Developed by Lilo Altali

Course Subject:	Business Analysis for Project Management
Student Level:	Graduate – Master’s
Number of Students:	30 per course, consistent assignment across all sections of the course
Developed by:	Lilo Altali, Assistant Teaching Professor, College of Professional Studies

What Students Did

Through a highly structured process of prompting, students used generative AI to research how AI is changing business analysis in a range of fields and develop a report. Through written reflections and a class discussion, they considered the affordances and constraints of generative AI as a tool for research and authorship.

Learning Goals and Purpose

The two goals for the assignment, which takes place in the first week of the class, are to 1) use AI in the context of the course, as a lead into a discussion of the affordances and limitations of generative AI, and 2) consider how generative AI is changing the profession of business analysis.

Assessment

This graded assignment accounts for 15% of the final grade of the course (see attached rubric).

Faculty Reflections

This practice is not just an assignment, it is a class conversation starter. It provides students with a concrete experience to inform their consideration of the strengths and limitations of generative AI. It has been tested and refined through implementation with more than 100 students, facilitated by all instructors of the course, across 5 campuses and in both online and on-ground environments. We have refined the assignment and determined its effectiveness by viewing the products of student work, reading their reflections, and through instructor feedback and course evaluations.

Step-by-Step Student Instructions

NOTE: See attached assignment document, shared as a handout for students with detailed directions.

Step 1	Students pick a profession to investigate from a provided list of professions that include business analysis.
Step 2	Students develop prompts to generate content about how business analysis is changing in their selected profession. Students consider the importance of drafting good questions in the profession of business analysis. They use a structured approach to question and prompt development in preparation for their use of generative AI (see handout linked below). Using generative AI, they implement the prompts to generate content that is solely the product of AI.
Step 3	They edit, add to, and correct the generated content using track changes, turning it into an article. Track Changes allows the instructor to see what was produced by AI and what was the work of the student. Specific instructions for the revisions were as follows: Provide elaboration on where the output falls short in discussing technical BA frameworks (e.g., requirements validation, developing change strategy, determining future state, etc.). Provide examples where the text could benefit from a current event example illustration. Enhance the output by incorporating frameworks, theories, and techniques discussed in Module 1 readings. Ensure the output is relevant with recent (no older than 6 months) articles from trusted and popular press (Wall Street Journal, The Economist, New York Times, etc.). You can also enhance the AI output with peer-reviewed professional and scholarly articles. Avoid the use of blogs and social media posts.
Step 4	Students author a short reflection discussing the areas in which AI was helpful, and where human intelligence was needed, considering the following prompts: Was any of the AI output wrong? Did the AI output citations, and were they accurate? Did the AI output reflect relevant and accurate BA knowledge? How vague/generic was the output?
Step 5	In class, the instructor leads a discussion about the experience. All sections of the course do this assignment, and the facilitation guide for instructors includes the following questions to guide discussion: First: Ask students “what was it like to do the assignment, how did it feel?” Some may love, some might feel as if it was cheating. Ask follow-up questions to help students unpack and compare their experiences. Second: Ask students about any limitations they may have observed – Do they think the limitations of AI are going to change as the tools evolve, and if so how? How do you think you might use GenAI for future assignments? When and how might it be appropriate? When and for what reason might it be inappropriate?

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