Learning paths
I want to build digital products
This path gives you a way of working and basic technical understanding, but it will not make you a software engineer. It will help you build prototypes with AI help and talk to developers and judge their work with confidence.
- Goal
- Go from an idea to a prototype tested with real users, knowing enough about technology to make sound decisions.
- 9 steps
- Guide · Course · Practice
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Step 1Guide
Start from the problem, not the solution
Before any design or code, define the user, the problem they face and what success looks like. The Website Requirements Workbook helps you write it down clearly.
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Step 2Course
Understand the core technical concepts
Harvard's course for non-specialists explains cloud, security, the web and scalability, the things behind every product decision. Start with what applies to your product.
CS50's Computer Science for Business · Harvard University (CS50)
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Step 3Guide
Write the product spec
Turn requirements into a spec: screens, roles, data and what is out of scope. This is what you will hand to a developer or an AI tool.
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Step 4Course
Learn to build with AI help
A course on handing parts of the build to AI responsibly: how to describe what you want and how to review the output before you adopt it.
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Step 5Course
Build a foundation in programming and the web
If you want to understand the code written for you, this is the best free foundation, but it takes weeks of effort. A lighter option: the freeCodeCamp Responsive Web Design certification.
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Step 6Practice
Build a small prototype
With AI help, build the smallest version that solves the core problem, and check what was produced against the Checklist for Reviewing AI-Generated Code before showing it to anyone.
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Step 7Guide
Review quality and security
A practical checklist for reviewing what AI tools write: security, data, edge cases and what must never reach users.
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Step 8Practice
Test with real users
Ask five people from your audience to complete a specific task and watch without helping. Log issues clearly, using the Bug Diagnosis and Fix Request Template.
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Step 9Guide
Prepare the launch
Before going live, go through the Digital Project Launch Workbook: domain, analytics, backups and post-launch support.
Finish line
Test your prototype with at least five real users, write down what they did not understand, then make a clear call: build it yourself, hire a team, or stop.
Other paths
- 01I'm completely new to AIUse AI with confidence on a real task from your work, and know where it helps and where it does not.
- 02I work in marketingBuild a real campaign on sound marketing foundations, using AI at the stages where it genuinely saves time.
- 03I want to automate my workChoose a task that is genuinely worth automating, map its steps and build a first simple automation that works.
- 05I run a small businessLeave with three specific improvements: one in marketing, one in operations and one AI opportunity.