01 Foundation

What are systems and who are they built for?

• Examples of systems - websites, mobile apps, internal portals, point of sale systems, patient management systems, e-commerce platforms, learning management systems
• Types of systems - commercial product, internal business tool, public service, and more
• Examples of systems in different areas in IT

02 Foundation

The What / Why / Who / How Framework

• What are you building?
• Why are you building it?
• Who will use it?
• How will you build it - tech stack, who will code it, deployment

03 People & Dynamics

Stakeholder Ecosystem

• People who use it
• People who pay for it
• People who approve it
• People who are affected by it
• People who measure whether it worked

04 People & Dynamics

Stakeholder Communication

• Level of detail - executive wants the headline, developer needs the spec, user wants to know what's in it for them
• Language - business vs. technical vs. plain language
• What they care about - ROI and risk for sponsors/investors, usability for end users, feasibility for IT, compliance and cost for department heads
• Format - verbal update, dashboard, status report, live demo, presentation deck

05 People & Dynamics

Team Dynamics

• Tuckman's stages - forming, storming, norming, performing - conflict isn't failure, it's a stage
• Team charter - setting expectations upfront, how decisions get made, how conflict gets handled, who owns what
• Roles by strength - deploy the best communicator in front of the client, not the next person in rotation
• Classroom roles vs. real-world roles - playing a role teaches you to respect it

06 Methods & Tools

Design Thinking Process

• Walk through the phases of the design thinking process
• User stories and personas - defining what users need before you prototype
• Setting expectations around prototypes - a prototype is a question, not a promise
• How to come up with an idea for a system to design - interviews and more

07 Methods & Tools

Development Methods

• Introduce the different development methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid) and pros and cons of each

08 Methods & Tools

Development Tracking & Reporting

• How to track progress and communicate it - tools, cadence, and keeping stakeholders informed without overwhelming them

09 Methods & Tools

Effective Presentations

• Hard skills - structure, slide design, format selection, and how to run a demo
• Soft skills - presence, reading the room, handling tough questions, and knowing when to stop talking

10 Methods & Tools

Feedback

• How to ask for it, filter what's signal vs. noise, and incorporate it without losing your design intent

11 Methods & Tools

Change Management

• The structured process of moving people from the current state to a new one - and how to recognize when a project requires it versus when it doesn't

12 Methods & Tools

Requirements Gathering & Management

• Asking good questions - how to draw out what stakeholders actually need, not just what they say they want
• Frameworks for structuring discovery conversations and interviews
• Documenting requirements in a clear, shared, actionable format
• Keeping requirements updated as a living document - change log and traceability as the project evolves