Lesson 2.1: Identifying Business Needs

1. Lesson Snapshot

Theme: Discover and define the core business challenges that AI can solve
Duration: 60 minutes
Format: Interactive workshop with case dissections, “Need-Finder” scavenger hunt, and rapid prototyping

By the end of this session, learners will be able to:

Diagnose key pain points and strategic priorities within their own organization.
Translate those challenges into clear, AI-ready problem statements.
Evaluate which challenges are most ripe for an AI solution based on impact and feasibility.
Pitch a succinct “AI Opportunity Brief” to internal stakeholders.

Term	Definition
Business Need	A gap between current and desired performance or capability that drives investment decisions.
Problem Statement	A concise description of the issue to be addressed, including scope, stakeholders, and metrics.
Use Case Prioritization	Frameworks (e.g., ICE: Impact, Confidence, Ease) used to rank potential AI projects.
Feasibility Assessment	Evaluating data availability, technical complexity, budget, and timeline constraints.

Time	Activity	Format
0–10′	Kickoff Reflection	Individual brainstorm & sticky-note map
10–25′	Case Dissection: Real-World Wins	Small-group analysis of 2 case studies
25–35′	Need-Finder Scavenger Hunt	Teams identify 5 needs in sample briefs
35–50′	AI Opportunity Brief Sprint	Rapid prototype of problem statements
50–60′	Lightning Share & Feedback	2-minute pitches + group feedback

Prompt: “What’s the single biggest bottleneck in your department right now?”
Activity:
1. Write one challenge per sticky note (physical or digital).
2. Cluster similar challenges on a shared board.
Outcome: Visual map of top pain points.

Cases:
- Retail Inventory Optimization: How a fashion retailer cut stockouts by 30% with demand forecasting.
- Customer Churn Prediction: How a telecom provider reduced churn by 15% using ML models.
Task: In groups, identify:
- The original business need
- Data sources and techniques used
- Key success metrics
Debrief: What made these cases successful?

Materials: Sample internal memos, dashboard snapshots, customer feedback excerpts.
Goal: Each team locates 5 distinct “needs” (e.g., “reduce invoice errors,” “improve upsell conversion”).
Twist: One of the needs must involve cross-departmental collaboration.
Deliverable: A prioritized list ranked by perceived impact.

Structure:
1. Title: Short, action-oriented (“SmartInvoice: Automating Billing Accuracy”)
2. Problem Statement: What, who, and by how much (e.g., “Accounting spends 20 hours/week reconciling invoices, leading to payment delays.”)
3. Proposed AI Solution: High-level approach (e.g., “Use NLP to extract and match invoice line items automatically.”)
4. Success Metrics: Quantitative targets (e.g., “Reduce reconciliation time by 70%, cut late payments by 50%.”)
Timebox: 10 minutes to draft, 5 minutes to refine.

Format:
- Each team has 2 minutes to present their Brief.
- Peers score on ICE criteria (Impact, Confidence, Ease) using quick dot-voting.
Outcome: Top‐ranked ideas emerge for deeper exploration in Lesson 2.2.

Solo Reflection (3 mins):
- “Which business need excited you most, and why?”
Pair Share (2 mins):
- Swap reflections and suggest one data source each could explore.

Deep Dive Interview:
- Schedule a 15-minute chat with a peer or stakeholder in another department.
- Use a simple questionnaire to uncover hidden needs:
  1. What keeps you up at night?
  2. Which tasks feel most repetitive?
  3. If you had a “magic AI wand,” what would you automate?
- Deliverable: A one-page summary of insights, due before Lesson 2.2.