STRAT 490R - Creating Digital Products with AI: Strategy & Prototyping
Syllabus
FALL 2025
Instructor: Scott Murff
TAs: Carter Adams, Eli Nelson
Class Time: Fridays Only, 9:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Class Location: MARB B113
LMS: LearningSuite
Content Overview
Welcome to Creating Digital Products with AI: Strategy & Prototyping. What should a product manager be able to do in the era of AI? This course offers a hands-on, forward-looking answer. Grounded in the principles of The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen, students will explore the foundational frameworks of product strategy, customer-centric design, and rapid iteration. Building on these fundamentals, the course transitions into applied innovation—students will leverage modern AI tools to ideate, prototype, and build real digital products.
Throughout the course, students will learn how AI is reshaping every stage of the product lifecycle—from identifying customer needs and defining MVPs to accelerating prototyping, testing, and user feedback. By the end of the semester, students will have developed and validated an AI-enabled product concept, preparing them to lead in a world where successful product management requires both strategic insight and hands-on experimentation with emerging technologies.
There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but students should have an interest in going deep on a technical level and will learn to code with help from AI.
Learning Outcomes
| Learning Outcome | Supported BYU Aims |
|---|---|
| 1. Develop and articulate a product strategy. | Intellectually Enlarging, Lifelong Learning and Service |
| 2. Demonstrate technical competency with AI tools to ideate, prototype, and test digital product concepts rapidly and iteratively. | Intellectually Enlarging, Lifelong Learning and Service |
| 3. Work effectively in teams, demonstrating respect, responsibility, and Christian discipleship in leadership and collaboration. | Character Building, Spiritually Strengthening |
| 4. Apply gospel-centered creativity and faith to envision how digital products can serve others and build up communities, both temporally and spiritually. | Spiritually Strengthening, Lifelong Learning and Service |
Instructor Bio
Scott Murff is an Associate Teaching Professor of Strategy at the BYU Marriott School of Business, where he also serves as program director and teaches courses on business strategy, decision-making, and artificial intelligence. He brings over 15 years of experience at the intersection of business and technology, having worked as a consultant, product manager, and data scientist.
Prior to joining BYU, Scott spent nearly seven years at McKinsey & Company in roles ranging from analytics specialist consultant to principal product manager, where he led product development and performance management initiatives for Fortune 500 clients. His earlier career includes building forecasting models as a VP at Zions Bancorporation and conducting regulatory research at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Scott holds a Master’s degree in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and a B.A. in Economics from BYU. He is passionate about helping students apply AI, analytics, and strategy to meaningful real-world problems with both rigor and purpose.
Schedule
Coming Soon.
Grading
The course is not graded on a curve. It’s possible for every student to earn an A. However, achieving an A is challenging and demonstrates true excellence. The grading scale is show below:
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range | GPA |
|---|---|---|
| A | 93–100% | 4.0 |
| A- | 90–92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87–89% | 3.4 |
| B | 83–86% | 3.0 |
| B- | 80–82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77–79% | 2.4 |
| C | 73–76% | 2.0 |
| C- | 70–72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67–69% | 1.4 |
| D | 63–66% | 1.0 |
| D- | 60–62% | 0.7 |
| E (Fail) | Below 60% | 0.0 |
Late work policy
Late work will be accepted up to 9 days late for partial credit with a 10% penalty per day according to the following schedule
| Days Late | Late Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 | -10% |
| 2 | -20% |
| 3 | -30% |
| 4 | -40% |
| 5 | -50% |
| 6 | -60% |
| 7 | -70% |
| 8 | -80% |
| 9 | -90% |
| 10 | No Credit |
Classroom Culture
Mission and Aims
The mission of Brigham Young University — founded, supported, and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. That assistance should provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued.
BYU seeks to develop students of faith, intellect, and character who have the skills and the desire to continue learning and to serve others throughout their lives.
A BYU education should be (1) spiritually strengthening, (2) intellectually enlarging, and (3) character building, leading to (4) lifelong learning and service.
Building on the foundational Mission and Aims, the Marriott School of Business aspires to transform the world through Christlike leadership by developing leaders of faith, intellect, and character guided by the following 4 values:
Faith in Christ - We value deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith gives us the capacity to envision a better future, the confidence to make that future happen, and the courage to act in the face of challenges.
Integrity in Action - We value integrity and hold ourselves to the highest moral and ethical standards. Acting with integrity builds trust, strengthens character, and focuses our ambitions on things of eternal consequence.
Respect for All - We value respect for all individuals as children of God and recognize the inherent worth, divine potential, and agency of each person. A climate of respect and belonging enhances our learning, facilitates collaboration, and encourages personal growth.
Excellence - We value excellence in learning, teaching, research, management, and leadership. An expectation of excellence magnifies our influence and motivates us to continually improve.
We evaluate our decisions and actions by the impact they will have on the academic experience, professional preparation, character development, emotional well-being, and spiritual growth of our students.
Prayer in class
We will begin each class with prayer. Each class member is invited to be voice for the prayer at least once throughout the semester. The TAs will reach out prior to class to invite you to pray on a particular day. If you’d rather not be voice for a prayer please let me know on the first day of class so I can instruct the TAs accordingly.
Laptop Policy
You may use laptops in class for note taking or other class related purposes. Laptops should not be used for activities that would be a distraction to nearby students when your screen is in their line of sight (e.g. sports, instagram, etc.)
Cold Calling
I teach in a fairly conversational style, which includes cold calling students to ask for your input or to pose questions. If you’d rather I not cold call on you please let me know on the first day of class so that I can avoid doing so. I have deep respect for individual learning styles and will make accommodations when needed.
Required Materials
The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback by Dan Olsen (physical copy recommended, $25 or less). Text and audio also available for free for BYU students digitally at O’Reilly books.
Laptop or desktop (Mac or Windows)
Paid account to at least 1 AI tool of your choosing.
All other materials are provided for free on the course website.
Getting Help
The following resources are available to get help: - Start with AI chat bots and the course website to see if they can assist - Use the course Slack channel to ask classmates for help - Attend TA or Professor office hours (coming soon) - Use Slack or email to contact one of the course TAs - Use Slack or email to contact Professor Murff
Pre-enrollment Assessment
Coming soon.