Intermediate Claude for Business: Projects, Skills and Checked Workflows

This intermediate course is intended for professionals who already use Claude regularly and want to produce more consistent, reliable and repeatable results.

It is particularly suitable for:

• Team leaders and managers developing shared ways of working

• Analysts, project managers and operations leads

• Administrators and executive assistants responsible for recurring processes

• Marketing, HR, finance and customer-facing professionals using Claude in their work

• Anyone who has completed our introductory Claude course (or has equivalent experience) and is ready to progress beyond individual prompts

No programming experience is required - however, attendees should have:

• Regular experience of using Claude, including uploading files and refining an answer through follow-up prompts

• An understanding of structured prompting, using GCES or an equivalent approach

• Everyday experience of working with documents, spreadsheets or presentations

• Access to an organisation-approved Claude account suitable for the course exercises

You will also need:

• A current web browser

• Access to an appropriate Claude account

• Excel, Word and PowerPoint for the Microsoft 365 integration session

Please note: only non-confidential material should be used during exercises

This Intermediate Claude course is available for private / custom delivery for your team - as an in-house face-to-face workshop at your location of choice, or as online instructor-led training via MS Teams (or your own preferred platform).

Moving beyond one-off prompts

Advanced prompting patterns

Build on GCES by using examples, structured outputs, staged tasks and interview-style prompting. Apply a draft-and-review pattern and turn successful prompts into reusable templates.

Try it: Create a prompt template for a recurring task and test it with two different inputs.

Checking Claude’s work

Develop a repeatable approach to verification using quotations, references, independent evidence, critical review and test cases with known answers.

Try it: Find planted errors in a Claude-generated summary and design checks that would have caught them.

Working with more context

Projects as working environments

Create Projects with useful instructions, focused reference material and clear rules. Explore project memory, shared working and the importance of maintaining project knowledge as work changes.

Anthropic currently describes Projects as workspaces with their own files, context, instructions and memory, which supports the role given to them in this course.

Try it: Build and refine a Project for a recurring workstream.

Working across long and messy documents

Extract, compare and summarise information from multiple documents. Build referenced comparison tables, identify contradictions and recognise when tables, scans or long files need additional checking.

Try it: Compare three documents and verify selected findings against the originals.

Data analysis and charts

Use Claude to clean data, calculate results, identify patterns and create charts. Examine its method and reproduce an important figure independently.

Try it: Analyse a sample dataset, produce a chart and check one figure using another method.

Claude with Excel, Word and PowerPoint

Explore how Claude can support work inside Microsoft 365 applications, including analysis, editing and presentation creation. Review changes before accepting them and consider the controls needed around workplace files.

Try it: Make and review a controlled change to a practice file, where the required integration is available.

I have intentionally made this section less specific than the source document. Claims such as exact cell-linking behaviour, tracked-change support and template handling should be verified against the precise add-ins Olly plans to use immediately before publication.

Building reusable tools and routines

Artifacts as practical tools

Develop calculators, trackers, checklists or simple dashboards and improve them through testing. Consider sharing, access and how the tool behaves with awkward or unexpected input.

Try it: Build a small work-related tool and test it with several difficult inputs.

Skills: capturing a routine

Turn a recurring process into a reusable Skill containing instructions, rules and output requirements. Test the Skill with examples and establish ownership and review arrangements.

Anthropic describes Skills as folders of instructions, scripts and resources that Claude loads when relevant; Skills can include plain-language instructions and need not always involve programming.

Try it: Create and test a Skill for one recurring task.

Connectors, Cowork and scheduled tasks

See how Claude can retrieve information from connected services, undertake multi-step knowledge work and run recurring tasks. Assess which processes are suitable and where people must review or approve the result.

Anthropic currently positions Cowork as an agentic environment for multi-step knowledge work and says scheduled tasks can use connected tools, Skills and plugins.

Try it: Match several recurring tasks to the most appropriate Claude capability and define the approval point for each.

Building your Claude working system

Bring the day together through a small library of prompts, Projects and Skills, supported by consistent checks and regular review.

Try it: Create a one-page plan covering your five priority tasks, the method for each, the required check and your first 30-day experiment.

Your action plan

Review what you have built and decide what to introduce first.

Course outcome: Leave with a tested Project, prompt template, Artifact and Skill, plus a practical plan for applying them at work.

Is this course suitable for complete beginners?

No. It is designed for people who already use Claude regularly. Attendees should be comfortable uploading a file, refining an answer and giving Claude structured instructions.

How does this differ from the beginner Claude workshop?

The beginner course introduces effective everyday use. This intermediate workshop focuses on repeatability: reusable prompts, Projects, Skills, Artifacts, multi-document work and systematic checking.

Do I need programming experience?

No. The course is designed for business professionals. Some Claude capabilities use code behind the scenes, but attendees are not expected to write or understand software code.

Do I need a paid Claude account?

Some exercises and demonstrations depend on the Claude plan and organisational settings available. The joining instructions should confirm the recommended account before delivery, and unavailable features can be demonstrated by the instructor.

Do I need access to every feature covered?

No. Projects, Skills, Artifacts, Microsoft 365 integrations, connectors and Cowork may vary by plan or administrator configuration. The course focuses on the methods and decisions behind the workflows as well as individual features.

Can I use material from my own work?

Yes, provided it is non-confidential and your organisation permits its use with Claude. The course also supplies fictional practice material, so sensitive workplace information is not required.

Will the course cover accuracy and responsible use?

Yes. Every workflow includes structured checking and a defined point of human review or approval. Attendees will consider source verification, numerical checks, omissions and unsafe automation.

Will I create anything reusable?

Yes. The intended outputs include a prompt template, Project, Artifact, Skill and a 30-day implementation plan.

Is the course relevant to managers and team leaders?

Yes. It is useful for people who want to establish more consistent Claude practices across a team, provided they already have some practical Claude experience.

Can the workshop be tailored to our organisation?

Yes. For private delivery, the exercises can be adapted around approved accounts, available features, organisational policies and representative non-confidential workflows.