Overview
Many teams have a small, annoying problem that no software solves: a calculator for quotes, a checklist that fills in a report, a tracker the whole team can update. With AI you can now describe a tool in plain language and have a working prototype in hours, without writing code yourself.
This course shows how to describe a tool clearly, build quick tools inside Claude, build a prototype web app with Lovable, and create simple helper tools with Claude Code with guidance. You also learn to test with real cases and to recognise when a prototype needs a developer before anyone relies on it.
Who it's for
Business users who want to build simple internal tools and prototypes without programming. It is especially suited to:
- Operations and business-support staff
- Project managers and team leaders
- Business analysts and process owners
- Anyone with an idea for a small internal tool
Prerequisites
- No programming knowledge is needed
- A small, specific problem or process in your own work to build a tool for
By the end of this course you will be able to
- Describe a small tool so clearly that AI can build it
- Build quick, shareable tools inside Claude with Artifacts
- Build a working prototype with Lovable and refine it through conversation
- Use Claude Code with guidance for simple helper tools, working safely on copies of your files
- Test a tool with real cases and spot where it breaks
- Know when a prototype needs a developer, and hand over a clear brief
Course outline
Times show the standard running order and can be adjusted when we tailor the course to your team. The trainer stays available during breaks to help anyone finish an exercise.
Welcome & orientation 10 min
How the day runs and the small tool each person wants to build.
What counts as a small tool 20 min
Examples of tools that suit AI-built prototypes, such as calculators, trackers, checkers and form helpers, and those that do not. Choosing an idea that is small enough to finish today.
Try it: Pick your tool idea and say who will use it and what a good result looks like.
From idea to clear description 40 min
Writing a brief that AI can build from: users, inputs, outputs, rules, examples and what the tool must not do. The GCES method (Goal, Context, Expectations, Source) gives the brief its structure.
Try it: Write a one-page brief for your tool and have Claude point out gaps and unclear rules.
Quick tools with Artifacts 35 min
Building a small interactive tool right inside Claude as an Artifact: a calculator, checklist or tracker, refined through conversation and shared with colleagues.
Try it: Build a first version of your tool as an Artifact and change two things about it.
Building a prototype with Lovable 45 min
Using Lovable, an AI app builder, to turn your brief into a working web app. Describing screens and behaviour, previewing the result and sharing a link. What to expect from the first version, and what the tool handles for you and what it leaves to you.
Try it: Paste your brief into Lovable, generate the first version and note what is right and wrong.
Refining and sharing the prototype 25 min
Improving the prototype through conversation: changing one thing at a time, undoing changes that break something, and collecting feedback from a colleague.
Try it: Make three improvements, one at a time, and ask a colleague to try it.
Simple helper tools with Claude Code 45 min
Using Claude Code from the Claude desktop app, which needs no terminal, to create a helper for jobs such as tidying a set of files, merging spreadsheets or producing a report. Working on copies, reading what it plans to do, and approving changes step by step.
Try it: Ask Claude Code to build a small helper that processes a copy of a sample spreadsheet, and review each action before approving it.
Testing with real cases 30 min
Trying your tool with realistic and awkward inputs, checking the results by hand, and recording what fails.
Try it: Test your tool with five cases, including two that should fail, and list what to fix.
When a prototype needs a developer 30 min
The limits of AI-built tools: security, personal data, access rules, reliability and maintenance. Signs that a prototype should be reviewed or rebuilt by a developer, and how to hand over your brief and tests.
Try it: List what would have to be true before your tool is used by real customers or with real personal data.
Hands-on: one small tool for your team 55 min
Bring your tool to a presentable state, using whichever route suits it best: an Artifact, a Lovable prototype or a Claude Code helper.
• Finish the tool you chose at the start.
• Write a half-page user note and a list of known limits.
• Demonstrate it to the group and take one piece of feedback.
Close 10 min
Recap of the day and next steps for your tool.
What you'll need
Claude
- A Claude account on a paid plan that includes Claude Code (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise), and the Claude desktop app.
- Artifacts need code execution and file creation to be switched on; on Team and Enterprise this is an administrator setting.
Other tools
- A Lovable account. Lovable is a third-party service, so check that your organisation allows its use before you put work data into it.
- A small, specific idea for a tool, and a few non-confidential sample files to build it with.
Practice files are provided for every exercise. You are welcome to use your own everyday documents where your organisation's policy allows.