Download the Digital Reality Canvas
The one-page template for mapping the gap. Print-ready PDF, built for working sessions.
Want to see the method first? Read how to run a Digital Reality Check →
See a filled Canvas
A one-page template for mapping the three realities side by side. Fill the top with what is true and what you say, the middle with what everyone else says. The distance between them is your gap.
Catch data incidents before they reach dashboards and executives.
DeclaredData-platform leads, accountable for trust in the numbers.
Declared“The data observability platform that catches issues before your executives do.”
ObservedData-platform leads.
ObservedThe homepage still leads with “move data faster”. Case studies describe faster loads and lower cost, not incidents caught.
ObservedG2, Crunchbase and two directories all file Northwind under the old category. Older reviews praise pipeline speed; none mention observability.
EvidencedAsked directly, AI describes Northwind as “an ETL and data-pipeline tool”.
PerceivedNot named in the unbranded observability questions. Three competitors were.
PerceivedBuyers who ask AI for observability options never see Northwind. The ones who do arrive expecting a pipeline tool and get compared against the wrong competitors.
JudgementCategory & Positioning first. Behind it, an outdated public record: homepage, proof and third-party profiles all still describe the previous company.
JudgementRead the distance: The first two bands describe an observability company. The third describes a pipeline tool. Nothing here is a mistake by the models: every source they could read was still telling the old story.
See how they found itMark where every answer came from
A Canvas is only as good as the evidence under it. Label each cell with its source before you read the gap.
- Declared
- Supplied by the company, and confirmed by the people who own it. Blocks 1 and 2 can only ever be this.
- Observed
- Found on the company’s own properties: site, docs, product pages.
- Perceived
- Synthesised from what AI systems actually answered.
- Evidenced
- Supported by a third-party source you can cite.
- Unknown
- Not enough evidence. A real answer, and often the finding itself.
Two cells labelled differently are not the same claim. A gap between Declared and Perceived is the framework working; a gap between Unknown and Unknown is homework.
How to use the Canvas
Fill it with your team in 30–45 minutes.
Write what you deliver
What the company actually delivers.
List your claims
What you say publicly.
Collect the evidence
What search and AI can actually find.
Mark the gaps
Flag what is missing, weak, outdated, or wrong.
Choose three drivers
The three most likely to cause misrepresentation.