9Q / For boards
The 9Q Grid for boards
The 9Q Grid is an AI strategy framework created by Suhit Anantula to answer two questions: what is the role of the human, and where should the machine act? It crosses AI agency (Assist, Augment, Adapt) with the type of work (structured, dynamic, complex) to give nine quadrants, from Q1 Operator to Q9 Conductor, so leaders can map their AI portfolio and govern it by trust.
For boards, the same map shows how trust and accountability shift as agency rises — and whether the AI portfolio the board is funding matches the trust it has already earned. Read the 9Q Grid.
Assist / Augment / Adapt × structured / dynamic / complex
Why boards need a map, not a tool list
Most board AI packs list systems, vendors and risk controls. Necessary, and incomplete. They do not show position: how much each initiative lets the machine act, on what kind of work, and whether governance has kept pace. Most AI failure is diagnosis failure before it becomes technology failure.
The 9Q Grid is not a maturity ladder. Q9 is the most demanding quadrant, not the best one. A structured, rules-heavy process can rightly stay at Q1 or Q3.
How trust and accountability shift across the grid
As agency rises, the human role and the trust budget change:
| Agency | Human role | What accountability looks like | Failure mode to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assist | At the helm | People still run the work; AI helps | Tool dependence / skill atrophy |
| Augment | In the loop | A person makes the accountable call on each step | Recommendation capture |
| Adapt | On call | Humans set boundaries, check outcomes and govern exceptions — not each transaction | Silent drift, optimising the wrong thing, orchestra drift |
The higher the agency, the more trust must already be earned. Most AI failures happen when organisations try to buy a Q9 outcome with a Q1 trust budget — insolvent in the currency of trust. Position is not permission — see the AAA Licence chapter.
How a board reads its AI portfolio on the grid
Plot each live initiative in a quadrant: Assist, Augment or Adapt crossed with structured, dynamic or complex work. Then read the portfolio as a whole.
- Which quadrants are crowded, and which are empty?
- Where has something been mislabelled — Q3 automation sold as Q9 transformation, or a Q1 assistant sold as a Q5 partner?
- Does the trust and governance already in place match the agency the board is approving?
- Q1 → Q5 → Q9 is a capability path, not a deployment strategy. Off-diagonal moves need an explicit reason.
Public cases such as Robodebt (Q3 Automator) show what happens when automation outruns matching governance — labelled public evidence from the record, not a client. See also Klarna in the library.
Agentic AI and the Adapt row
When agents act across systems, the board's job sharpens on the Adapt row: confirm the quadrant, the exception path, and whether governance grows with agency. For how Assist, Augment and Adapt set autonomy by type of work, see AI autonomy levels.
Where this sits with AI governance frameworks
Frameworks such as Digital NSW AI guidance and AICD resources for directors set controls. The 9Q Grid tells the board where those controls must bite as agency rises. For AI risk appetite and the questions a board should ask, see Helix Lab’s government and enterprise work on board AI governance.
About the author
Suhit Anantula is a member of the AICD and a board director of Health Partners (a board seat, not a Helix client). He is the author of The Co-Intelligent Organisation and founder of The Helix Lab.
FAQ
What is the 9Q Grid for boards?
The 9Q Grid is an AI strategy framework created by Suhit Anantula to answer two questions: what is the role of the human, and where should the machine act? It crosses AI agency (Assist, Augment, Adapt) with the type of work (structured, dynamic, complex) to give nine quadrants, from Q1 Operator to Q9 Conductor, so leaders can map their AI portfolio and govern it by trust.
What is the board's role in AI governance?
Set direction and risk appetite, and check that governance grows with the agency given to AI. Management runs it. The 9Q Grid is the map that shows where agency sits.
How does trust change across Assist, Augment and Adapt?
Assist keeps the human at the helm; Augment keeps a person in the loop on each step; Adapt puts humans on call for boundaries and exceptions. Higher agency needs more trust already earned.
How should a board read an AI portfolio on the 9Q Grid?
Plot each initiative by agency and type of work, watch for mislabelling, and check that trust matches the agency being approved. It is position, not a maturity score.
Is the 9Q Grid an AI governance framework?
It is the map. Recognised AU frameworks set controls; 9Q shows where those controls must apply as agency rises. Helix Lab covers board AI governance in more depth.
Helix work in this area
The 9Q Grid was designed after Helix's work with RAA; we have since mapped RAA, City of Mitcham and our other client work onto it. Helix case studies ↗
Related questions
Continue the work
Turn your map into a next move.
Use the 5Ps to explore responses to what the map reveals, test a move and carry the learning into the next loop.
For AI software options, explore Agent Watch ↗.