used to remove another step, ship the improvement, measure the result, and decide what should happen next.

Production release

A real improvement used in live work, with appropriate testing, controls, ownership, and measurement.

05

Align

Choose and understand the process.

Select one important process with meaningful economics, a committed owner, and a practical path to production. Observe how the work actually happens and define the outcome the transformation must improve.

• Clarify the business goal and constraints.
• Map the process as it operates today.
• Identify owners, users, systems, decisions, and exceptions.
• Establish a baseline and define how success will be measured.

06

Harmonize

Give the process one interface.

Build the purpose-built system of work and connect it to the people, information, systems, decisions, approvals, and exceptions involved.

A Track should become the primary interface through which the team understands and runs the process. Depending on the work, some specialized actions may remain in existing systems, but the Track should provide a coherent view of the process, its state, its decisions, and what happens next.

Existing systems of record can remain. The Track reads from and writes back to them while reducing tool-switching and human glue work.

System of Work

07

Iterate and the SHIM Loop

Remove steps through production releases.

Choose one valuable or painful step, redesign it, add the appropriate AI or automation, ship it to real users, measure what changed, and repeat.

Focused improvements may often ship in cycles measured in weeks. The appropriate cadence depends on integration complexity, governance, testing, risk, and organizational readiness.

1. 01

   Observe

   See how the work actually happens.

2. 02

   Prioritize

   Choose the next valuable or painful step.

3. 03

   Design

   Redesign the step and define the right controls.

4. 04

   Ship

   Release the improvement to real users.

5. 05

   Measure

   Compare the result with the baseline.

6. 06

   Learn

   Use evidence to decide what should happen next.

08

Orchestrate

Deepen and expand what works.

Allow the first process to take on more responsibility and use its proven patterns, connections, controls, and lessons to transform additional processes.

As a Track matures, AI may take on a larger share of repeatable preparation, coordination, analysis, and execution. People remain responsible wherever judgment, accountability, relationships, creativity, risk, or context create the greatest value.

09

Why adoption works

Do not teach everyone to use AI. Quietly make their work easier.

Most enterprise AI programs begin by introducing new tools, training people on prompts, and asking employees to change how they work.

SHIM reverses that model. The team helps create one useful interface around a process it already understands. AI is then introduced behind that interface as improvements to the work itself.

Employees experience fewer searches, fewer handoffs, fewer repetitive steps, fewer screens, and less work required to reach the same outcome. Adoption happens because the experience gets better, not because the organization successfully convinced everyone to use AI.

10

Human control and governance

AI should be unobtrusive to the user, not opaque to the organization. The workflow should make clear where AI prepared, recommended, or completed work, where people remain responsible, and how quality is measured.

• Define ownership and accountability for every release.
• Make approvals and escalation paths explicit.
• Preserve auditability for important actions and decisions.
• Test quality, security, permissions, and failure handling.
• Keep people in control wherever the work requires it.

11

When agents become useful

Agents are the last chapter, not the first screen.

An agent should not be placed on top of a fragmented process and expected to figure it out. It becomes useful only after the workflow, context, controls, quality, and trust have been established.

Over time, people may move from performing every step to reviewing prepared work, making important decisions, and directing the system. In mature Tracks, an agent may coordinate larger portions of the process and ask for human input where judgment or approval is required.

The goal is not maximum autonomy. The goal is the right division of work between people and technology.

12

Choosing the first Track

Start with one important process, not an enterprise-wide transformation. A strong first Track combines meaningful value with a practical path to production.

• It has a clear trigger, owner, outcome, and business case.
• The current work contains visible friction or repeated effort.
• A committed team can participate in redesign and adoption.
• The required systems and information can be connected safely.
• Improvement can be measured against a credible baseline.

13

Starting in production

SHIM measures progress in shipped, adopted workflow Tracks. Begin with a useful system of work, put it in the hands of the people who run the process, and establish a cadence for learning from real use.

A focused initial period, often approximately 90 days, can be a useful way to harmonize a first Track, launch meaningful improvements, and establish a production learning cadence. The exact scope and timeline depend on the process.

The objective is not to complete the transformation on a fixed schedule. It is to create a production foundation that can keep improving.

14

Principles

Integrate, do not replace.

Replace the human glue work between systems, not the systems.

Compounding return.

Build a capability that improves month after month.

Adoption before autonomy.

Earn trust through small, helpful improvements.

Model-agnostic.

Better models make the system better; the method does not become obsolete.

Production over prototypes.

Progress is measured in shipped, adopted workflow Tracks.

15

Use and attribution

SHIM is a methodology, not a software platform. It can be implemented using different technologies and architectures.

You may use SHIM internally, teach it inside your organization, and adapt the method to your context with appropriate attribution.

“SHIM (Systems Harmonization & Iterative Modernization) was created by Very Big Things.”