AI Leadership & Project Management Masterclass

Comprehensive masterclass materials for teaching AI project leadership and decision-making frameworks.

Quick Start

For Instructors Delivering the Course

1. Review the structure: Read PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md to understand file organisation
2. Access instructor materials:
   • Via website: Visit the companion site and click "🔐 Instructor" (password: instructor2025)
   • Via files: All guides are in /instructor-materials/ organised by activity
3. Prepare materials:
   • Print facilitator quick reference (your day-of cheat sheet)
   • Print student materials (cards, worksheets) from /activities/materials/
   • Review activity facilitation guides
4. Build the website: Run ./scripts/render-all.sh to generate all materials
5. Test locally: Open docs/index.html in a browser

For Students

• Website: Access all materials at the companion website (hosted via GitHub Pages)
• Pre-readings: Available at the website before the course
• RetailFlow case study: Access the company simulation at retailflow.serveur.au
• Frameworks: Download reference materials from Resources menu

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Project Organisation

/activities/materials/     → Cards and cases used IN activities
/instructor-materials/     → Facilitation guides by activity (instructor-only)
  ├── activity-1-pilot-scoping/
  ├── activity-2-speed-dating/
  ├── activity-3-crisis-management/
  └── activity-4-scale-pivot-kill/
/handouts/                 → Reference materials students take home
/docs/                     → Website files (auto-generated)
  ├── index.html           → Main companion site
  ├── instructor.html      → Password-protected instructor portal
  └── instructor/          → Rendered instructor materials
/retailflow-site/          → Company simulation website
  └── internal.html        → Password-protected pilot data dashboard
/scripts/                  → Build and utility scripts

See PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md for detailed explanation of the organisation logic.

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Masterclass Flow

Duration: 1 day (8 hours including breaks)

1. Lecture (90 min) - Introduction and framework overview
2. Morning Tea (30 min)
3. Activity 1: Pilot Scoping (30 min working + 20 min debrief)
   • Materials: Constraint cards, case brief
   • Output: Pilot plan with success criteria
4. Activity 2: Speed-Dating (40 min)
   • Materials: Stakeholder role cards
   • Output: Stakeholder mapping and communication strategies
5. Lunch (45 min)
6. Activity 3: Crisis Management (75 min)
   • Materials: Crisis cards (3-4 scenarios)
   • Framework: Diagnose → Decide → Communicate → Document
   • Output: Crisis response plans
7. Afternoon Tea (30 min)
8. Debrief Crises (15 min)
9. Activity 4: Scale/Pivot/Kill (45 min)
   • Materials: Pilot data dashboard, original criteria
   • Output: Scale/Pivot/Kill recommendation with rationale
10. Wrap-up (30 min) - Action planning, Q&A

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Key Materials by Activity

Activity 1: Pilot Scoping

• Case: Scoping exercise worksheet
• Cards: Constraint cards (budget-cut, scope-creep, timeline-acceleration, vendor-lock-in)
• Handout: Project scoping framework
• Instructor guide: instructor-materials/activity-1-pilot-scoping/

Activity 2: Speed-Dating (Stakeholder Conversations)

• Cards: 6 stakeholder role cards (CEO, CFO, Data Scientist, CS Manager, IT Security, End User)
• Handout: Stakeholder mapping template
• Instructor guide: instructor-materials/activity-2-speed-dating/

Activity 3: Crisis Management

• Cards: Crisis cards (data-quality, team-resistance, executive-pressure, ethical-dilemma)
• Handout: Crisis response framework (DDCD)
• Instructor guide: instructor-materials/activity-3-crisis-management/

Activity 4: Scale/Pivot/Kill

• Data: Pilot metrics dashboard (accessed via RetailFlow internal portal)
• Handout: Scale/Pivot/Kill decision framework
• Instructor guide: instructor-materials/activity-4-scale-pivot-kill/

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Building the Website

Generate all materials

./scripts/render-all.sh

This renders all .qmd files to HTML and PDF, then organizes them into the docs/ folder.

What gets rendered:

• Student materials → docs/activities/, docs/handouts/
• Instructor materials → docs/instructor/
• Slides → docs/content/
• Pre-readings → docs/pre-readings/

Test locally

open docs/index.html

Deploy to GitHub Pages

1. Ensure docs/ folder is committed to git
2. GitHub Pages settings: Deploy from main branch, /docs folder
3. Site will be live at: https://[username].github.io/[repo-name]/

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Important Notes

Constraint Cards vs Crisis Cards

CONSTRAINT CARDS (/activities/materials/constraint-cards/)

• Used in: Activity 1 (Pilot Scoping)
• Represent: Planning challenges BEFORE pilot starts
• Examples: Budget cuts, scope creep, timeline pressure, vendor constraints
• Files: budget-cut.qmd, scope-creep.qmd, timeline-acceleration.qmd, vendor-lock-in.qmd

CRISIS CARDS (/activities/materials/crisis-cards/)

• Used in: Activity 3 (Crisis Management)
• Represent: Issues that arise DURING live pilot
• Examples: Data quality, team resistance, executive pressure, ethical dilemmas
• Files: data-quality.qmd, team-resistance.qmd, executive-pressure.qmd, ethical-dilemma.qmd

Don't mix them up! Constraints are for planning; crises are for simulation.

Student Materials vs Instructor Materials

Student materials (concise, 1-2 pages):

• Location: /handouts/ and /activities/materials/
• Purpose: Quick reference during and after course
• Access: Via companion website Resources menu

Instructor materials (detailed, 10+ pages):

• Location: /instructor-materials/ (organized by activity)
• Purpose: Facilitation guides, sample answers, teaching notes
• Access: Via instructor portal (password-protected)

Both exist for the same frameworks, just different detail levels.

Instructor Portal

Access: Click "🔐 Instructor" in companion site navigation Password: instructor2025

What's included:

• Facilitator quick reference (PRINT THIS!)
• Activity facilitation guides (all 4 activities)
• Framework walkthroughs
• Sample answers and assessment rubrics
• Feedback from previous deliveries

RetailFlow Case Study

Main site: retailflow.serveur.au

• Company overview, staff bios, products
• Provides context for all activities

Internal portal: retailflow.serveur.au/internal

• Password: pilot2024
• Contains Week 6 pilot data dashboard
• Used in Activity 4 (Scale/Pivot/Kill)

Source Files vs Generated Files

Never edit files in /docs/ directly - they're auto-generated.

• Edit: Files in /activities/, /handouts/, /content/, /instructor-materials/
• Render: Run ./scripts/render-all.sh
• Output: Appears in /docs/

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Troubleshooting

Render script fails

• Check Quarto is installed: quarto --version
• Ensure you're in the project root directory
• Run: ./scripts/render-all.sh (note: script is now in scripts/ folder)
• Check .qmd files have valid YAML headers

Website links broken

• Re-run render script: ./scripts/render-all.sh
• Check file names match links in docs/index.html
• Verify files were generated in docs/ folders

Cards missing from docs/

• Check source file exists in /activities/materials/
• Re-run render script
• Check for errors in Quarto YAML headers
• Verify file naming (lowercase, no prefixes)

Instructor portal not loading

• Check docs/instructor.html exists
• Verify password: instructor2025
• Clear browser cache and try again

RetailFlow internal portal not loading

• Check password: pilot2024
• Verify retailflow-site/internal.html exists
• Clear browser cache

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Documentation

• PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md - Detailed organisation guide (read this!)
• scripts/render-all.sh - Build script for generating website
• instructor-materials/README.qmd - Instructor materials guide

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Questions?

For detailed explanations of:

• Folder organisation logic → See PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md
• Activity delivery structure → See PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md > "Activity Delivery Map"
• File naming conventions → See PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md > "File Naming Conventions"
• Adding new materials → See PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md > "Common Tasks"
• Instructor materials → See instructor-materials/README.qmd

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License & Attribution

This masterclass was developed for Curtin University.

Last updated: October 30, 2024