For the person waiting on someone else to build it

Understanding Software Development Processes and Tools (in the age of AI)

Build the thing yourself, or hand it off so it actually gets built.

A twelve week programme for marketers and product people who want to turn AI tools into real, working software.

You do not need to become a developer to stop waiting on one. USD teaches you to turn a real problem into a clear plan, build a working version with AI, and put it in front of customers to test it, or hand it to a developer with enough clarity that they build it properly and take it further.

Next intake starts 17 September 2026.

Apply now

Why This Programme?

Dave Parsons and Roy Davies lead the programme, with guest experts across the twelve weeks. You work through real projects, using the same AI-assisted process professional developers use today, from the first idea through to something live.

For marketing leaders


You already own the data and the story. This gives you the tools to build the thing yourself, instead of waiting on someone else's roadmap.

For product owners


You already think in requirements and outcomes. This gives you the technical grounding to build a working version before it ever reaches engineering.

For DT graduates


You already have AI fluency. This is the next step, from using AI tools to building real, working software with them.

Your Educators & Advisors

Dave Parsons and Roy Davies lead the programme, with guest experts joining across the twelve weeks.

Dr. David Parsons

David is one of the world's most prolific researchers at the intersection of technology and learning, with over 200 publications and several authored and edited books. An Adjunct Professor at the University of Canterbury with senior academic experience in New Zealand and the UK, he's spent his career exploring how AI and digital technologies reshape education, and building practical frameworks that work in real classrooms and organisations. If you want to know where learning and technology are heading, David has already mapped it.

Learn more about Dave
Dr. Roy Davies

Roy spent 12 years co-running a VR research centre in Sweden where his team built one of the world's earliest healthcare VR applications, helping traumatic brain injury patients relearn daily tasks through virtual environments. Back in Aotearoa, he co-founded Imersia, created the Reality2 decentralised mesh protocol, and is now pioneering "calm technology", systems that genuinely serve people rather than compete for their attention. He's a rare breed: a deep technologist who builds things that make life quieter and better.

Learn more about Roy

Programme Structure

Phase 1

Decide What You Want to Build

Start with the problem you want to solve and the outcome you want to create. Learn how to define clear customer requirements so you know you’re building the right thing before you start.

Phase 2

Create the Prototype

Take your customer requirements and turn them into a working prototype using the same AI-supported process professional developers use today. Build something real enough to put in front of customers and test your idea.

Phase 3

Take It Further

Move beyond a prototype and learn how to make your idea real. Build the foundations for something that can be shared, handed off, improved, and grown into a more robust application or system.

  • Also replace any wording that says “take that logic” with “take your customer requirements”.

  • Please make sure the overall tone is clear, direct, and less abstract.

What You'll Master

You can turn an idea into a working plan

Not a brief someone else interprets. A structured, buildable plan an AI tool can act on directly.


You can build something worth
testing

You'll go from a design to a working product that's actually live, not a mockup, not a demo, something real customers can try and react to.

You can hand off work that actually gets built

Either a live version customers are already using, or a prototype clear enough that a developer can build it properly and grow it across your business. You'll know how to talk to them so it actually happens.

Let’s get started!

Fees & Start Dates

Domestic Student Fees:

$450

International Student Fees:

Not available. Get in touch to learn more.

Available course start dates and session times:
  • 17 Sep 2026 - Thursdays, 5pm - 6:30pm

Duration: 12 weeks

Credential: NZQA Level 8, 15 credits (SDTP8000)

T&Cs apply. Check our FAQs for details.

Apply now

KEY INFORMATION

What you need to know

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