# Track 4: AI business management

**Final artifact:** a one-page operating plan for a small service or internal workflow that uses an AI tool only where a human can check the result.

**Outcomes:** Students identify a customer or internal user, map a process, estimate time and cost, compare tool choices, define approval points, and present a pilot decision with limits.

**90-minute setup:** Print the [synthetic business worksheet](../artifacts/business-worksheet.md), open the CSV in a spreadsheet or text editor, and prepare calculator access. No business account or personal customer data is required.

## Sessions

1. **Need and value.** Examine a fictional request such as sorting help-desk questions or drafting a plain-language notice. Middle school uses customer cards and chooses a useful outcome. High school writes a problem statement, current process, and success measure. Checkpoint: need card.
2. **Process map.** Draw steps, inputs, decisions, outputs, and a human approval point. Middle school uses printed arrows and role cards. High school marks bottlenecks, error costs, and a rollback step. Checkpoint: current and proposed process maps.
3. **Tool and data choice.** Compare manual work, a rule, and an AI-assisted option. Use synthetic examples only. Middle school makes a two-column benefit/limit chart. High school evaluates privacy, reliability, accessibility, cost, and who can change the tool. Checkpoint: comparison matrix.
4. **Measure the pilot.** Create a small test set and an observation sheet. Middle school counts completed tasks and errors. High school separates speed, quality, rework, and user satisfaction, then states what the sample cannot prove. Checkpoint: pilot scorecard.
5. **Operations and communication.** Draft a standard operating procedure with an owner, reviewer, version date left blank for the facilitator, and pause conditions. Middle school makes a visual checklist. High school adds training, escalation, access control, and a rollback instruction. Checkpoint: SOP.
6. **Decision briefing.** Present “pilot,” “revise,” or “do not use” with evidence. Answer what the system does, what it does not do, and who remains responsible. Checkpoint: one-page plan and three-minute briefing.

## Starter worksheet

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| User and job to be done | |
| Input data, using examples with no personal information | |
| Manual baseline | |
| Proposed AI-assisted step | |
| Human approval point | |
| Cost, time, or access constraint | |
| Failure that would make us pause | |
| Evidence needed before a larger pilot | |

**Track rubric emphasis:** Problem and audience, AI understanding, and communication count twice. A strong plan states who owns the decision, uses a small test, includes a human check, and makes no unsupported revenue or performance promise.