The Revenue AI Report
AI GTM

Scale Friction map

Maps one revenue workflow end to end, scores where humans and data get stuck on four pillars, and prices the top friction point in dollars.

Part of SCALE: AI Program Kit. Get every file in the kit, plus the guide, in one place.

Where it came from

  • Source: Built by Jonathan Kvarfordt. Standalone bundle v0.2.
  • Frameworks applied: Step 2. Chart

Why it was chosen

It covers a job one of the eight revenue seats has to finish, and it states its process, decision rules, and output format clearly enough for an agent to follow.

Known weakness, published as found: This skill reads template files that ship in the kit download. Get the full kit so the templates are in place.

How to use it

  1. 1.Copy the SKILL.md text below, or download the raw file.
  2. 2.Create a folder named exactly scale-friction-map in your agent's skills directory.
  3. 3.Save the file inside that folder as SKILL.md.
  4. 4.Ask the agent one of the trigger requests below.
  5. 5.Check the output against what you already know before it leaves your desk.

Install this skill

  1. For Claude Code, copy the command below into your terminal. It creates the skill folder and saves the file as SKILL.md.
  2. For another assistant that supports skills, download the file above and place it in a folder named scale-friction-map inside that assistant's skills directory.
  3. Start a new conversation and ask for the job named on this page. Review the result before using it.

For the supporting files, download the full SCALE: AI Program Kit package too. The single-file command only installs SKILL.md.

mkdir -p "$HOME/.claude/skills/scale-friction-map" && curl -fL "https://www.therevenueaireport.com/agent-skills/scale-friction-map/SKILL.md" -o "$HOME/.claude/skills/scale-friction-map/SKILL.md"

Ask it this

  • map my friction
  • where does work get stuck
  • map this workflow

The SKILL.md file

---
name: scale-friction-map
description: Maps one revenue workflow end to end, scores where humans and data get stuck on four pillars, and prices the top friction point in dollars. Use when the user says "map my friction", "where does work get stuck", "map this workflow", "our reps waste time on", "chart friction", or after scale-five-whys names a workflow.
---

# scale-friction-map

Produce `artifacts/scale-friction-map.md`. You cannot automate a broken process; map it first.

## Preflight (every run)
1. Confirm `GTM-AI-OS/` is accessible. If not: "I need access to your GTM-AI-OS folder. Select it in Cowork's folder picker, or run `os-install` from the core plugin." Stop until it is.
2. Read `CLAUDE.md`, `INDEX.md`, and the last 20 lines of `signals/log.md`.
3. Check the prerequisites below. For anything missing, ask the cold-start questions and offer: (a) run the earlier skill now, or (b) fast path: answer the questions and this skill writes a minimal version of the missing artifact marked `status: draft (fast path)`.
4. On finish, update the artifact row in `INDEX.md` and append one line to `signals/log.md`: `<date> | <skill> | <produced> | <human changed> | <open question>`.

## Prerequisites
- `artifacts/scale-charter.md` with a root cause (from scale-five-whys).
Cold-start: "Which workflow is closest to the problem you're trying to fix? Examples: inbound lead to AE assignment, discovery call to proposal, renewal 90 days out, QBR prep." Then: "What outcome is it supposed to move, with a number?" Write the outcome to `context/outcome.md` as fast path and continue.

## Step 1: Pick one workflow
One. If the user offers three, ask which one the Module 1 root cause lives in. The others go in a list at the bottom of the artifact for later passes.

## Step 2: The four questions
Walk the workflow step by step. For each step capture:
- Who is involved (role, not name)
- What activity happens
- What system is used
- What information flows in and out, and where it lives afterward
Then for each step: where does it get stuck, and is the stall a human stall (decision, repetition, process not followed, cognitive load, tab switching) or a data stall (missing, late, wrong, trapped in a tool)?
If `~~crm` is connected, offer to pull stage durations and field completion rates to check the user's story against the data.

## Step 3: Score on four pillars
Score each stall 1 to 5 on People, Process, Technology, Data. Count handoffs; each handoff is a leak candidate.

## Step 4: Price the top friction
Take the single highest-impact stall. Ask: "How many times per week does this happen, how long does it take, who does it?" Convert to hours per month and to dollars using loaded cost. If it blocks revenue (slow follow-up, missed renewals), estimate the revenue exposure. Mark every estimate `Inferred` unless sourced.

## Step 5: Red flags
Check the map against the standard red flags and note any present: humans updating CRM by hand; conflicting customer records across tools; reporting delays; data trapped in a tool that measures adoption by logins; more than five tools touched in one workflow.

## Step 6: Write
Write `artifacts/scale-friction-map.md` using `references/friction-template.md`: the step table, stall list with pillar scores, top friction with dollar figure, red flags, and the "other workflows for later" list.

## Quality gate
Refuse to finish if fewer than four steps are mapped, or if no stall has a number attached.

## Hand off
Say: "Now rank everything you found. Run `scale-opportunity-matrix`."

Common questions

What does the Scale Friction map skill do?
Maps one revenue workflow end to end, scores where humans and data get stuck on four pillars, and prices the top friction point in dollars.
Where does the Scale Friction map skill come from?
Built by Jonathan Kvarfordt. Standalone bundle v0.2.. The source and included files are shown on this page and in the package download.
Why was the Scale Friction map skill chosen for this library?
It covers a job one of the eight revenue seats has to finish, and it states its process, decision rules, and output format clearly enough for an agent to follow.
When should the Scale Friction map skill not be used?
Use it only for the job named above. A skill applied outside its scope produces confident output on the wrong question.
How do I install the Scale Friction map SKILL.md file?
Download the file, create a folder named exactly scale-friction-map inside your agent's skills directory, and save the file inside it as SKILL.md. The agent loads it when a request matches the description.

Raw file: https://www.therevenueaireport.com/agent-skills/scale-friction-map/SKILL.md. Plain-language skills with worked examples live in the Skills and Prompts library.

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