Exploratory: Impact Assessment Stretch Projects
These are exploratory stretch projects — not required to complete Module 4. They deepen the impact assessment from the lab into quantitative ROI analysis.
Project 1: Extended Scoring
Estimated time: 30 minutes Extends: Module 4 lab (Automation Quadrant scoring) Prerequisites: Module 4 lab completed (10 tasks scored)
What You Will Build
Score 20 operational tasks (double the lab's 10) and analyze the distribution pattern — which quadrant has the most candidates, and what does that tell you about where your team's automation leverage is highest?
Challenge
Your first 10 tasks in the lab were probably the most obvious ones. Tasks 11-20 require more creative enumeration: recurring meetings that could be summarized by AI, documentation that could be kept current automatically, compliance checks that are currently manual, handoff processes between on-call shifts.
Steps
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Generate tasks 11-20 by looking at recurring calendar items, Slack channels, and oncall runbooks you consult regularly
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Score each using the Automation Quadrant criteria (frequency × complexity)
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Plot all 20 on the quadrant diagram
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Analyze the distribution:
- Which quadrant has the most candidates?
- Are there clusters? (Multiple tasks that could share a single agent?)
- Which tasks scored high on frequency but low on complexity — these are your clearest wins
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Look for clustering: three tasks that could all be handled by one "daily health summary" agent vs. three separate agents
Expected Deliverable
Completed 20-task scoring sheet, quadrant distribution analysis, and identification of any task clusters where one agent could handle multiple tasks.
Project 2: ROI Estimate
Estimated time: 20 minutes Extends: Module 4 lab (capstone candidate selection) Prerequisites: Module 4 lab completed, capstone candidate identified
What You Will Build
For your top 3 automation candidates from the lab scoring, estimate the time savings per month and projected error reduction from automation. This makes the abstract impact assessment concrete.
Challenge
ROI estimates for AI automation are notoriously optimistic (people assume 100% automation replaces 100% of the manual work) or pessimistic (people only count direct time savings and ignore error-reduction value). The challenge is a realistic estimate that accounts for: partial automation (the agent handles 80% of cases, 20% still need humans), error reduction value (fewer 3am pages, fewer postmortems), and setup cost.
Steps
- For each of your top 3 candidates, fill in this table:
| Metric | Candidate 1 | Candidate 2 | Candidate 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current time per occurrence (minutes) | |||
| Occurrences per month | |||
| Current monthly time (minutes) | |||
| % of cases agent can handle fully | |||
| Agent monthly time savings (minutes) | |||
| Monthly error rate (rough) | |||
| Expected error reduction with agent (%) | |||
| Cost of each error (hours of incident response) | |||
| Monthly error reduction value (hours) | |||
| Setup cost estimate (hours to build) | |||
| Break-even (months) |
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For each candidate: calculate break-even (when does the time saved exceed the setup cost?)
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Rank by: (break-even speed × error reduction value)
Expected Deliverable
Completed ROI table for 3 candidates, with your final ranking and a one-sentence justification for which candidate has the best ROI profile. This candidate should become your Day 3 capstone build.
Which Project Should You Do?
| Your Interest | Recommended Project |
|---|---|
| Finding the full opportunity landscape | Project 1 (extended scoring) |
| Business case for your capstone | Project 2 (ROI estimate) |
| Preparing a presentation for your team | Project 2 — most persuasive format |
| Under 20 minutes available | Project 2 — higher direct impact on capstone decision |
Project 2 specifically builds toward the Module 14 capstone presentation — your ROI estimate is part of what you present on Day 3.