8. From Excel to AI: Reinventing OPEX Maturity Assessment
- Automated, consistent assessment data — eliminate manual scoring errors and delays by digitising assessments and automating evidence capture.
- AI-driven benchmarking & prioritisation — use Copilot and AI to benchmark maturity, surface the biggest opportunity areas and propose tailored improvement roadmaps.
- Actionable visualisation & learning loops — Power BI dashboards and Copilot narratives make maturity evolution visible and feed automated coaching, follow-ups and continuous learning.
Introduction
This one-day, hands-on workshop shows Lean and OPEX leaders how to modernise maturity assessments by turning Excel-based models into living, AI-powered assessment tools. Instead of ad-hoc spreadsheets and manual scoring, you’ll build automated data collection pipelines, Copilot-assisted interpretation, and Power BI visualisations that continuously surface improvement priorities and measure progress over time.
We begin by reviewing common Excel maturity models and techniques to convert them into parameterised digital assessments (questionnaires, weighted scoring, evidence capture). The course then covers automating data collection with Power Automate (Forms, SharePoint, API connectors), using Copilot to interpret open-text responses and generate narrative summaries, and applying AI techniques to benchmark results against peer data and historical performance. You’ll learn how to visualise maturity evolution with Power BI and embed continuous learning loops — for example pushing personalised coaching tasks and follow-up actions back into Teams and SharePoint.
The course is pragmatic and output-driven: by the end of the day each team will have a sample digital assessment, a Copilot prompt library for automated interpretation and AIs for benchmarking, a Power BI dashboard to show evolution and gaps, and a short implementation plan to pilot and scale the solution.
Deliverables: a working digital maturity assessment template, Power Automate flows for data collection, Copilot prompt library for interpretation and A3-style recommendations, Power BI dashboard template for OPEX evolution and a 30/60/90 rollout plan for piloting and scaling.
About the course
Overview & Objectives
Understand how to transform static maturity spreadsheets into automated, AI-ready assessment platforms. The session covers design, automation, AI-driven benchmarking and visualisation for operational use.
- Course aims and outcomes
- Workshop agenda and practical expectations
- Deliverables and pilot success criteria
From Excel to Assessment Template
Convert Excel maturity models into parameterised assessment templates with scoring rules, evidence fields and version controls suitable for automation.
- Mapping columns to structured questions
- Weighting, thresholds and scoring rules
- Designing evidence capture and attachments
Automating Data Capture
Use Microsoft Forms, Power Automate and SharePoint to automate surveys, collect evidence and orchestrate follow-up workflows.
- Designing Forms & connectors
- Power Automate patterns for ingestion and validation
- Handling retries, duplicates and idempotency
Copilot for Interpretation
Create Copilot prompts that convert qualitative inputs into structured summaries, risk ratings and draft improvement roadmaps (A3-style recommendations).
- Prompt patterns for narrative synthesis
- Generating prioritized recommendations
- Human-in-the-loop review and editing strategies
AI Benchmarking
Apply clustering, scoring and benchmarking models to compare sites/units and identify high-impact improvement targets.
- Peer benchmarking techniques
- Clustering and gap analysis
- Converting scores into prioritised actions
Power BI Visualisation
Build dashboards to display maturity evolution, heatmaps, action ownership and trend-based KPIs for leadership and Obeya reviews.
- Designing an Obeya-ready OPEX dashboard
- Heatmaps, trend lines and drillthroughs
- Action cards and narrative embedding
Embedding Learning
Automate assignment of coaching activities, training suggestions and follow-ups to Teams/SharePoint and track progress until closure.
- Skills mapping and tailored coaching tasks
- Automated reminders and SLA tracking
- Reporting progress and retention
Governance & Pilot
Define governance, data quality checks, security and a 30/60/90 plan to pilot and scale the digital OPEX assessment across sites.
- Access control and data minimisation
- Validation rules and audit trails
- Pilot checklist and rollout guidance
Instructors
Frederic Brouillet
Founding Managing Director
Fred has spent the past + 15 years running Lean Transformation Programmes in Europe, Asia & Africa. He has experience in Financial Services, Mining and Manufacturing. Fred is a pioneer in digitalising, automating, and augmenting Lean Management Systems with AI inside Microsoft 365. The idea for Digital Lean Management was born in 2020, during the COVID pandemic. While working remotely, Fred realized that the Excel files and physical boards — he was using — hadn’t changed since the early 2000s. At the same time, Microsoft Teams and 365 were becoming the digital backbone of collaboration.
