Teaching the Material as a Course

33.3 14-Week Extended Course Structure

The semester-long format provides additional time for design studios, deeper case studies, and more iterative prototype development.

Course Schedule Overview

Week one focuses on why AI changes products, with reading from chapters one through three, a product teardown lab or studio, and a reflection post assessment. Week two covers AI capabilities and limitations, with reading from chapters four and five, a capability mapping lab, and quiz one. Week three addresses mental models for AI, with reading from chapters six and seven, a model debugging lab, and a mental model essay assessment. Week four explores AI-native discovery, with reading from chapters eight and nine, an opportunity workshop lab, and an opportunity memo assessment. Week five examines product strategy, with reading from chapters ten and eleven, a strategy studio, and a strategy draft assessment. Week six covers AI UX design, with reading from chapters twelve and thirteen, a UX flow workshop lab, and a UX flow draft assessment. Week seven focuses on trust design, with reading from chapters fourteen and fifteen, a trust audit lab, and a trust plan assessment. Week eight addresses eval-first requirements, with reading from chapters sixteen and seventeen, an eval writing lab, and an AI PRD assessment. Week nine introduces vibe coding and prototyping, with reading from chapters eighteen and nineteen, a prototype studio, and prototype version one assessment. Week ten covers retrieval, memory, and orchestration, with reading from chapters twenty and twenty-one, a RAG implementation lab, and an architecture document assessment. Week eleven examines models, routing, and architecture, with reading from chapters twenty-two and twenty-three, a model comparison lab, and a midterm review assessment. Week twelve addresses evals and observability, with reading from chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, an eval suite build lab, and an eval suite assessment. Week thirteen explores governance, security, and trust, with reading from chapters twenty-six and twenty-seven, a risk assessment lab, and a governance plan assessment. Week fourteen concludes with capstone demos and postmortems, using case studies for reading and final presentations for the capstone assessment.

Key Differences from 12-Week Format

The 14-week format differs from the 12-week format in several key ways. Design studios in weeks 5, 6, and 9 include extended time for iterative UX and prototype work. Deeper case studies allow full case analysis with stakeholder role-play. A mental model essay in week 3 involves written reflection on developing mental models for AI behavior. Prototype iterations have students submit version 1 at week 9 and refine based on eval results. A strategy draft in week 5 introduces an early strategy deliverable for formative feedback.

Design Studio Format

Design studios replace traditional lectures for selected weeks. Students bring their course projects and work through structured design exercises. Instructors facilitate rather than instruct, intervening only when students encounter blocking questions.

Studios run for 90 minutes with this structure: 15-minute mini-lecture introducing the session's design challenge, 60 minutes of guided team work, and 15 minutes of share-out and cross-team feedback.

Case Study Extension

Weeks 4 and 14 include extended case study analysis. Week 4's case study examines a company transitioning from traditional software to AI-native products, with students playing roles of executives, product managers, and engineers debating decisions. Week 14's capstone postmortems have students analyze their own project journeys with the benefit of hindsight.

Extended Assessment Schedule

The extended assessment schedule spans fourteen weeks with a mental model essay in week three worth five percent of the grade. An opportunity memo is due in week four and worth ten percent. A strategy draft is due in week five and worth five percent. A UX flow draft is due in week six and worth five percent. A trust plan is due in week seven and worth five percent. An AI PRD is due in week eight and worth ten percent. A prototype version one is due in week nine and worth ten percent. An architecture document is due in week ten and worth ten percent. A midterm review occurs in week eleven and is worth ten percent. An eval suite is due in week twelve and worth ten percent. A governance plan is due in week thirteen and worth ten percent. The final capstone demo and report is due in week fourteen and is worth ten percent.

Instructor Notes

For instructors: The extended format allows students to iterate on prototypes between weeks 9 and 14. Encourage students to build evals for their prototypes in week 12 and then use those evals to drive refinement before the capstone demo. This creates a authentic feedback loop similar to real AI product development.

Pacing tip: The first half of the semester (weeks 1-7) establishes foundations. Do not rush through weeks 1-3 even if students are eager to build. The mental models they form early will shape how they approach every subsequent decision.