Barely Artificial · Showcase
See how we'd build your course
A short, interactive demo of how Barely Artificial designs and builds a bespoke training course, running on the same engine we build for clients. About 10 minutes, start to finish.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser. No account, no email required, and no data is sent anywhere. It's only used to personalise this demo while you're looking at it.
Welcome back

Hi there

Three short modules. Each one is built with a real technique we use on client work, so you're seeing our process, not just hearing about it.

By the end of this demo you'll be able to
  • Explain how a Barely Artificial course goes from "we need to train people on X" to a finished, working course
  • Recognise the design decisions, structure, evaluation variety, accessibility, visual identity, that we build into every course
  • See, first-hand, three different ways a course can check understanding, not just multiple choice
  • Know what happens after handover: testing, deployment, and support
0%
0 of 3 modules complete
Your notes

Everything you jotted down

Each module has a notes box. Anything you type there is saved to this browser and collected here, the same recap page every course we build ends with.

Module 1 of 3 ~2 min

How This Works

By the end of this module: you'll know your way around this course, and you'll have picked a learning style so the rest of the demo can show off how we design around it.

Before we get into anything about course design, a quick word on what you're actually looking at.

The sidebar, the progress ring on the dashboard, the module cards, the print button, the read-aloud button, all of it is the same production system we build every client course on. There's no separate "marketing version" of our tooling. If your course ends up looking and behaving like this one, that's not a coincidence, it's the default.

A few things worth knowing

  • Your progress saves automatically in this browser as you go. Close the tab and come back, you'll pick up where you left off.
  • Nothing is sent anywhere. There's no login and no backend for this demo, which is also true for plenty of client courses, single self-contained file, works anywhere.
  • You can jump between modules freely using the sidebar. Nothing is locked.
  • Try the Read aloud button at the bottom of this module. It uses your browser's built-in narration, not a recorded voiceover, so it works for any content we write without extra production time.

Pick how you like to learn

Different people take in new information differently. Some want the reasoning first, some want to jump straight in. Pick the one that sounds most like you, we'll use it in Module 2 to show you what that actually looks like in practice.

Module 2 of 3 ~6 min

Building Your Course

By the end of this module: you'll know the process we run for every course, from first conversation to finished content, and you'll have tried two of the ways we check understanding.

It starts with a conversation, not a template

Notice the form you filled in before this demo started. Three fields, two of them optional. That's deliberate: we only ask what we'll actually use. The same rule applies to a real project. We don't run a 40-question discovery questionnaire because it looks thorough, we ask what changes the design, and we start there.

1. DiscoveryWhat's the goal, who's the audience, what constraints exist
2. JustificationWhy this training needs to exist at all, not training for its own sake
3. OutcomesWhat the learner can DO afterwards, defined before a word of content is written
4. ContentSourced from real documentation and your subject-matter experts, checked, not invented
5. EvaluationA mix of exercise types chosen to fit what's being taught

Why we design this way

Theorist: why it's built this way

Every module we write is anchored to a defined learning outcome before the copy starts. That sounds obvious, but it's the single biggest difference between training that sticks and training that's just information dumped onto a page. If we can't say what someone will be able to do afterwards, we don't write the section yet.

Activist: jump straight in

You're already doing it. The matching exercise below is exactly the kind of thing we'd drop into a real course, no explanation needed, just try it and see if it clicks.

Reflector: look back before moving on

After every module, we ask what actually stuck, that's what the notes box at the bottom is for. On a real project, that same instinct shows up as a short recap or reflection point before each new topic.

Pragmatist: the one thing to remember

Courses that vary how they test understanding get finished. Courses that are wall-to-wall multiple choice get abandoned halfway through. Variety isn't decoration, it's what keeps people going.

Try it: matching exercise
Match the stage to what it actually produces
Click one item on the left, then its match on the right.
Process stage
What it produces
0 of 5 matched

Same design, tailored to your brand

The layout, navigation and interaction patterns you're using right now are reusable. What changes per client is everything on top: colour, type, tone of voice, imagery. Here's the same course engine wearing three different skins.

Module 3: Safe HandlingClinical training skin
Calm, precise tone
Module 2: On the Shop FloorRetail onboarding skin
Warm, energetic tone
Module 5: Reporting DutiesFinancial compliance skin
Formal, exact tone

Accessibility isn't an add-on

  • Read-aloud is built into every module using the browser's own speech engine, no recorded audio to re-do when copy changes.
  • Every exercise type we use, including the sequencing exercise coming up in Module 3, is fully operable by keyboard. No dragging required.
  • Colour is never the only signal, text, icons and labels always carry the same information a colour does.
  • No heavy framework, no build step, which also means the course loads fast on a warehouse tablet or a phone with patchy signal.
Quick check
Three short questions on what you've just read
1. What does Barely Artificial define before writing any course content?
Learning outcomes come first. Everything else, content, exercises, visuals, is built to serve them.
2. Why mix quizzes, sequencing, matching and hotspot exercises instead of just using quizzes?
Right, every addition has to earn its place. Variety for its own sake is decoration; variety that fits the content is design.
3. Where does the actual content in a Barely Artificial course come from?
Accuracy is checked against your own sources, never invented, even when invented would sound plausible.
Module 3 of 3 ~4 min

Testing, Delivery & Handover

By the end of this module: you'll know what happens after content is written, and what you actually receive when a project finishes.

We test in the open, one log, everyone on it

Before anything ships, it gets tested against a single shared log, usually a spreadsheet the client can see too, not a private bug tracker they only hear about secondhand. Issues get raised, batched, and resolved in rounds rather than trickling in one at a time. It's slower to look impressive on day one and much faster to actually finish.

Reflector: why log-first works

A shared log means nothing gets fixed twice and nothing gets forgotten. It also means you, the client, can see exactly what's outstanding at any point, instead of taking our word for "nearly done".

Try it: sequencing exercise
Put these project stages in the right order
Use the up and down arrows, no dragging needed, this exercise is fully keyboard operable.
1Content and visuals are built into the course
2Discovery call: goal, audience and constraints agreed
3Course is deployed and handed over, with support in place
4Client and Barely Artificial test together against a shared log

What you actually receive

  • A single, self-contained course file (or a small set of them), no proprietary platform lock-in, no per-seat licence fees to us.
  • Works on any device with a browser, no app install, no login required for your learners unless you want one.
  • Hosting is flexible: on your own site, on ours, or handed over as a file for your LMS. Your call.
  • Support after handover for fixes and content updates as your product or process changes.
Pragmatist: the one thing to remember

You're not locked into us to keep the course running. You own the file. If you never call us again, it still works.

Last one
Two quick questions, then your certificate
1. How does Barely Artificial track issues during testing?
A shared log keeps both sides honest about what's actually left to do.
2. What do you receive when a course is handed over?
You own what you're handed. Support afterwards is optional, not a condition of it working.