Build an Assistant from a Well-Kept Knowledge Shelf
Prepare a source set, write assistant instructions, and evaluate answers with a 20-question test.
Start where you are.
Who it is for
People or teams who need an assistant to answer repeat questions from approved documents.
Starting skills
Level 3 skills, comfort organizing documents, and approved training-tool access. Level 4 workflow skills are helpful.
Proposed format: 3 × 90-minute sessionsClear goals. Useful skills.
- Choose current, approved documents and define access boundaries.
- Write instructions for tone, source use, uncertainty, and prohibited actions.
- Build and evaluate a source-grounded assistant with 20 questions.
Hands-on exercise
Build a fictional community-center information assistant from a small approved source pack. Include answerable, conflicting, outdated, out-of-scope, and unanswered questions.
Learn, try, reflect.
Session 1
- define the assistant’s job — 15 minutes
- sort and review source documents — 30
- write instructions and boundaries — 30
- draft test questions — 15
Session 2
- configure the source set — 30 minutes
- test sample answers — 25
- identify unsupported claims — 20
- revise instructions — 15
Session 3
- complete the 20-question test — 40 minutes
- grade correctness and support — 20
- revise and retest failures — 20
- review sharing and handoff — 10
Practice that earns
your confidence.
The test log distinguishes correct, supported, incomplete, and incorrect answers. The assistant admits when the supplied sources do not answer a question.
Feedback and another try are part of learning. Attendance alone does not establish the level.
Between-class practice
Refresh one source, rerun affected questions, and record the change. Use approved business documents only after a separate access review.
Materials and access
A source-enabled assistant tool, fictional source pack, instruction template, document register, and 20-question test log.
Account and tool requirements will be confirmed before enrollment. Labs use fictional or approved material.
Start where you are.
Rise from there.
Bring one question, one goal, or one task you would like to make easier.
Let’s find your next step