Advanced technologies have the power to transform the way we do business and the value we can offer clients. These tools also have a lot to teach us about the way we can tackle challenges across all business functions.
In the Algorithmic Business Thinking Sprint (ABTS) a new on-demand, asynchronous learning experience from MIT Sloan Executive Education, Faculty Director Paul McDonagh-Smith introduces the concept of Algorithmic Business Thinking—a framework for understanding the key principles of algorithms, code, and data and a methodology for applying those principles across role and departments, from products and service to business functions like finance, sales, and marketing. The ABT framework marks a radical rethinking of how technology, people, and processes combine to create and deliver value.
Inspired by Agile product development sprints, this self-directed course is an opportunity to apply this cutting-edge concept directly to a challenge you are facing in your own organization. You’ll engage in four core components of the sprint cycle—goal setting, relays, review, and retrospective—and use them to understand and apply the cornerstones of computer science as a transformational problem-solving technique. The reading materials, videos by faculty and industry experts, podcasts, and sprint workbook supplied will walk you through each of these cornerstones—decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms—enabling you to you crack the code on your business challenge in record time.
Opening Your ABT Suitcase
Setting Your Sprint Goal
Decomposition
Pattern Recognition
Abstraction
Algorithms
Testing 2
Sprint Review & Retrospective
Sprint Executive Summary
What are Sprints from MIT Sloan Executive Education?
Sprints are six-hour courses you can complete any time over a 30-day period. This on-demand learning “box set” can be completed as an individual or as a team and spread out over a month to fit in with your personal and professional life. Our first Business Sprint offering is focused on Algorithmic Business Thinking, a framework developed here at MIT by Paul McDonagh-Smith.
You may be familiar with sprints as a term used in Agile product development, defined as a set duration of time during which specific work must be completed and made ready for review. With these new on-demand courses from MIT Sloan Executive Education, we are inviting you to think of your business sprint in a similarly, as a set time period in which to work, experiment, solve a challenge, and share your results.
When you participate in a business sprint, whether individually or in a team, you may also recognize research and development patterns from product development domains. We are translating these concepts into a business context where we can employ key elements of a sprint cycle to help solve complex business challenges and turn them into opportunities.
Your business sprint will begin by defining a sprint goal—the business challenge or opportunity you will break down, work on, and then reassemble in the four stages of our sprint relay. During these relays you will be provided with course content in the form of written content, videos, and podcasts that present the specific course frameworks and share examples of how these frameworks have been applied to solve real-world business challenges.
After you have completed the four stages in your course workbook, you'll submit your sprint review, which will capture the insights and the progress that you've made. As a final step, we'll provide you with a sprint retrospective in the form of an audio podcast that captures and reinforces the key inputs and outputs of an MIT Sloan business sprint.
As Business Sprints are asynchronous, on-demand, and provide access for a 30-day window upon enrollment and acceptance, they are ideal for those seeking the most flexible learning format. This course is designed to help all levels of management act as translators between computer science and business functions in their organization. It is particularly beneficial to those responsible for or participating in the design and delivery of AI and other transformative technology initiatives in any industry. If you are looking to support your organization’s digital transformation, or want to orient yourself to key principles of the digital economy, this course is for you.
Gain insights from world-renowned MIT Faculty
On-demand, asynchronous learning experience to be completed in approximately 6 hours over 30 days
You will take away a workbook as a resource to use in your company
Confers a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management in the Digital Business Executive Certicate track.
"I applied this training immediately to team's daily logistics operations."
William D
"A practical, compact course for business-technology leaders working on digital and AI-enabled transformation. The four ABT cornerstones: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms - provide a clear way to break down complex problems, reduce ambiguity, and translate business challenges into execution-ready logic."
Herman S
"Regrettably, the training fell short of expectations, with too broad concepts and not really explicit use cases."
Julien S
"The MIT Algorithmic Business Sprint gave me a fresh approach to solving problems and tackling big projects. I chose to apply it to my main job, which is fundraising."
Louise J
"Mind-expanding, distilled and clear cut rule based prioritization."
Robert A
"The Algorithmic Business Thinking Sprint provided a practical framework that I could immediately apply to a key challenge at my hospital. It shifted my focus from whether to combine human and machine capabilities to how to do so effectively, encouraging active opportunity-seeking rather than passive adaptation. The Sprint sharpened my strategic toolkit, and Id recommend it to anyone seeking fresh perspectives and tools to tackle everyday business challenges and uncover new opportunities."
Fabio A
"Coherent and immersive content for all people interested in building a mindset that best follow the exponentially changing world. To my view Paul McDonagh Smith teaching inspires and stimulates thinking via a well structured scientific approach that can also appetite to question or even act provocative against established business practices."
Konstantinos k
"Interesting topic and content. I look forward to hopefully receiving detailed feedback on the report."
Elena T
"One of the best courses, helped in Quick implementation for a digital transition of business processes."
Gowri Shankar S
"ABT is an amazing framework to solve very complex problems by asking the right questions, finding patterns and executing at rocket speed with the integration of algorithms integrating both collective intelligence of humans machines."
Jaime E
Same topic, Similar duration - Broader exploration across all institutes
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Executive Education Office
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