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AI-Enabled Systems Design Masterclass - February 2026
February
2026
Costs
$50.00 USD $40.00 USD with promo code FALL2025 at check out
Taught by
Morgan Denner
Starts
Feb 2, 2026
Ends
Mar 6, 2026
Gallery
Key Audiences
UX Design
UX Research
Product Owner
Product Manager
Project Manager
Developer
Summary
The study of how humans interact with the world deals with intricate pieces. People go through a complex journey: first they become aware, then they start engaging, then they decide, then they act, then they stick around or not, and then they become advocates for the things they use. Along the way, they will interact with multiple things: people, software, environments, communications, and other tools. There could be lots of points where people abandon the path and stop.
A “System” is a combination of multiple touch points that humans interact with. Systems design deals with honing the entire end-to-end experience, from awareness to advocacy, and everything in between, for all touch points. All kinds of industries will rely on end-to-end experience, and this class will cover general work that applies to lots of different kinds of professional environments. In this class, you learn how to map end-to-end experiences into components: touchpoints, tasks, motivations, decisions, pain points, and tools used. The map serves as the basis for forming strategy and innovating around how to make change within systems in the world.
This 5 week immersive class teaches you everything you need to know about how to study, analyze, design, and change systems that businesses maintain.
Why Take This Class?
UX designers, UX researchers, and product managers in the future will be doing a whole lot more than just the things they’ve been trained in. We’re already seeing examples of jobs requiring strategy, business, and operations work. Software, hospitals, restaurants, golf courses, and so much more require end-to-end experience design. By studying awareness, engagement, decision-making, action, retention, and advocacy as a single continuous system rather than isolated events, students develop a holistic understanding of how experiences succeed or fail. It equips students with the ability to think in systems, not just artifacts, and to design with both intent and insight. Designing end-to-end experiences and systems that interact with each other is a crucial skill to master to be able to professionally develop in the world.
Learning Objectives
Understand the difference between systems design, service design, and product design
Map end-to-end experiences for a variety of interaction types
Identify actors, pain points, decisions, motivations, and tools within single steps of an end-to-end experience
Document segments of audiences and design the customer experience for each one
Communicate the value of systems design to different business functions
Generate buy-in and strategy for decisions that change experiences for humans
Tell the story of current experiences and future experiences
Reading Assignments
Klein, L. (2016). Build better products: A modern approach to building successful user-centered products. Rosenfeld Media. Available from Amazon and other sources.
Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J. (2018). This is service design doing. O’Reilly Media, Incorporated. Available from Amazon and other sources.
Curriculum
Week 1 - Introduction to Agile Systems Design
Lecture
Overview of the class
Systems design vs. Product design vs. Service design vs. UX design
Agile UX in action
Agile development lifecycle
Approaching product and service delivery in Agile ways
The process of systems design
AI’s Place in Systems Design
Class Lab Time
Examples of systems design
Systems Design AMA
Homework
Homework 1
Week 2 - Understanding the System Today
Lecture
Assumption forming and assumption testing
Understanding the current state of the world
Audiences
Environments
Workflows
Interactions
Decisions
Pain points
Documenting the current state of the world
How to make flow charts with UML
Qualitative UX research artifacts to document current state:
Flow Analysis (AKA Customer Experience Mapping, AKA Flow Charts, AKA Process Mapping)
User Journeys
Audience Personas
Using AI tools to help you document current state
Working with Clients and Stakeholders in Systems Design
Approaches to generate alignment
Assumption mapping with clients
Assumption mapping with users
Class Lab Time
Mapping the current experience with flow analysis
Assumption mapping processes with clients
Empathy maps
Homework
Homework 2
Week 3 - Designing the Future System
Lecture
Setting the strategy of the future state
Designing for your audiences
Improving abandonment in the customer lifecycle funnel
Implementing strategic decisions in the customer lifecycle
Telling the story of current experience and future experience
Why visuals and storytelling are so powerful
Empathy maps
Storyboards
Defining conversion points
Defining the core of the experience
The theory of change
Developing measurements of success for change
Class Time
Setting Customer Experience Strategy
Storyboards
KPI’s
Homework
Homework 2
Week 4 - Working Sessions
Working Sessions All Week
Class Lab Time
Document current state assumptions
Analyze research
Perform deliverables
Flow analysis
Storyboards
Get feedback about accuracy of current state
Identify pain points and opportunities
Develop KPI’s
Homework
Homework 2
Week 5 - Implementing the Future System
Lecture
Mapping the future customer experience
Communicate the value of systems design to different business functions
Generate buy-in and strategy for decisions that change experiences for humans
Using AI tools to communicate change
Implementing measurements of success within the future systems experience
Class Lab Time
Future Customer Experience Maps
Future Storyboards
Homework
Homework 3
