Who is NorthRidge Survey Group?
NorthRidge Survey Group is a fictional professional services firm created to demonstrate how the Orion AI Outcomes (OAIO) methodology works in practice. The NorthRidge story illustrates common challenges enterprises face when adopting AI, and shows how OAIO addresses each one.
Company Profile
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Industry | Professional Services / Land Surveying |
| Size | Mid-market (~500 employees) |
| Geography | Multi-region US operations |
| Annual Revenue | ~$75M |
| Structure | Field teams + corporate headquarters |
Key Characters
Leadership Team
Marcus Chen — CEO
- Concerned about competitive pressure from AI-enabled competitors
- Needs clear business case before committing to AI investments
- Skeptical of technology promises but open to structured approaches
Lisa Tran — VP Technology
- Discovered shadow AI usage through support tickets
- Worried about data governance and security
- Looking for a governance framework, not just tools
Sarah Williams — CFO
- Approved AI expenses without visibility into outcomes
- Needs cost clarity and ROI measurement
- Focused on budget allocation and financial controls
David Martinez — VP Operations
- Field teams experimenting with AI independently
- Needs practical tools that work in the field
- Concerned about training and adoption
The NorthRidge Story Arc
The NorthRidge narrative follows the company through all six OAIO pillars:
Chapter 1: The Pitch
NorthRidge's leadership realizes they have an AI problem: uncontrolled experimentation, no governance, and growing anxiety about falling behind. They engage Orion after meeting at AWS re:Invent.
Chapter 2: Value & Adoption (Pillar 1)
Orion facilitates stakeholder interviews and opportunity mapping. The team identifies three high-value AI use cases:
- Proposal automation - Reducing time to generate client proposals
- Field data capture - Streamlining survey data collection
- Quality review - Automating review of deliverables
Chapter 3: Data Readiness (Pillar 2)
Assessment reveals that proposal templates are inconsistent, field data is siloed, and historical project data lacks standardization. A data remediation plan is developed.
Chapter 4: AI Protection (Pillar 3)
NorthRidge establishes AI governance policies including acceptable use guidelines, data classification rules, and approval workflows for new AI tools.
Chapter 5: Experience Design (Pillar 4)
User research shows that field surveyors need mobile-first tools, while office staff prefer desktop integration. Adoption personas and training plans are developed.
Chapter 6: FinOps (Pillar 5)
Cost modeling reveals that proposal automation has the highest ROI but field data capture has lower implementation risk. A phased rollout plan balances value and risk.
Chapter 7: Exit & Handoff (Pillar 6)
Orion delivers engineering-ready documentation including technical specifications, integration requirements, and vendor evaluation criteria.
Why NorthRidge?
The NorthRidge case study was designed to represent common patterns seen across professional services firms:
- Shadow AI - Employees using consumer AI tools without governance
- Fragmented initiatives - Multiple AI experiments with no coordination
- Unclear ownership - Nobody owns the AI strategy
- Cost opacity - AI spending without visibility or control
- Adoption anxiety - Fear of falling behind competitors
NorthRidge's story demonstrates that AI success isn't about the technology—it's about structured adoption through clear governance, measurable value, and intentional change management.
Using NorthRidge in Sales Conversations
When presenting OAIO to prospects, the NorthRidge story provides:
- Relatability - Most enterprises see themselves in NorthRidge's challenges
- Concreteness - Abstract methodology becomes tangible through narrative
- Credibility - Shows OAIO has been applied (even in simulation)
- Discussion starter - "Does this sound like your situation?"
The NorthRidge story is embedded throughout the OAIO narrative and referenced in the pitch deck.