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.

SAMPLE DURATION90 minutes

a facilitated 90-minute workshop.

TOOLS FOR THIS EXAMPLE

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.

We agree on timing, tools, and deliverables with your team before booking.

Plan this workshop →

Your starting point.

Owners and operations staff comfortable reading a simple table, with some experience using AI.

Comfort adding numbers and reading percentages.
Experience asking an AI tool a question and reviewing its answer.

What you can leave with.

A checked calculation sheet.
A short evidence-based business summary.
A reusable question and verification checklist.

Skills 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.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXERCISE · NOT A CUSTOMER RESULT

Explain a revenue change without inventing a cause

Example output

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.”

Review: 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.

See the input and try the exercise

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.

SAMPLE AGENDA / 90 MINUTES

What you will work on.

Make the question measurable

15 min

Specify the metric, period and comparison for one question.

Take home: A precise question and a list of unavailable measures.

Practice and review details

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.

Example: Turn “Are we doing better?” into “How did total sales revenue change from May to June?”

Check: Question concerns revenue, not profit; the list includes missing costs and reasons for the change.

Before this exercise: Comfort reading a simple table.

Calculate and cross-check

30 min

Compute monthly totals, the dollar change and the percentage change.

Take home: A calculation sheet with source values, formula and checked result.

Practice and review details

Practice: Ask AI to calculate from the supplied table, then independently use a calculator or spreadsheet. Compare each calculation with the representative answer.

Example: Show percentage change as (new total − old total) ÷ old total × 100.

Check: May is $5,000; June is $5,400; increase is $400 or 8%, using May as the denominator.

Before this exercise: Defined revenue question.

Separate evidence from explanation

25 min

Write a finding with a supported observation and an explicit limitation.

Take home: A revised summary and one follow-up question.

Practice and review details

Practice: Draft a three-sentence summary. Challenge any claim about profit, demand or marketing effectiveness using the missing-information list.

Example: Contrast “online revenue rose” with the unsupported claim “a campaign caused the rise.”

Check: Summary reports the checked change, acknowledges missing costs and does not claim a cause.

Before this exercise: Checked calculations.

Repeat with a changed value

20 min

Update the result when one source value changes.

Take home: An updated calculation and a reusable review checklist.

Practice and review details

Practice: Replace June online revenue with $1,400. Recalculate totals and revise the summary; have a partner check it.

Example: Show a correction log that identifies the replaced value before recalculating.

Check: June total becomes $5,000: $0 and 0% change from May. Old 8% claim is removed.

Before this exercise: Completed first summary.

What to bring and how we can adapt the session

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 anonymized examples or our fictional material. Keep confidential records and credentials out of your inquiry.

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.