Course Outline
DAY 1
Module 1 — Claude Fundamentals, Prompting and Personalisation
Go beyond the simple chat interface to truly understand Claude. Learn to identify its unique strengths, determine when it is the optimal choice over other AI tools, and customize its behavior to align with your specific professional profile.
Topics
• Claude’s market positioning and what sets it apart from competing AI tools in the 2026 landscape
• Model families: Fable, Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, including guidance on when to deploy each
• Understanding probabilistic AI behavior, addressing hallucinations, and mitigating associated risks
• Distinctions between subscription tiers and the specific benefits of a paid account
• Effective prompting strategies: why context outweighs syntax, foundational structures, and best practices for managing new chat sessions
• Custom Instructions for individual user profiles: defining roles, priorities, and communication tones
Exercises
• Exercise 1 — Constructing a comprehensive prompt to address a customer complaint
• Exercise 2 — Configuring Custom Instructions tailored to your specific user profile
Module 2 — Projects, Artifacts and Skills
Leverage Projects to establish persistent workspaces equipped with dedicated knowledge bases for manuals, technical sheets, and standards. Explore Artifacts as a production environment within the chat interface. Learn to define reusable working procedures using Skills.
Topics:
• Projects: Persistent workspaces featuring independent history and dedicated knowledge bases
• Project Instructions versus Profile Preferences — understanding how they work in tandem
• Sharing Projects across teams: Features available on Team and Enterprise plans
• File management: Uploading 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 implementing repeatable procedures
Exercises:
• Exercise 3 — Building a functional Project tailored to your specific business context
• Exercise 4 — Generating a functional Artifact relevant to your own context
• Exercise 5 — Creating a functional Skill for your specific workflows
DAY 2
Module 3 — Cowork, agents and Microsoft 365 integration
Shift your perspective from viewing AI as a passive chatbot to treating it as an active work partner capable of executing background tasks on real-world daily data.
Topics:
• Claude Desktop: Installation requirements, authentication, initial setup, and key differences from browser-based usage
• Claude in Chrome: Installing the official extension, managing permissions, exploring practical use cases, and understanding limitations and security protocols
• Claude Mobile: Utilizing AI in mobile environments, synchronizing across devices, and best practices for on-the-go work
• Cowork: An overview of its capabilities and optimal use cases
• Microsoft 365 connector: Establishing connections to Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams
• Multi-step task automation: Search, read, summarize, write, and send
• Scheduled tasks: Implementing Scheduled Prompts
• MCP: An introduction to the Model Context Protocol and the Connectors ecosystem
• Current limitations of Cowork and strategies to work around them
Exercises:
• Exercise 6 — Creating a Cowork project and organizing its folder structure
• Exercise 7 — Configuring a complete Cowork project with Skills, instructions, and folders, followed by testing it on a complex task.
Module 4 — Claude in Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Integrate Claude with Microsoft 365 applications, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Utilize your own files to accelerate data analysis, content creation, review processes, and the preparation of work materials.
Topics:
• Excel: Data analysis, formula generation, table cleaning, indicator interpretation, and drafting executive summaries
• Word: Document review, rewriting, structural organization, and creating proposals, reports, minutes, and professional communications
• PowerPoint: Transforming content into compelling presentation narratives, scripting, refining key messages, and adapting content for specific audiences
Exercises:
• Exercise 8 — Using Claude to analyze an Excel spreadsheet and generate an executive summary with conclusions and recommendations
• Exercise 9 — Converting a Word document or set of notes into a structured PowerPoint presentation
Requirements
To fully participate in the practical sessions, please ensure the following prerequisites are met prior to the start of the course:
- Active Paid Claude Account: A Pro, Team, or Enterprise subscription is necessary to access Projects, Artifacts, and the advanced models featured in Module 2.
- Microsoft 365 Access: You need a functional account with permissions for OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint to complete the integration exercises in Modules 3 and 4.
- Laptop with Installation Permissions: A computer where you have the authorization to install Claude Desktop and the Chrome extension, which are required for Module 3.
- Personal Business Files (Strongly Recommended): Please prepare 2–3 real-world documents, such as a PDF manual, an Excel spreadsheet, or a Word report, for use during the hands-on exercises. Ensure that these files do not contain highly confidential or sensitive 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
