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YOURPACEAI WORKSHOP · Beginner+

AI workflow automation

Connect the tools you already use and build a workflow with human review where it matters.

75–120 minutes · Five modules, a portfolio workbook and automatic assessment.

Use paper or a diagram for the workshop. A working implementation needs access to an automation tool and may take additional time; use dummy data and check provider fees.

Open interactive workshop

Read all lessons freely here. The interactive workshop lets you save your workbook, take the automatic assessment and earn a non-accredited certificate.

By the end, you can

Practice materials

Download practice pack
Read the fictional source material
FICTIONAL MEETING NOTES
Meeting: Riverside team planning
Alex will draft the event description by Friday.
Sam will check room availability; no deadline agreed.
Someone needs to confirm accessibility arrangements; no owner agreed.
No decision was made about paid advertising.
Second test: Alex is away and the event date is not confirmed. Do not assume a replacement owner or date.

TEST CASES
T1: valid notes above
T2: empty notes
T3: repeated delivery of the same meeting ID
T4: send action fails after a timeout

WORKFLOW TEMPLATE
meeting_id -> validate notes -> draft actions -> validate draft -> human approval -> output
Failure route: stop, record reason, ask for correction

Design your first AI workflow

MODULE 1 OF 5

Map the workflow

A workflow has a trigger, inputs, actions and outputs. For meeting notes, the trigger might be a new sample document; AI produces a draft task list; a person checks it before sharing.

Worked example

Input

New notes arrive with meeting_id M42.

Reviewed result

Validate non-empty notes → generate draft actions → flag missing owner/date → reviewer approves → save approved output.

Approval sits before consequential action, not after a message has already been sent.

Quick check: Where should a send-email step go?

After an explicit approval of that exact draft and recipients.

Your activity

Draw your trigger, sample input, AI step, review and output. Keep your first workflow draft-only.

MODULE 2 OF 5

Connect carefully

Tools connect through integrations or APIs. An API is a structured way for software to request information or an action. Give each step only the access and data it needs.

Worked example

Input

Task has no owner in the source notes.

Reviewed result

{task:"Confirm accessibility",owner:null,due:null,reviewRequired:true}

A structured draft can make gaps visible. Validation must reject invented assignments rather than filling them silently.

Quick check: Should the integration grant access to every mailbox?

No. Give the workflow only the access it needs for its narrow task.

Your activity

Use Make Academy or n8n lessons below to build a workflow with fictional notes. Inspect the information passed to every step.

MODULE 3 OF 5

Plan for failure

Inputs may be missing, AI may invent tasks, and integrations can fail. Add checks, clear errors and a way to retry safely. A retry should not send duplicate messages or create duplicate records.

Worked example

Input

M42 arrives twice, or a send request times out.

Reviewed result

Store a stable meeting ID and check delivery status before retrying. Route uncertain delivery for review.

Retries can duplicate side effects. A stable ID and delivery checks help prevent duplicates; a timeout does not prove nothing was sent.

Quick check: Is an unlimited automatic send retry safe?

No. Bound retries and handle uncertain delivery separately.

Your activity

Test missing notes, an unclear owner and a failed action. Write down how your workflow stops safely.

MODULE 4 OF 5

Build the draft-only workflow

In your chosen tool, use a manual trigger, a sample notes field and a draft output step. If you cannot access a tool, make an executable-style specification with each input, validation and failure branch.

Worked example

Valid notes produce three draft tasks with missing fields marked. Empty notes stop before the AI step and return “Notes required”.

Your activity

Test valid and empty notes. Keep output as a draft; do not connect a live email or customer system.

MODULE 5 OF 5

Exercise approval and failure paths

Add a reviewer decision before publishing. Define what happens for rejection, timeout and a repeated meeting ID. Keep a test log of expected versus observed results.

Worked example

A rejected draft stops. A duplicate meeting ID does not send again. An unclear owner is surfaced for review, not inferred.

Your activity

Run or walk through three tests: missing owner, rejected draft and duplicate input. Save results in the workbook.

A workflow with approval and failure handling

Create a meeting-notes-to-actions workflow specification or working draft-only flow, then test it.

Workbook sections

  1. Trigger, input schema and workflow steps
  2. Approval rule, permissions and output design
  3. Three test cases with expected and observed results
  4. Failure handling, duplicate prevention and limitations

Review rubric

Automatic assessment and certificate

Five knowledge questions and three applied scenario checks are marked immediately. Pass with at least 4/5 knowledge answers and all 3/3 applied checks correct. Feedback and retries are available. Certificates also require five completed activities and a four-section workbook. The portfolio is recorded, not independently graded; the assessment is open-book, unproctored and non-accredited.

Take the workshop assessment

Continue with external study

Go further with a portfolio project

Build a workflow that summarises sample meeting notes into a draft task list. Require your approval before anything is sent.

External course access and fees are set by their providers.