What you will leave with
A short platform decision with evidence, unknowns and a representative test.
Understand
The idea behind the work
Choose a category before a vendor. An assistant for drafting, an automation connecting systems, a BI tool defining metrics and a host running an application solve different parts of a workflow. Start with the tools already approved and available. Add infrastructure only when the job needs capabilities the simpler setup cannot provide.
Separate non-negotiable requirements from preferences. Verify the relevant account, plan and feature: source access, allowed actions, identity, data handling, export, operating support and cost. A missing requirement remains unverified. Compare viable options on a real example, and record why the selected option fits this task rather than declaring it universally best.
Inspect a worked example
Synthetic example: choose a reporting setup
This is a fictional teaching example, not a client result or a claim about Joseph Carroll's past work.
This fictional team already has an approved spreadsheet and work assistant.
The starting input
Work through it
- Keep calculations in the spreadsheet and use the approved assistant for a draft narrative.
- Check whether the assistant can use the authorized source format and preserve an exportable result.
- Defer a custom hosted app until the pilot demonstrates a need the existing tools cannot meet.
The result
A minimal setup with a testable source boundary and a reason to revisit the choice.
A mistake to recognize
Buying a database and application host because the task involves AI.
How to recover
Connect each proposed service to an actual requirement and an operating owner.
Adapt the method
What changes in your business?
The same method can serve different settings. Data, allowed actions and operational support matter more than headcount alone.
Owner-led business or small team
Include your own maintenance time and ability to recover, not only subscription price.
Department or growing team
Check shared ownership, offboarding and whether colleagues can repeat the workflow.
Large or complex organization
Use existing procurement and technical owners to verify contractual, identity, data and connector requirements.
Try it, then inspect the result
Write your platform decision
List the category, existing tools, three requirements, two plausible options, an unresolved fact and the test that will inform your choice.
Use a sample or a description you are allowed to share. Your answer stays in this browser when storage is available; export it to keep a separate copy. 0 / 6,000 characters.
To mark completion, write an answer, check the reasoning scenario and inspect every evidence statement. You can continue to another lesson at any time.
Self-reported completion does not certify competence. Open My AI Plan to review your saved work.
Sources and further practice
The lesson is Carroll Consulting's teaching synthesis. These sources support the underlying capabilities and concepts; check the current product, plan and configuration before applying them.
You can move between lessons freely. Revisit the checks whenever your answer, evidence or business context changes.