Plan like a PM | Master AI Automation in 4 hours Master AI Automation in 4 hours Course About Ayush Modules Sample chapter Toolbox The Microcap Minute Classroom / Module 12: Capstone: One Real Thing / Chapter 2 Plan like a PM Watch first, then read. Same lesson, your pace. What you will learn – The one-page spec that prevents week-two drift – Milestones sized for evenings, not weekends – Using your own relay pipeline to write the plan The one-page spec Fill this before touching any tool, it’s Module 7’s Handover Doc aimed at yourself : # CAPSTONE SPEC, [name] **v1 sentence:** Every morning I get ___ / When X happens, Y does Z. **User:** who + how often they’ll touch it **Inputs:** data/files/accounts it reads (must exist today) **Outputs:** exact artifacts it produces (message format, file types) **Modules used:** which course modules appear (≥4 = scoped right) **NOT in v1:** parked ideas (the v2.md list) **Done looks like:** the demo you’ll show a friend, in one sentence The “NOT in v1” line is the PM’s secret weapon: pre-decided refusals survive midnight enthusiasm; undecided ones don’t. Milestones for evenings Plan five milestones, each completable in 1-2 evenings: M1 (Day 1-2): skeleton works manually – e.g., run the whole flow once BY HAND: curl → script → message M2 (Day 3-5): core automation live – scheduled trigger fires; output lands with real data M3 (Day 6-8): quality pass – better prompts (R-C-T-F), error handling, guardrails from M6c5 M4 (Day 9-11): polish + docs – README in repo, .env discipline verified, logs clean M5 (Day 12-14): ship + demo – real user uses it unprompted; you watch what breaks; fix top 3 Each milestone ends with something working end-to-end , never “half of two features”. M1-by-hand is non-negotiable: proving the pipeline manually before automating it is how professionals avoid automating broken things. Use your own machinery Practice the course’s signature workflow on the plan itself: Claude leg: paste your spec → “Critique as a senior engineer: what breaks first? What did I forget? Return numbered risks.” Kimi leg: → “Turn this spec + risks into the five milestone checklist with concrete tasks per evening.” You: merge into projects/capstone/01-plan.md , human judgement stays the merger. Try it yourself Write the full spec page. Run both relay legs above. Merge into your plan file. Then schedule reality: put M1’s two evenings into an actual calendar. Log the Claude/Kimi critiques in projects/capstone/02-planning-notes.md , future-you will enjoy seeing which risks came true. Key takeaways – Spec page: v1 sentence, user, inputs/outputs, modules, NOT-list, done-demo. – Five evening-sized milestones; each ends working end-to-end. – M1 manual-first proves pipelines before automation touches them. – Your relay team plans the work; you remain the merger. Download the exercise sheet (PDF) Module workbook (PDF) ← Prev: Pick your project Next: Build, ship, show → Classroom / Module 12: Capstone: One Real Thing / Chapter 2 Plan like a PM What you will learn – The one-page spec that prevents week-two drift – Milestones sized for evenings, not weekends – Using your own relay pipeline to write the plan The one-page spec Fill this before touching any tool, it’s Module 7’s Handover Doc aimed at yourself : # CAPSTONE SPEC, [name] **v1 sentence:** Every morning I get ___ / When X happens, Y does Z. **User:** who + how often they’ll touch it **Inputs:** data/files/accounts it reads (must exist today) **Outputs:** exact artifacts it produces (message format, file types) **Modules used:** which course modules appear (≥4 = scoped right) **NOT in v1:** parked ideas (the v2.md list) **Done looks like:** the demo you’ll show a friend, in one sentence The “NOT in v1” line is the PM’s secret weapon: pre-decided refusals survive midnight enthusiasm; undecided ones don’t. Milestones for evenings Plan five milestones, each completable in 1-2 evenings: M1 (Day 1-2): skeleton works manually – e.g., run the whole flow once B
Plan like a PM
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