What you need to pass
| Part | Format | To pass |
|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 30 scenario questions drawn at random from a larger bank, 45 minutes | 75% or more |
| Capstone analysis | Six to eight figures from your case, worked out with the site's tools and the Lab | Figures within tolerance |
| Capstone memo | 600 to 900 words, written for your lens, using your own figures | 3 out of 5 or more on every rubric criterion |
The case
You receive a short case pack for a fictional organisation running three AI initiatives: their costs, usage, pilot results and the decision the leadership team faces. The structure is the same for everyone. The figures are generated for you, so no two learners have the same answers.
- Choose your lens. It sets the memo you write, not the questions you are asked.
- Work out the fully loaded cost, the cost per successful outcome, the attribution coverage and the stress-test headroom, using the tools from modules 2 to 6. The Lab is useful for keeping the three initiatives side by side.
- Submit your figures. They are checked against the same calculations the tools use.
- Write and submit the memo. You get a score and feedback on each criterion.
The memo for each lens
Finance
An investment memo with finance treatment, payback, scenarios and stop criteria.
Technology leadership
A portfolio decision across three initiatives, with the operating model to run it.
FinOps and TBM
A cost allocation and cost per outcome analysis for a shared AI platform.
Advisor
A client recommendation pack: diagnosis, decision and next 90 days.
How the memo is marked
Five criteria, each scored from 1 to 5. A 3 means the memo does what the right-hand column says.
| Criterion | A pass shows |
|---|---|
| Cost boundary | Full cost on the same workload boundary as the benefit, with exclusions stated. |
| Value claim | Baseline, quality floor, netting and a named conversion, with capture status. |
| Evidence | An evidence level that fits the commitment requested, and how it will be raised. |
| Decision | Scale, hold, redesign or stop, consistent with the figures, with an owner and a date. |
| Risk and stop rule | The assumption most likely to break the case, and the condition that would stop it. |
The memo is marked on how you use your own figures and trade-offs, so a general essay about AI value will not pass.
Fair play
The rules
- The work is your own, and the name on the certificate is your real name.
- You may use the site, the tools, the Lab and your notes. You may use AI help to draft the memo if you say so.
- Each retake gives you a new case with new figures.
- A certificate found to be misused can be revoked, and its verification link will then say so.
How to prepare
Work through the exercise in each module with the tool open. The capstone uses the same tools in the same way. The study guide sets out what the exam covers and how it is weighted.
- Module 1: Place an organisation on the five levels
- Module 2: From rate card to fully loaded cost, then the self-hosting test
- Module 3: Allocate a month of shared GPU cost
- Module 4: Compute attribution coverage for a portfolio
- Module 5: Stress-test a case against price and demand
- Module 6: Redesign before you scale: cost per successful outcome