Week 4 Student Handout

One-page take-home for the Course 4 session. Print landscape and bring it with you, or save as PDF.

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4 Course 4 · Student Handout

Advanced Workshop

Frontier mapping, complex build, debugging clinic, QA drill, teach-back, workflow playbook — in four hours.

Duration4 hr (2 breaks)
AudienceExperienced builders
Prereq1 deployed tool
0:00–0:40M1 Frontier Mapping40 min · build map
0:40–1:40M2 Complex Build60 min · build
1:40–1:50Break10 min
1:50–2:30M3 Debugging Clinic40 min · pair
2:30–3:00M4 QA & Verification Drill30 min · timed
3:00–3:10Break10 min
3:10–3:30M5 Teach-Back20 min · breakouts
3:30–4:00M6 Workflow Playbook30 min · build

Bring with youDone before you walk in

  • At least one deployed tool from Course 3 with three documented failure cases and one capability surprise.
  • Your unit’s frontier map (current state). You will rebuild it at full resolution in Module 1.
  • An AI-generated SOP excerpt of your own, if you have one. We use a planted-error doc in Module 4 either way.
  • One concept you can teach in 3 minutes. Pick from: centaur vs cyborg, frontier mapping, context-building, iterative refinement, verification protocols, the jagged frontier.
  • One real, recurring task from your job — the candidate for your workflow playbook in Module 6.

Key termsThe vocabulary you’ll hear today

  • Frontier map (full)A 5-row, 4-column matrix — category · inside · outside · moving — with at least one specific real task in every cell.
  • Mode-switching mid-buildStarting cyborg to discover the shape of the problem, then switching to centaur to verify before you sign anything.
  • Five QA protocolsSource verification · logical consistency · format compliance · numeric accuracy · substance vs style.
  • The 201 multiplierYou teach two Marines what you learned before your next PCS — that’s how the unit’s capability compounds.
  • Workflow playbookOne page, one recurring task, an AI-integrated workflow your section can run without you. The graduation deliverable.
  • Verification checklist3–5 specific yes/no items that prove a workflow output is good before it ships. If your playbook has none, it isn’t done.

Exercises in classWhat you will do live — and what “done” looks like

M1 · Build your frontier map (15 min silent + 10 min share-out). Open a blank doc. Four columns: category · inside · outside · moving. Pick five categories that cover what your section actually does this month. Fill every cell with a specific, real task. Done: 5 rows, every cell filled, your “outside” column is not empty.

M2 · Complex build (60 min). Pick a problem one notch above what you shipped in Course 3 — multiple data sources, an edge case, or a tricky permission. Switch modes deliberately at least once. Done: a working tool, plus a one-line note on where you switched modes and why.

M3 · Debugging clinic (40 min, pair). Bring a real bug or a deliberate one. Your partner debugs by asking you what you’d tell the AI — not by reading your code for you. Swap. Done: the bug is fixed and you can both name the prompt that unlocked it.

M4 · QA drill — find the five errors (10 min silent + 10 debrief). A one-page AI-generated SOP excerpt drops in chat. There are five planted errors: two fabricated references, one contradictory timeline, one logic error, one format break. Find all five with the protocol number that caught each. Done: all five found in under 10 minutes; if you only find three, you skipped a protocol.

M5 · Teach-back (3 min each, breakouts). Use the template: one-sentence definition · why it matters · one real example from your job · one common mistake · one takeaway. Peers grade you on three things: could they explain it back, was the example concrete, do they know what to do differently tomorrow. Done: “yes” on all three.

M6 · Write your playbook (20 min silent). One page. Seven fields: task · frequency & mode · 4–8 H/AI steps · verification checklist (3–5 items) · known frontier issues · time savings · junior development note. Specific enough that a junior Marine could run it without you. Done: all seven fields filled; submit in chat by the timer.

Anchor phraseYou don’t leave this room as a graduate. You leave as the person who teaches the next two Marines.

What you’ll be able to doBy the end of the session

  • Build a complete unit frontier map — not a sticky, a real reference.
  • Switch modes mid-build on purpose, not by accident.
  • Debug an AI-assisted build by asking the AI better questions.
  • Run all five QA protocols on a single document in under ten minutes.
  • Teach one EDD concept in three minutes with a concrete example from your job.
  • Hand a junior Marine a one-page playbook that runs without you.

HomeworkDate your map. Run your playbook. Teach two Marines.

  • Date your frontier map and share it back to your unit by EOW. That’s the unit-level deliverable.
  • Run your workflow playbook for real, end-to-end, at least once before you teach it to anyone.
  • Pick the two Marines you owe forward. Calendar the first teaching session before your next PCS — not after.
  • Reflect (one line each in chat): the one thing you’ll do differently next week · the 201 skill you felt weakest on today · who you’ll teach next, and when.
  • Capstone candidates: read the Course 6 page and confirm your proposal before Week 6.