Course Outline
DAY 1
Module 1 — Claude Fundamentals, Prompting and Personalisation
Move beyond the basic chat interface to understand Claude’s full capabilities. Learn to identify its unique strengths, determine when it is the optimal choice over other AI tools, and personalize the tool to align with your specific professional profile.
Topics
• Claude’s market positioning and its distinct advantages compared to other AI tools in the 2026 landscape
• Model families: Fable, Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, including guidance on when to deploy each
• The probabilistic nature of AI, understanding hallucinations, and strategies for risk mitigation
• Comparative analysis of subscription plans and the benefits of paid access
• Effective prompting strategies: prioritizing context over syntax, foundational structures, and deciding when to initiate new sessions versus continuing existing ones
• Implementing Custom Instructions for individual user profiles, focusing on role, priorities, and communication tone
Practical Exercises
• Exercise 1 — Construct a comprehensive prompt to address a customer complaint
• Exercise 2 — Set up Custom Instructions tailored to a specific user profile
Module 2 — Projects, Artifacts and Skills
Leverage Projects to establish persistent workspaces equipped with dedicated knowledge bases, housing manuals, technical sheets, and standards. Explore Artifacts as a production environment within the chat interface. Additionally, define reusable working procedures through Skills.
Key Topics:
• Projects: Creating persistent workspaces with isolated history and specific knowledge bases
• Distinguishing between Project Instructions and Profile Preferences to optimize their complementary functions
• Collaborative sharing of Projects across teams on Enterprise plans
• File management: Uploading and processing PDFs, Excel files, and images
• Artifacts: Generating documents, dashboards, and interactive prototypes directly within the chat
• Web Search: Accessing real-time information with verifiable citations
• Skills: Defining and applying repeatable procedural workflows
Practical Exercises:
• Exercise 3 — Build a functional Project customized to your business context
• Exercise 4 — Generate a practical Artifact relevant to your work needs
• Exercise 5 — Develop a functional Skill tailored to your specific processes
DAY 2
Module 3 — Cowork, agents and Microsoft 365 integration
Transition from viewing AI as a passive chatbot to treating it as an active work partner capable of processing real-world, day-to-day data in the background.
Key Topics:
• Claude Desktop: Installation, system requirements, authentication, initial setup, and key differences from browser-based usage
• Claude in Chrome: Installing the official extension, managing permissions, exploring use cases, understanding limitations, and adhering to security best practices
• Claude Mobile: Utilizing the mobile application, synchronizing across devices, and maintaining productivity on the go
• Cowork: Overview of functionality and scenarios where deployment is most effective
• Microsoft 365 connector: Establishing links to Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams
• Complex multi-step tasks: Executing sequences of search, reading, summarization, writing, and dispatch
• Scheduled automation: Implementing Scheduled Prompts
• MCP: Understanding the Model Context Protocol and the broader Connectors ecosystem
• Current limitations of Cowork and strategies to work around them effectively
Practical Exercises:
• Exercise 6 — Set up a Cowork project and organize its directory structure
• Exercise 7 — Configure a comprehensive Cowork project incorporating Skills, instructions, and folders. Validate the setup by executing a complex task.
Module 4 — Claude in Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Integrate Claude with Microsoft 365 applications to streamline work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Utilize your own files to accelerate analysis, writing, review, and the preparation of professional materials.
Key Topics:
• Excel: Enhancing data analysis, creating formulas, cleaning tables, interpreting metrics, and drafting executive summaries
• Word: Optimizing review and rewriting processes, structuring documents, and generating proposals, reports, minutes, and professional communications
• PowerPoint: Converting content into compelling presentation narratives, drafting speaker scripts, refining key messages, and adapting content for specific audiences
Practical Exercises:
• Exercise 8 — Utilize Claude to analyze an Excel spreadsheet and generate an executive summary with actionable conclusions and recommendations
• Exercise 9 — Transform a Word document or set of notes into a structured PowerPoint presentation layout
Requirements
To fully participate in the practical components, please ensure the following are in place prior to the course commencement:
- Active Claude Account (Paid): Access to a Pro, Team, or Enterprise plan is mandatory to utilize Projects, Artifacts, and the advanced models featured in Module 2.
- Microsoft 365 Access: A functional account with permissions to OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is required to complete the integrations detailed in Modules 3 and 4.
- Laptop with Installation Rights: Participants must have a computer where they have the authority to install Claude Desktop and the Chrome extension, as these are prerequisites for Module 3.
- Personal Business Files (Strongly Recommended): Please bring two to three real-world documents (such as a PDF manual, an Excel spreadsheet, or a Word report) for use during the hands-on sessions. Ensure that these files do not contain highly sensitive or confidential data.
Testimonials (2)
Learning how to prompt Claude and use it to digest all of the data I have available.
Mike Hartleroad - Furniture Row
Course - Claude AI for Data Analysis and Business Intelligence
how to engage with the Office environment and set up repetitive tasks
