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How this program works
Read this first. The program runs on two tracks at the same time. One builds your skills. The other builds one real thing — your capstone. Knowing which is which makes the rest of this page simple.
Track 1 · What you learn
Build the skills
You learn to use AI well past the basics — advanced prompting, building custom assistants, judging AI output, and coaching others. This comes from a guided module sequence you work on your own time, plus the six live sessions. The skills come first; the early weeks lean here.
Track 2 · What you build
Build the capstone
From Session 1 you pick one real workflow in your function and build a working AI solution for it, stage by stage. This is your capstone — the single piece of work the whole program is judged on. You scope it early, then build it in earnest once the core skills are in place.
The rhythm. Six live sessions with Jeff, one hour each, spaced about two weeks apart. Between each session is a field period — the weeks where you do the work on your own. Each session teaches; each field period builds. Plan for roughly three to five hours of your own time per week across the modules and your capstone.
Your Goal
The Capstone
Everything you do points at one deliverable. Here is what it is, how you build it, and how it is judged — so you can aim at it from day one.
What you'll deliver
A working, function-level AI solution: one real workflow in your function, rebuilt with AI, with the value measured and the risks handled. Not a presentation about AI — a thing that works and that your function can actually use.
You build it across seven stages. The first three define and approve the work (your Capstone Charter). Stage four is the working first version. Stages five through seven get it tested, measured, and safe.
1
Starting Point
The one workflow you're changing — who it serves and why now.
Charter
2
Value Case
A baseline number, a target number, and a date to measure.
Charter
3
Model or Tool
The approved enterprise AI tool you'll build with.
Charter
4
Inputs → Process → Outputs
The working first version of the solution.
Build
5–7
Guardrails
Tested and measured; risks named; data governance signed off.
Finish
How your capstone is judged
The Capstone Rubric
The seven criteria your capstone is reviewed against. There is no separate exam — the capstone, against this rubric, is the measure of success. Read it now and build toward it.
Open PDF →
Before Session 1
Before you begin
Two things to complete on the platform before your cohort starts. They set your starting baseline and prepare you for the first live session.
1. Champion Onboarding
One guided onboarding, done in a single sitting. It captures your role and context and scores where your AI capability starts — the same diagnostic is run again at the end so your growth can be measured.
Role & Context
Your function, what you've been nominated to own, and your function's current AI maturity.
Baseline Diagnostic
A scored capability check that sets your starting baseline, measured again at the end of the program.
You'll have: your scored capability baseline, recorded and ready to measure against at the end.
Begin Onboarding
Available when your cohort opens.
Watch before Session 1
Role before skill. This ten-minute video sets up the five responsibilities before the live work begins. Watch it first.
C0
The Role of the Champion in AI Transformation
The five responsibilities the whole program is built around.
~10 min
Track 1 · Skills
What you'll learn
Alongside the live sessions, you work a guided module sequence on your own time. It starts after Session 1 and builds the depth you need to coach others and lead your capstone. The core path is the same for everyone; the last row is tailored to your function.
01–08
Tier 1 Core Course
The eight-module foundations sequence — begun after Session 1.
Core
R10
Working in the Age of AI
The doing-to-directing shift, function by function.
Core
05
AI Use Case Development
Use-case judgment — foundational to your function use-case scan.
Core
L4
Measuring AI ROI
Impact measurement — supports capturing impact, the fourth responsibility.
Core
★
By-Role & FA Modules for Your Function
Recommended modules from the library, chosen to match the work you champion.
Recommended
Deliverables
Everything you'll submit
The full list, in order. Each item is explained in the session where it's due — this is the at-a-glance view so nothing surprises you.
Before Session 1
Onboarding & baseline diagnostic, and the pre-work video watched. Sets your starting baseline.
Field Period 1
Capstone Charter — Stages 1–3. Approved by your sponsor and reviewed by Jeff before you build.
Field Period 2
Working first version of your capstone (Stage 4). Comes to the Session 3 clinic.
Field Period 3
Finished, guarded build — all seven stages complete (Stages 5–7).
Field Period 4
Function use-case scan of at least five use cases, and your Capstone Dossier assembled.
Field Period 5
Process & agentic map, finalized function adoption plan, and a polished capstone ready for the Showcase.
Session 6
Final capstone and Dossier submitted. Credential awarded.
The Program
The twelve weeks, session by session
Each session is one hour with Jeff. After each comes a field period where you apply it to your capstone. For every session below: what it teaches, what you build, and what you submit. Open any item for the detail.
1
Session 1
The Champion Mandate
You leave knowing the role — you're here to drive AI transformation across your function — with your capstone scoped and approved to build.
In the session
- What a champion is: not the best AI user, but the person who makes a whole function better and leads its AI transformation.
- The five responsibilities, and the doing-to-directing shift at function scale.
- How a champion drives AI transformation across the business, function by function.
- A live pressure-test of the capstone each champion has scoped.
Field Period 1 · Scope your capstone
Define what you'll build and get it approved before any building starts. Stages 1–3 of the capstone workflow.
C1-1Stage 1 — Starting Point▼
Pick one concrete function-level workflow. Using the capstone worksheet, write one sentence: the workflow, who it serves, and why it's being changed now.
C1-2Stage 2 — Value Case▼
Submit a baseline number, a target number, and a date to measure for that workflow.
C1-3Stage 3 — Model or Tool▼
Confirm and document the enterprise AI tool: named tool, approval status, and a one-line statement of why it fits.
C1-4Assemble the Capstone Charter▼
Stages 1–3 together form your Capstone Charter. It goes to your function sponsor for approval and to Jeff for direct written design feedback — both before building begins.
Submit by Session 2: your Capstone Charter (Stages 1–3), approved by your sponsor.
Begin Track 1: start the module sequence now — Tier 1 Core 01–08, R10, 05, L4, plus the By-Role and FA modules for your function.
2
Session 2
Advanced Application
You can use AI well past the basics — the depth needed to build a real solution and to coach others.
In the session
- Beyond the six-step prompting framework: prompt chaining and custom assistants.
- Seeing use-case patterns across a whole function, not just one task.
- Judging AI output critically, at a depth that lets you guide others.
- Coaching prompting: turning a colleague's “it didn't work” into a teachable fix.
Field Period 2 · Build the first version
With the core skills in place, build the rough working version of your capstone. Stage 4.
C2-1Stage 4 — Inputs → Process → Outputs▼
Build the rough working first version of your function solution. Bring it to the Session 3 Capstone Clinic.
Submit by Session 3: your working first version (Stage 4).
3
Session 3
Capstone Clinic
You get your in-progress capstone troubleshot live, before a problem becomes an end-of-program failure.
In the session
- Working session: champions bring in-progress capstones; Jeff and peers troubleshoot live.
- Common problems and how to fix them — Stage 4 in practice.
- Mid-program checkpoint: catching stalled work while there's still time.
- Setting up the use-case and process work that follows.
Field Period 3 · Finish and protect the build
Get the build to done and safe. Stages 5–7 complete the capstone.
C3-1Stages 5–7 — Guardrails▼
Test, revise, and measure the capstone; name the risks and how you'll handle them; write the one-paragraph data-governance statement and get sign-off.
Submit by Session 4: your finished, guarded build — all seven stages complete.
4
Session 4
Identifying the Best Use Cases
You can spot and prioritize the AI use cases worth doing across your function — not just the obvious ones.
In the session
- What makes a use case a good fit for AI — and what makes one a trap.
- Finding use cases across the whole function, not just your own desk.
- Prioritizing by value, feasibility, and risk — deciding what to do first.
- From single task to portfolio: building your function's use-case list.
Field Period 4 · Scan your function for use cases
Apply the session across your whole function, and package the capstone you've now finished building.
C4-1Function use-case scan▼
Identify and document at least five AI use cases across your function, separate from your capstone, each scored for value, feasibility, and risk. This feeds the organization's use-case portfolio.
C4-2Assemble the Capstone Dossier▼
Bind the seven completed stage artifacts into one package — your finished capstone, documented end to end.
Submit by Session 5: your function use-case scan and your assembled Capstone Dossier.
5
Session 5
Deconstructing Processes & Agentic AI
You can break a process down to its steps and see where AI — including agentic AI — can take work off people's hands.
In the session
- Process deconstruction: breaking a workflow into its discrete steps and decisions.
- Where AI fits at each step — and where a human stays in the loop.
- What agentic AI is, in plain terms: AI that takes multi-step actions toward a goal, not just answers a prompt.
- Spotting agentic opportunities in your function — and the guardrails they need.
Field Period 5 · Map the process, plan adoption
Deconstruct your capstone workflow, find where agentic AI could extend it, and get ready for the Showcase.
C5-1Process & agentic map▼
Break your capstone workflow into steps. Mark where AI is doing the work today, and where agentic AI could extend it next.
C5-2Adoption plan finalized▼
Turn the map into a function-level adoption plan: what's live now, and what comes next.
C5-3Final polish▼
Polish the capstone ahead of the Showcase. The capstone, reviewed against the Capstone Rubric, is the measure of success — there is no separate test.
Submit by Session 6: your process & agentic map, finalized adoption plan, and polished capstone.
6
Session 6
Capstone Showcase
You present a finished function-level capstone, earn the credential, and formally join the champion network.
In the session
- Capstone presentations to the cohort and, ideally, your program sponsor.
- Structured review against the Capstone Rubric.
- Credentialing: the capstone, evaluated against the rubric, is the measure of success — reviewed by Jeff, with your manager signing off.
- You leave equipped to drive AI transformation in your function — and join the champion network.
Closing Work
Submit the finished work, earn the credential, and join the network.
C6-1Final capstone and Dossier submitted▼
Submit the final capstone and Capstone Dossier. The capstone, evaluated against the Capstone Rubric, is the measure of success.
C6-2Credential & champion network▼
The McMillanAI Certified AI Champion credential is awarded, and you're formally added to the champion network.
After the Program
Credential & the Ongoing Role
Credential Awarded
McMillanAI Certified AI Champion. The capstone, evaluated against the Capstone Rubric, is the measure of success — reviewed by Jeff, signed off by your manager. Your growth against the baseline diagnostic supports the picture.
The Role Continues
Unlike a course, the champion role is ongoing — impact capture and central-team liaison continue after the program. The program credentials the champion; the role does not end.
60-Day Deployment Review
A sponsor-facing session at about day 60: function capstones reviewed against their adoption plans. The natural renewal touchpoint.
The Champion Network
Credentialed champions join a standing network across the business — a community driving AI transformation function by function, sharing use cases and what works.