Introduction to the AI-SDLC

Build durable skills for the AI-SDLC across every role and phase. This AI-SDLC foundations course teaches software delivery professionals how to work with AI tools while keeping real control over...

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Duration 1 day
Course Code AIC-1001
Available Formats Classroom

Overview

Course Description

Build durable skills for the AI-SDLC across every role and phase. This AI-SDLC foundations course teaches software delivery professionals how to work with AI tools while keeping real control over what they produce. The course covers four guiding principles (Human-in-the-Lead, Working One Level Up in Abstraction, Discipline Scales, and Take Care of Yourself), five core AI competencies, and their application across both sides of the AI-SDLC: the definition phases (planning, requirements, design) and the delivery phases (development, testing, deployment, maintenance). Learners practice identifying the failure modes AI introduces at each phase and selecting the oversight practices that prevent them from propagating. Hands-on labs walk through real scenarios, including a workflow analysis mapped to four guiding principles, an evaluation of AI-generated early-phase artifacts against a structured checklist, and a responsible-use assessment of a full delivery scenario. The course is designed for software engineers, QA engineers, platform engineers, security engineers, solution architects, business analysts, and product owners working within software delivery teams.

Skills Gained

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain how AI assistance changes the activities, roles, and failure-mode profile at each SDLC phase
  • Identify failure modes that AI introduces at each lifecycle phase
  • Apply four guiding principles (Human-in-the-Lead, Working One Level Up in Abstraction, Discipline Scales, and Take Care of Yourself) to AI-assisted workflow decisions
  • Apply five core AI competencies to realistic software delivery tasks
  • Evaluate AI-generated artifacts against phase-specific quality criteria using structured checklists

Who Can Benefit

This course is designed for:

  • Software Engineers
  • QA & Test Engineers
  • Platform Engineers
  • Security Engineers
  • Solution Architects & Technical Leads
  • Business Analysts
  • Product Owners

Prerequisites

Participants should enter this course with:

  • Familiarity with at least one SDLC phase in a professional context (such as requirements gathering, software development, testing, or deployment)
  • No prior AI or machine learning knowledge required

Organizational Objectives

This course assists organizations to:

  • Reduce AI-related delivery risk by enabling teams to identify failure modes at the phase where they originate, before they propagate to downstream work
  • Lower rework from AI-generated artifacts by teaching practitioners to direct AI tools and evaluate output against phase-specific quality criteria
  • Build shared AI governance habits across product, engineering, QA, platform, and security functions through a common framework for oversight, verification, and responsible use
  • Shorten the onboarding ramp for role-specific AI-SDLC training by giving all functions a shared conceptual foundation before specialization begins

Software

All attendees must have a modern web browser and an Internet connection.

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Course Details

Course Details

Module 1 - The AI-SDLC: Foundations and Guiding Principles

By the end of this module, you will be able to describe how AI assistance changes activities and risk profiles at each SDLC phase, apply four guiding principles to AI-assisted workflow decisions, and identify how five core AI competencies apply to realistic software delivery tasks.

  • AI-assisted SDLC and classical SDLC phases
  • Human-in-the-Lead and meaningful oversight
  • Working One Level Up in Abstraction
  • Discipline Scales
  • Take Care of Yourself
  • Five core AI competencies (Understand, Explore, Direct, Evaluate, and Use Responsibly)
  • Hands-on Lab: Map a familiar SDLC workflow to four guiding principles, then apply one of five competencies to a realistic AI-assisted task and produce a written evaluation of the output and the oversight decisions made.

Module 2 - AI in the Early Phases: Planning, Requirements, and Design

By the end of this module, you will be able to identify how AI assistance changes activities in the planning, requirements analysis, and design phases, apply evaluation checklists to AI-generated artifacts to distinguish reliable from plausible-sounding output, and describe the oversight responsibilities that shift when AI participates in early-phase work.

  • AI-assisted planning and scope estimation
  • Requirements analysis and user story generation
  • Design assistance and architecture sketching
  • Role shifts and oversight in early phases
  • Evaluating AI-generated artifacts for accuracy and completeness
  • Hands-on Lab: Apply an AI tool to generate a user story set and an architecture sketch, then evaluate each artifact against a phase-specific quality checklist to produce a written assessment of where the output is reliable and where human review is required.

Module 3 - AI in the Delivery Phases: Development, Testing, Deployment, Maintenance, and Responsible Use

By the end of this module, you will be able to identify how AI assistance changes activities and introduces failure modes across development, testing, deployment, and maintenance, evaluate AI-generated code, test suites, and pipeline configurations against phase-specific quality criteria, and apply a responsible-use framework to AI-assisted delivery scenarios.

  • AI-assisted development and code review
  • AI-assisted testing and coverage analysis
  • AI-assisted deployment and maintenance
  • Role shifts and failure modes in delivery phases
  • Responsible AI use and governance
  • Hands-on Lab: Evaluate AI-generated code, a test suite, and a pipeline configuration against phase-specific quality criteria, then assess the full scenario against a responsible-use checklist to identify gaps in oversight and governance.

Schedule

Upcoming Course Dates

There are currently no scheduled dates for this course. If you are interested in this course, contact us with the form below.

Contact Information

FAQ

Does the course schedule include a Lunchbreak?

Classes typically include a 1-hour lunch break around midday. However, the exact break times and duration can vary depending on the specific class. Your instructor will provide detailed information at the start of the course.

What languages are used to deliver training?

Most courses are conducted in English, unless otherwise specified. Some courses will have the word "FRENCH" marked in red beside the scheduled date(s) indicating the language of instruction.

What does GTR stand for?

GTR stands for Guaranteed to Run; if you see a course with this status, it means this event is confirmed to run. View our GTR page to see our full list of Guaranteed to Run courses.

Does Ascendient Learning deliver group training?

Yes, we provide training for groups, individuals and private on sites. View our group training page for more information.

What does vendor-authorized training mean?

As a vendor-authorized training partner, we offer a curriculum that our partners have vetted. We use the same course materials and facilitate the same labs as our vendor-delivered training. These courses are considered the gold standard and, as such, are priced accordingly.

Is the training too basic, or will you go deep into technology?

It depends on your requirements, your role in your company, and your depth of knowledge. The good news about many of our learning paths, you can start from the fundamentals to highly specialized training.

How up-to-date are your courses and support materials?

We continuously work with our vendors to evaluate and refresh course material to reflect the latest training courses and best practices.

Are your instructors seasoned trainers who have deep knowledge of the training topic?

Ascendient Learning instructors have an average of 27 years of practical IT experience and have also served as consultants for an average of 15 years. To stay current, instructors spend at least 25 percent of their time learning new, emerging technologies and courses.

Do you provide hands-on training and exercises in an actual lab environment?

Lab access is dependent on the vendor and the type of training you sign up for. However, many of our top vendors will provide lab access to students to test and practice. The course description will specify lab access.

Will you customize the training for our company’s specific needs and goals?

We will work with you to identify training needs and areas of growth.  We offer a variety of training methods, such as private group training, on-site of your choice, and virtually. We provide courses and certifications that are aligned with your business goals.

How do I get started with certification?

Getting started on a certification pathway depends on your goals and the vendor you choose to get certified in. Many vendors offer entry-level IT certification to advanced IT certification that can boost your career. To get access to certification vouchers and discounts, please contact info@ascendientlearning.com.

Will I get access to content after I complete a course?

You will get access to the PDF of course books and guides, but access to the recording and slides will depend on the vendor and type of training you receive.

How do I request a W9 for Ascendient Learning?

View our filing status and how to request a W9.

Reviews

it was good and very informative. Instructure covered everything in detail.

Course was thorough and gave a very solid grounding in the tools advertised.

Exit certified was great as it is very in depth and hands on learning which made it very easy to learn this type of work.

Brandon was a great instructor. The virtual course materials and labs provided were very informative.

They were very good. They made sure everyone was able to get into the training and got all of the material needed for class.