Glossary
The words we use on the call.
Every term an install uses, defined the way we would say it on the mapping call. The first sentence of each one answers the question on its own.
01The install
The words on the first call.
Mapping Call
The first call. Bring one process you still run by hand.
Read the definitionOperating Map
How the work actually moves, written down before scope is set.
Read the definitionSet Price in Writing
One price, after mapping, that moves only if the scope does.
Read the definitionNamed Owner
The one person inside your company who owns a system's decisions.
Read the definitionThe Sprint
Echelon's engagement, 30 to 90 days: map, a first build in two weeks, review mode, launch, then run it.
Read the definition
02Controls
Where the system stops and a person starts.
Review Mode
The system prepares real work; a person approves every result.
Read the definitionApproval Gate
The point where an action waits for a person.
Read the definitionNarrow Authority
Permission for one proven action, inside written limits.
Read the definitionAudit Trail
The full record of what a system did, and who approved it.
Read the definitionReadback
The system reads its own output back to confirm it landed, once.
Read the definitionHuman-in-the-Loop
The AI handles the volume; a person approves what matters.
Read the definition
03Foundations
What the pieces are.
AI Agent
Software that reads a goal, decides, and acts inside your tools.
Read the definitionAI Automation
AI running repeat business work end to end.
Read the definitionLLM (Large Language Model)
The model that reads and writes language.
Read the definitionWorkflow Automation
Your tools connected so work moves without a person carrying it.
Read the definitionAgentic AI
AI that pursues a goal over several steps, not one answer.
Read the definitionAI Infrastructure
The connected systems that run AI in your company every day.
Read the definition
04Agents
The workers with a written brief.
05Architecture
How it is built underneath.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
The AI answers from your own records.
Read the definitionMCP (Model Context Protocol)
The standard that lets an agent use your tools through one interface.
Read the definitionFine-tuning
Training a model further on your own examples.
Read the definitionVector Database
How an AI stores and searches meaning, not keywords.
Read the definition
Your first department
Bring the process you still run by hand.
One mapping call. You leave with the system design, the price in writing, and the date it goes live. The first build lands in two weeks.
How it works
From the first call to a system in production.
Six steps, the sprint shape, and where we start. Every term above shows up somewhere in it.
See the process