Analysing Data in Excel using ChatGPT, Co-pilot and more — Lesson 4: Validation, Responsible Use and Decision-Focused Reporting

Learning Objectives

• Protect sensitive data, avoid unsupported claims, document AI involvement, apply human review, and manage prompt risks
• Deliver an auditable report with validated calculations, concise findings, limitations, actions, and improvement priorities
• Validate validation, responsible use and decision-focused reporting decisions with documented requirements, evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Detailed Topics

• Protect sensitive data: Protect sensitive data, avoid unsupported claims, document AI involvement, apply human review, and manage prompt risks
• Deliver an auditable report with validated calculations: Deliver an auditable report with validated calculations, concise findings, limitations, actions, and improvement priorities
• Validate validation: Validate validation, responsible use and decision-focused reporting decisions with documented requirements, evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, users, data, dependencies, permissions, risks, and expected result.
2. Demonstrate the relevant configuration, development, analysis, administration, testing, or operational workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, test results, and other useful evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with acceptance criteria and explain any corrective action.

Hands-On Activity

Complete an end-to-end review, troubleshoot defects, document handoff controls, and prioritize improvements.

• Document assumptions, prerequisites, and the planned sequence before starting.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal, boundary, and failure behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, reusable notes, and the next improvement priority.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify the business or technical decision that must be made.
• Compare valid implementation approaches and their trade-offs.
• Consider security, privacy, accessibility, performance, support, and operational impact.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, data, permissions, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, ownership, user impact, and business continuity.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement, scope, inputs, and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected design or configuration is documented and follows approved standards.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, accessibility, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Validation, Responsible Use and Decision-Focused Reporting in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.