Multi stage assistants
How to build an AI tutor that walks students through a case in steps, one stage at a time.
A Multi stage assistant walks students through a case in order. You write each step, called a stage. You also say when the tutor moves on. Start with Single stage first. Come here when you want a guided walkthrough.
Single stage or Multi stage
- Single stage gives one set of instructions for every chat. It suits questions, revision and office hours.
- Multi stage follows steps in a set order. It suits a Porter's Five Forces case or a DCF tutorial.
Create one
In your course, click Assistants, then Create Assistant. Choose Multi stage on the first step. The wizard has five steps.
- Basics: Name, Description, Mode and Access Level. See access levels.
- Purpose & Report: Purpose and Final Report Definition are required. The final report is what a student ends with, like "a Porter's analysis with one paragraph per force". Detailed Example and Concise Example load a sample.
- Rules & Approach: Global Rules, Tutoring Approach and Reasoning Questions. All are optional. Reasoning Questions are questions the tutor asks itself, not the student.
- Conversation: add at least one starter.
- Summary: click Create Assistant.
Add your stages
Creating the tutor makes one stage, Context Gathering. It asks students about their role and goal. You add and connect the rest.
- Open your tutor and click Stages in the left menu.
- Click the + button (Create stage). Fill in the boxes below. Click Create Stage.
- Drag a line from one stage to the next on the canvas.
- Click Save changes in the Unsaved changes bar.
Give a stage two or more connections and SLAN asks how to choose. Type @ to name a stage, like "If the student picked a company, go to @Rate the forces".
What goes in a stage
| Box | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name * | A short label. Other stages refer to it. | "Rate the forces" |
| Description | One line for the stage list. | "The student rates each force and explains why." |
| Related Frameworks | Your frameworks this stage uses. | A Porter's Five Forces framework |
| Instructions * | What the tutor does in this stage. | "Ask the student to rate each force and give a reason." |
| Criteria of Done | What the student must show before moving on. Click Add Criteria Item. | "All five forces have a rating and a reason." |
| What Can Go Wrong | Common slips the tutor watches for. Click Add Item. | "Students mix up rivalry and new entrants." |
| Switching Logic | When to move to which stage. You edit it in the side panel. | "If the student states a recommendation, go to @Final memo." |
Link a framework to a stage
- Click the stage, then click Edit.
- Under Related Frameworks, click Select Frameworks. Tick your frameworks. Click Done.
- Click Update Stage. The toast says to deploy.
- If the Unsaved changes bar is showing, click Save changes.
- Click Deploy on the assistant page to publish your changes.
SLAN refuses to delete a framework that a stage uses. Remove it from the stage first. The screen may still say the delete worked.
Go back to an older version
With two or more versions, a small v button appears at the top right of the stages canvas. Open it. Pick an older version. Click Restore version. SLAN saves the old one as a new version. Nothing is lost.
Upgrade a Single stage tutor
Open a Single stage tutor. Click the arrow next to Edit, then Upgrade to multi-stage. Fill in Final output definition and the first stage, then click Upgrade. SLAN makes a new assistant. Your original stays as it was.