A POSSIBLE SESSION FOR YOUR TEAM
Sample course outline — adapted after a planning conversation.
AI Analytics: check the numbers behind an answer
Use a small sales example to turn a business question into a checked calculation and a short explanation of what the evidence can and cannot tell you.
Proposed: a facilitated 90-minute workshop.
Proposed: laptop, calculator or spreadsheet and a team-approved text AI tool. A small text table is supplied; file uploads and business-system connections are unnecessary.
This example is a starting point. Scope, timing, tools and deliverables are agreed together before a session.
WHO IT SERVES
Is this your next step?
Owners and operations staff comfortable reading a simple table, with some experience using AI.
Before the session
- Comfort adding numbers and reading percentages.
- Experience asking an AI tool a question and reviewing its answer.
PRACTICE & TAKEAWAYS
Work you can try.
What you will practice
- Define a measurable question and the units needed to answer it.
- Recalculate a total and percentage change independently of AI.
- Write a finding that separates an observed change from a possible cause.
What you can leave with
- A checked calculation sheet.
- A short evidence-based business summary.
- A reusable question and verification checklist.
PROPOSED AGENDA / 90 MINUTES
From first example to review.
Open each section for the exercise, output and review check. All practice uses fictional or anonymized material.
01Make the question measurable15 min
Purpose. Decide what the table can answer.
Learning outcome. Specify the metric, period and comparison for one question.
Explain or demonstrate. Turn “Are we doing better?” into “How did total sales revenue change from May to June?”
Hands-on practice. Read fictional Oak Street Shop revenue: May, in-store $4,000 and online $1,000; June, in-store $3,600 and online $1,800. Identify units, periods and missing information.
Your output. A precise question and a list of unavailable measures.
Review check. Question concerns revenue, not profit; the list includes missing costs and reasons for the change.
Prerequisites. Comfort reading a simple table.
Proposed time: 15 minutes, including the explanation, practice and review.
02Calculate and cross-check30 min
Purpose. Verify the numerical answer without relying on fluent prose.
Learning outcome. Compute monthly totals, the dollar change and the percentage change.
Explain or demonstrate. Show percentage change as (new total − old total) ÷ old total × 100.
Hands-on practice. Ask AI to calculate from the supplied table, then independently use a calculator or spreadsheet. Compare each calculation with the representative answer.
Your output. A calculation sheet with source values, formula and checked result.
Review check. May is $5,000; June is $5,400; increase is $400 or 8%, using May as the denominator.
Prerequisites. Defined revenue question.
Proposed time: 30 minutes, including the explanation, practice and review.
03Separate evidence from explanation25 min
Purpose. Avoid turning a change into an invented cause.
Learning outcome. Write a finding with a supported observation and an explicit limitation.
Explain or demonstrate. Contrast “online revenue rose” with the unsupported claim “a campaign caused the rise.”
Hands-on practice. Draft a three-sentence summary. Challenge any claim about profit, demand or marketing effectiveness using the missing-information list.
Your output. A revised summary and one follow-up question.
Review check. Summary reports the checked change, acknowledges missing costs and does not claim a cause.
Prerequisites. Checked calculations.
Proposed time: 25 minutes, including the explanation, practice and review.
04Repeat with a changed value20 min
Purpose. Check that the method transfers to new data.
Learning outcome. Update the result when one source value changes.
Explain or demonstrate. Show a correction log that identifies the replaced value before recalculating.
Hands-on practice. Replace June online revenue with $1,400. Recalculate totals and revise the summary; have a partner check it.
Your output. An updated calculation and a reusable review checklist.
Review check. June total becomes $5,000: $0 and 0% change from May. Old 8% claim is removed.
Prerequisites. Completed first summary.
Proposed time: 20 minutes, including the explanation, practice and review.
TRY A REPRESENTATIVE EXERCISE
Explain a revenue change without inventing a cause
Fictional practice material
Fictional Oak Street Shop sales revenue, USD. May: in-store 4,000; online 1,000. June: in-store 3,600; online 1,800. No costs, order counts, marketing records or other months supplied.
Example prompt
Using only these figures, calculate total revenue for May and June, the dollar change, and percentage change using May as the baseline. Show arithmetic. Write a three-sentence summary separating what the figures show from what cannot be concluded. Do not infer profit or the cause of the change.
Illustrative expected output
One acceptable example, not a guaranteed AI response.
May: $4,000 + $1,000 = $5,000. June: $3,600 + $1,800 = $5,400. Change: $5,400 − $5,000 = $400; $400 ÷ $5,000 × 100 = 8%. Summary: “Revenue increased by $400, or 8%, from May to June. Online revenue increased by $800 while in-store revenue fell by $400. These figures do not establish profitability or explain why revenue changed.”
Check the result. Recompute totals and 8% using a calculator. Check that the $800 online increase and $400 in-store decrease net to $400, and that no causal claim appears.
BEFORE WE MEET
What your team provides.
- One business question and the definitions your team uses for its metrics.
- An approved, anonymized sample table if available; the supplied example is sufficient.
- Someone who can explain data limitations and check the meaning of a result.
Use approved, anonymized examples or fictional material. Do not share confidential records or credentials in a planning inquiry.
ADAPT IT TO YOUR WORK
Choose a useful focus.
- Substitute appointments, inquiries or inventory counts while keeping units and time periods explicit.
- For spreadsheet beginners, keep calculations on the supplied worksheet.
- For experienced analysts, add missing values or a second comparison after agreeing how those cases should be handled.
We confirm the audience, business task, time and tool access during planning.