A mixed-initiative workflow with explicit authority, handoff, explanation, and escalation states.
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Mental Models and Mixed Initiative
Help people understand what the system can do, what it cannot, and who acts next.
Design initiative, delegation, explanation, collaboration, and handoffs between people and agents.
Mental-model study, initiative map, handoff trace, explanation test, and revised workflow.
Mixed-Initiative State and Authority Modeler
Class requirement: create or sign in to your Alternate Clouds account, deploy the Mixed-Initiative State and Authority Modeler template, and submit its live URL before the class is marked complete.
Create your Alternate Clouds account ↗Copyright and rights clearance
Use only work you own or are authorized to use.
Every submission needs a source-and-license manifest covering text, code, images, audio, video, fonts, datasets, models, weights, and AI reference inputs. Attribution alone is not permission. Questionable material stays private or is replaced before deployment or showcase.
Ask about rights clearance01The model people build+
Study what users believe the system knows, remembers, wants, and controls.
Applied exercise
Elicit a mental model before and after use and compare the gap.
02The initiative spectrum+
Place suggestion, co-creation, delegation, autonomy, and approval according to consequence.
Applied exercise
Map who initiates, decides, executes, and verifies each step.
03Human–agent handoff+
Preserve context and accountability when work moves between a person, agent, and specialist.
Applied exercise
Trigger an escalation and measure what the receiving person still needs.
04Explanation as action+
Design explanations that help someone verify, correct, appeal, or proceed—not narrate model internals.
Applied exercise
Test whether the explanation changes a real decision correctly.
The complete course adds the teaching deck, Alternate Clouds lab, source-bounded guide, review rubric, and instructor feedback.
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