Time to Value AI (time to the first measurable value)

The term comes from the SaaS literature of the 2010s (Aaron Levie, Tomasz Tunguz). In the AI context it gained weight in 2024, when enterprise CFOs began demanding numbers rather than promises. McKinsey Global AI Survey 2025 reports that TTV is the most frequently cited KPI in decisions to continue or close AI pilots.

Three phases of TTV

IDC Worldwide AI Spending Guide 2026, an analysis of 4,200 deployments globally, divides TTV into three phases. First, discovery and planning (2 to 4 months): scoping, readiness audit, vendor selection. Second, the pilot (3 to 8 months): deploying a minimal version, measuring the first signals. Third, productionisation (3 to 6 months): scaling to production, hardening, monitoring. The combined median is 14 months.

What shortens TTV

Forrester AI Investment Trends 2025 identifies four accelerators. First, workflow-first design: a TTV reduction of 35 to 45 percent. Second, a baseline KPI measured before the start: a reduction of 20 to 30 percent. Third, a scope limited to a single process: a reduction of 25 to 40 percent. Fourth, capability transfer designed from day one: a reduction of 15 to 25 percent.

In total: a well-designed pilot can have a TTV of 4 to 7 months, two to three times better than the median.

What lengthens TTV

McKinsey identifies four brakes. No baseline KPI (you cannot measure from the start, so it gets improvised ad hoc). Vendor selection without clear criteria (3 to 6 months on an RFP instead of 2 to 4 weeks). No governance or sponsorship (decisions wait for "we'll discuss that further"). An attempt at enterprise-wide transformation on the first try (TTV rises to 24 to 36 months).

The Polish context

In Polish mid-sized companies, TTV is statistically longer than the global median. Three reasons: a lower level of process measurability at the outset (no baseline KPI exists), a longer decision cycle (boards meet less often than in the US), and a higher share of deployments without a readiness audit. A conservative estimate of the median TTV for a Polish mid-sized company in 2025 to 2026: 17 to 22 months.

Measuring TTV is a standard part of the AI Readiness Audit. We help define the baseline KPI before the deployment starts.