Introduction to IBM Bob Workshops¶
Accelerate Your Work with Agentic AI¶
Welcome to the IBM Bob Workshop series! These hands-on workshops demonstrate how IBM Bob, an agentic AI assistant, can transform work through practical exercises. Whether you're a student, educator, IBM professional, or external participant, we have a workshop designed for you.
What is Bob?¶
Bob is an agentic AI assistant that goes beyond traditional chatbots. While regular AI assistants answer questions and provide information, Bob can:
- Take autonomous actions to complete tasks
- Create and modify files independently
- Break down complex problems into executable steps
- Use tools to read, write, and analyze code
- Iterate and refine based on results and feedback
Workshop Tracks¶
Choose the workshop that best fits your experience level and goals:
🎓 TechTrek Workshop (90 minutes)¶
Fun with AI: Create Cool Stuff with Bob!
Perfect for students in grades 6-8 who want to see AI in action. Work in teams to create games, websites, and interactive projects using creative prompts. No coding experience needed!
🚀 High School Workshop (90 minutes)¶
From Design Thinking to Agentic AI - EDT Edition
Designed for high school students interested in technology and AI. Learn how AI agents work, create interactive projects, and explore real-world applications of agentic AI.
💼 IBM Employee Workshop (60 minutes)¶
Accelerate Your Work with Agentic AI
For IBM developers, architects, consultants, and technical leaders. Experience Bob through guided demonstrations, then explore Bob's capabilities with your own work challenges in a personalized hands-on session.
🌐 External Audience Workshop (60 minutes)¶
Meet Bob: Agentic AI in Action
Mixed-audience workshop for developers, managers, executives, and college-level educators. Learn what makes Bob agentic, complete role-based exercises, and explore practical uses of AI-assisted work.
Start External Audience Workshop →
⚡ IBM Bob Power User Workshop (55–60 minutes)¶
Tips, Tools, and Team Workflows
For IBM employees who have used Bob before and want to go deeper. Covers global and project rules, skills, MCP, and Bob Shell — with hands-on exercises for building a dashboard, analyzing a GitHub repo, creating a skill, and designing a team workflow.
🧪 Optional Lab (30–45 minutes)¶
Student Concierge App (SJSU Edition)
Optional SJSU-specific follow-on lab for student or developer audiences who want a longer, more technical application-building exercise.
About These Workshops¶
These workshops span student, educator, professional, and mixed external audience formats.
Each workshop is designed to be:
- Hands-on: Learn by doing with practical exercises
- Interactive: Work with Bob to create real projects
- Engaging: See immediate results from your prompts
- Educational: Understand how agentic AI works and its applications
Agenda¶
| Lab 0: Pre-work | Setup and prerequisites for the workshops |
| Lab 1: TechTrek Workshop | Team-based demonstration format (90 minutes) |
| Lab 2: High School Workshop (EDT Edition) | Design thinking to AI implementation (90 minutes) |
| Lab 3: IBM Employee Workshop | Professional development acceleration (60 minutes) |
| Lab 4: Take Your Child to Work Day | Parent-child AI adventure (30 minutes) |
| Lab 5: IBM PM Workshop | Accelerate PM work with agentic AI (60 minutes) |
| Lab 6: Silicon Valley Leadership Group Workshop | Mixed-audience workshop for developers, PMs, executives, and educators (60 minutes guided workshop + 30-minute presentation) |
| Lab 7: IBM Bob Power User Workshop | Advanced tips, tools, and team workflows for IBM employees with prior Bob experience (55–60 minutes) |
| Optional Lab: Student Concierge App (SJSU Edition) | Optional SJSU-specific follow-on lab for student or developer audiences (30–45 minutes) |
What You'll Learn¶
Core Concepts¶
- Understanding agentic AI vs. traditional chatbots
- How AI agents use tools to accomplish tasks
- Writing effective prompts for AI assistants
- Iterating and refining AI-generated outputs
Practical Skills¶
- Creating interactive web applications
- Analyzing and improving existing code
- Generating documentation and reports
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Working collaboratively with AI
Real-World Applications¶
- Rapid prototyping and development
- Code review and quality assessment
- Technical documentation generation
- Test automation and data generation
- DevOps and deployment automation
Compatibility¶
These workshops have been tested with:
- IBM Bob: Latest version with VS Code extension
- Operating Systems: macOS, Windows 11, Linux
- Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge (for viewing created projects)
Technology Used¶
- IBM Bob: Agentic AI assistant with autonomous tool usage
- Web Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript (created by Bob)
- Node.js: For API and backend examples (IBM workshop)
Prerequisites¶
All Workshops¶
- Computer with internet connection
- Web browser for viewing created projects
- Curiosity and willingness to experiment!
TechTrek Workshop¶
- No technical prerequisites
- Instructor will operate Bob
- Students work in teams to create prompts
High School Workshop¶
- Basic computer literacy
- Access to Bob (provided by instructor)
- Laptop for hands-on exercises
IBM Employee Workshop¶
- Bob access configured in VS Code
- Basic familiarity with software development
- Laptop with development environment
External Audience Workshop¶
- Bob access configured in VS Code
- Laptop for hands-on exercises
- Mixed technical backgrounds are supported
IBM Bob Power User Workshop¶
- Bob IDE installed and working
- Prior Bob experience (Lab 3 or equivalent)
- Terminal access for Bob Shell exercises
Getting Started¶
- Choose your workshop based on your experience level
- Complete the pre-work to ensure you're ready
- Bring your creativity and questions
- Have fun exploring what's possible with agentic AI!
Credits¶
- Bob
- James Busche: IBM Research
- Yi-Hong Wang: IBM Research
- Ted Chang: IBM Research
- Nhan Hoang: IBM Research
Ready to experience the future of AI-assisted work? Choose your workshop above and let's get started! 🚀