AI Tool Decision Tree Exercise¶
Module 2 Exercise 2 | Duration: 2 hours | Assessment Requirements: Choose appropriate tools for work scenarios + Create personal decision tree
Learning Objectives¶
By completing this exercise, you will: - Practice choosing appropriate AI tools for diverse work scenarios - Understand the decision-making process for tool selection - Create a personalized decision tree for your specific work context - Develop confidence in AI tool selection decisions - Build a reusable framework for future tool choices
Overview¶
This exercise has two main components: scenario-based practice where you select tools for different work situations, and creation of your own personalized decision tree. Think of this as building your "AI tool GPS" - a guide that helps you navigate to the right tool for any task.
Important: There are often multiple "right" answers. Focus on your reasoning process, not finding the "perfect" choice.
Part 1: Tool Selection Scenarios¶
Scenario Practice Instructions¶
For each scenario below: 1. Read carefully - understand the context and requirements 2. Consider options - think through Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, and specialized tools 3. Make your choice - select your primary tool and explain why 4. Identify alternatives - what would be your backup choice? 5. Note limitations - what couldn't you accomplish with AI alone?
Scenario 1: Marketing Content Strategy¶
The Situation: You're a marketing manager at a B2B software company. Your CEO wants a comprehensive content strategy for Q1 that includes: - Analysis of competitor content from their last 6 months of blog posts - 20 blog post ideas with detailed outlines - Social media content calendar for 3 months - Email campaign sequence for new product launch - SEO keyword research integration
Additional Context: - You have files from previous successful campaigns - CEO prefers detailed, data-driven recommendations - Timeline: 1 week to complete - Budget: Free tools preferred, some paid OK if essential
Your Analysis:
Primary Tool Choice: ________________________________
Why this tool?¶
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Secondary/Supporting Tools:¶
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What AI cannot help with (human work required):¶
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Potential limitations of your choice:¶
Scenario 2: Data Analysis & Reporting¶
The Situation: You're a business analyst who needs to create a monthly performance dashboard. Your challenges: - Data comes from 5 different CSV exports (sales, marketing, customer service, operations, HR) - Each CSV has different formatting and date ranges - You need to identify trends, outliers, and correlations - Final deliverable: Executive summary + detailed report + PowerPoint presentation - Stakeholders want both high-level insights and ability to drill down into specifics
Additional Context: - CSVs total about 50MB of data - Some data quality issues expected - Executive team prefers visual presentations - You're comfortable with spreadsheets but not advanced data analysis - Monthly recurring task (process needs to be repeatable)
Your Analysis:
Primary Tool Choice: ________________________________
Why this tool?¶
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Supporting Tools/Process: 1. 2. 3.
What AI cannot help with:¶
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How would you make this process repeatable?¶
Scenario 3: Research & Policy Development¶
The Situation: You work in compliance for a healthcare organization. You've been asked to: - Research new federal regulations affecting your industry - Compare your current policies against new requirements - Identify gaps and compliance risks - Draft updated policy language - Create implementation timeline and training plan
Additional Context: - Your organization has 200+ existing policy documents - Regulations are complex with many cross-references - High accuracy required (legal implications) - Need to cite sources for all recommendations - Must be completed while staying current with ongoing regulation changes
Your Analysis:
Primary Tool Choice: ________________________________
Why this tool?¶
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Research Strategy: 1. 2. 3.
What human verification is essential?¶
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Risk mitigation approach:¶
Scenario 4: Project Management & Communication¶
The Situation: You're managing a cross-functional project with 15 team members across 4 departments. Your communication challenges: - Weekly status reports to different stakeholder groups (each wants different level of detail) - Meeting notes that need to be distributed with action items - Project timeline updates when scope or resources change - Risk assessments when issues arise - Coordination between team members who work different hours/time zones
Additional Context: - High email volume makes important updates easy to miss - Stakeholders have varying technical backgrounds - Project timeline is aggressive with little buffer - Some team members are external contractors - Need to maintain project history for future reference
Your Analysis:
Primary Tool Choice: ________________________________
Why this tool?¶
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Communication workflow: 1. 2. 3.
How would you ensure consistency?¶
What manual coordination is still needed?¶
Scenario 5: Customer Service & Knowledge Management¶
The Situation: You manage customer support for a SaaS platform. Current challenges: - Customer inquiries cover wide range of technical and billing issues - Support team needs faster access to relevant help articles and past solutions - You want to identify recurring issues to prevent future tickets - Need to draft responses that are helpful but maintain professional tone - Quarterly analysis of support trends for product team
Additional Context: - Support ticket volume: 500+ per month - Product changes frequently (monthly updates) - International customers (multiple time zones) - Support team has varying technical expertise - Customer satisfaction scores need improvement
Your Analysis:
Primary Tool Choice: ________________________________
Why this tool?¶
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Implementation approach: 1. 2. 3.
Success metrics:¶
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Integration with existing systems:¶
Part 2: Personal Decision Tree Creation¶
Understanding Decision Trees¶
A decision tree is a flowchart that helps you make consistent, logical decisions. For AI tool selection, it starts with your task characteristics and guides you to the most appropriate tool.
Step 1: Identify Your Work Context¶
Your Role/Industry: ________________________________
Primary Work Tasks (list 5-7 main categories): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Available Tools (check what you have access to): - [ ] Claude.ai (free/paid?) - [ ] ChatGPT (free/paid?) - [ ] Gemini (free/paid?) - [ ] Perplexity (free/paid?) - [ ] NotebookLM - [ ] Other: ________________
Step 2: Define Your Decision Criteria¶
Rank these factors in order of importance for YOUR work (1 = most important):
- __ Accuracy and reliability
- __ Speed of results
- __ Ability to handle large documents/files
- __ Integration with existing tools
- __ Cost considerations
- __ Ease of use
- __ Privacy/security requirements
- __ Creative capabilities
- __ Technical depth
- __ Collaborative features
Step 3: Build Your Decision Framework¶
Create your decision tree by filling in this template:
MY AI TOOL DECISION TREE
STEP 1: What type of task?
├── Writing/Content Creation → Go to STEP 2A
├── Data Analysis/Numbers → Go to STEP 2B
├── Research/Information Gathering → Go to STEP 2C
├── Planning/Strategy → Go to STEP 2D
└── Communication/Admin → Go to STEP 2E
STEP 2A: WRITING/CONTENT
├── Creative brainstorming needed?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Continue to length check
├── Long-form content (>1000 words)?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
STEP 2B: DATA ANALYSIS
├── Multiple files to analyze?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Continue to complexity check
├── Complex calculations needed?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
STEP 2C: RESEARCH
├── Need current/real-time information?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Continue to depth check
├── Deep analysis of existing documents?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
STEP 2D: PLANNING/STRATEGY
├── Need to consider multiple perspectives?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Continue to scope check
├── Large-scale strategic planning?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
STEP 2E: COMMUNICATION/ADMIN
├── Template-based work?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Continue to audience check
├── Multiple audiences/formats needed?
│ ├── YES → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
│ └── NO → Primary: _________, Backup: _________
Step 4: Add Your Special Considerations¶
Industry-Specific Needs:¶
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Security/Privacy Requirements:¶
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Integration Needs:¶
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Budget Constraints:¶
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Step 5: Create Quick Reference Rules¶
Write 3-5 simple "if-then" rules based on your most common scenarios:
Rule 1: If ________________, then use ________________ Rule 2: If ________________, then use ________________ Rule 3: If ________________, then use ________________ Rule 4: If ________________, then use ________________ Rule 5: If ________________, then use ________________
Part 3: Decision Tree Validation¶
Test Your Decision Tree¶
Use your newly created decision tree to solve these test scenarios:
Test Case 1: You need to write a proposal for a new project that includes budget analysis, timeline, and risk assessment.
Your process: 1. Start at Step 1: ________________ 2. Follow path: ________________ → ________________ → ________________ 3. Result: Primary tool = ________________ 4. Does this feel right? Why or why not?
Test Case 2: A colleague sends you 3 research papers and asks for a summary of how they relate to your current project.
Your process: 1. Start at Step 1: ________________ 2. Follow path: ________________ → ________________ → ________________ 3. Result: Primary tool = ________________ 4. Does this feel right? Why or why not?
Test Case 3: You need to create a presentation about quarterly results for the executive team.
Your process: 1. Start at Step 1: ________________ 2. Follow path: ________________ → ________________ → ________________ 3. Result: Primary tool = ________________ 4. Does this feel right? Why or why not?
Refinement Process¶
Based on your test cases, what adjustments do you want to make to your decision tree?
Changes needed: 1. 2. 3.
Why these changes:¶
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Part 4: Implementation Strategy¶
Making Your Decision Tree Actionable¶
Step 1: Document Your Final Tree Create a clean, final version of your decision tree in a format you can easily reference (document, poster, digital note, etc.).
Step 2: Set Up Tool Access Based on your decision tree, ensure you have proper access to your primary tools: - [ ] Account setup complete - [ ] Login credentials saved securely - [ ] Basic familiarity with interface - [ ] Subscription level appropriate for needs
Step 3: Practice Schedule Plan how you'll practice using your decision tree:
Week 1: Use decision tree for 3 real work tasks, document results Week 2: Focus on scenarios that felt unclear, refine process Week 3: Share with colleague or mentor for feedback Week 4: Update decision tree based on real-world experience
Creating Accountability¶
Who will you share your decision tree with? ________________________________
How will you track your success? ________________________________
What will you measure after 30 days?¶
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Part 5: Advanced Scenarios (Optional Challenge)¶
If you have extra time or want additional practice, try these complex scenarios:
Complex Scenario A: Crisis Communication¶
Your company faces a PR crisis. You need to: analyze social media sentiment, draft responses for different audiences, create a communication timeline, and monitor ongoing reaction. Multiple tools and human oversight required.
Complex Scenario B: Market Analysis¶
Launching a product in a new market requires: competitor analysis, market sizing, pricing strategy, regulatory research, and customer persona development based on limited data.
Complex Scenario C: Process Optimization¶
Your department needs to improve efficiency. Tasks include: mapping current workflows, identifying bottlenecks, researching best practices, designing new processes, and creating change management plan.
For each scenario, practice using your decision tree and note where multiple tools or complex workflows might be needed.
Success Criteria¶
You've successfully completed this exercise when you can:
✅ Scenario Analysis: Thoughtfully analyzed all 5 scenarios with clear reasoning ✅ Tool Selection: Made appropriate tool choices based on task requirements ✅ Decision Tree Creation: Built a personalized decision tree that reflects your work context ✅ Validation Testing: Tested your decision tree with multiple scenarios ✅ Implementation Plan: Created actionable plan for using your decision tree ✅ Confidence Building: Feel confident in your ability to choose appropriate AI tools
Common Pitfalls to Avoid¶
Pitfall: Choosing the same tool for everything Solution: Force yourself to consider why different tools might be better for different tasks
Pitfall: Overcomplicating your decision tree Solution: Start simple, add complexity only when needed
Pitfall: Not considering practical constraints Solution: Factor in your actual access, budget, and time constraints
Pitfall: Creating a decision tree you won't actually use Solution: Make it practical and accessible for your real work environment
Pitfall: Never updating your decision tree Solution: Plan regular reviews and updates as tools evolve
Reflection Questions¶
After completing this exercise, spend 10 minutes reflecting on these questions:
1. What surprised you most about the tool selection process?
2. Which scenarios felt most challenging to analyze? Why?
3. How confident do you feel about your decision tree? What would make you more confident?
4. What additional information would help you make better tool choices?
5. How will you remember to use your decision tree for real work tasks?
Next Steps¶
Immediate (this week): - Use your decision tree for 2-3 real work tasks - Note what works well and what feels awkward - Refine your tree based on initial experience
Short-term (next month): - Share your approach with colleagues and get feedback - Experiment with tools you haven't used much - Track time savings and quality improvements
Long-term (ongoing): - Regularly update your decision tree as tools evolve - Help teammates develop their own decision frameworks - Contribute to team knowledge about AI tool selection
Remember: The best decision tree is one that gets better with use. Start with your current version and improve it through real-world application. Your goal is not perfection but consistent, thoughtful tool selection that improves your work quality and efficiency.