Becoming a Systems PersonRidgeline Outdoor Co. · fictional

From “our developer” to the person who owns the systems.

A written course for developers. You join Ridgeline Outdoor Co., a fictional outdoor-gear retailer, as its new systems person. Over 15 modules and a capstone you’ll connect its tools, fix the data, automate the decisions, watch it all run, and put AI to work with guardrails. Principles first, with Claude Code as the worked example.

Read Module 1 free Get the course

New to code? Module 0 teaches programming with Python and JavaScript side by side, and Get set up walks you through installing everything, step by step. Both free.

The app is the front face of the infrastructure.

Behind every screen at Ridgeline sit 13 systems, owned by different people. A layer developer builds one of them. A systems person knows how they all fit, and keeps them honest.

THE ROUTE16 modules and a capstoneModules 0 and 1 are free
  1. 00Free6 hProgramming basicsOptional. Programming, not a language: Python and JavaScript side by side.
  2. 01Free2 hThe app is the front faceMap every system behind Ridgeline's apps, and who owns each one.
  3. 023 hThink in productsWrite the spec from the problem up, after checking the data.
  4. 033 hPlug AI into real systemsConnect your AI to the warehouse and repo, read-only, with rules.
  5. 043 hLearn any business fastDocument a warehouse, ship finance a dashboard, learn freight by lunch.
  6. 054 hWrite code like a seniorTurn a messy script into typed, tested, reviewable PRs.
  7. 064 hChange production safelyDry run, backup, verify, roll back. Change a live rule by script.
  8. 074 hIntegrationsA webhook receiver that rejects bad signatures and never loses an event.
  9. 084 hData you can trustFind the bug that made Ridgeline's reports lie, and prove the fix.
  10. 093 hAutomationRoute by data, not names. Cover for someone, and switch back on its own.
  11. 103 hObservabilityMonitor outcomes, not exit codes, per account, with a heartbeat.
  12. 114 hAI inside products and workflowsSQL does the facts, AI does the words. Roll out a chatbot safely.
  13. 126 hShip the app as part of the systemAuth, demo mode, error tracking, a health check. Live.
  14. 133 hKnowledge as infrastructureDocs that people and their AIs read, and that stay current.
  15. 146 hThe AI toolkitMemory, hooks, skills, schedules, subagents: your own AI operating system.
  16. 153 hOwn the outcomeReports, SOPs and the habits that earn you the keys.
  17. Capstone2 wkCapstone: fix it and prove it“Our biggest customer says they're ignored. Fix it and prove it.”

Every card, the same shape

Read a section, switch to your editor, do the work, come back. Each module is one card, built to sit next to your terminal and your AI agent.

  1. 1The ideaOne principle, in plain words.
  2. 2The Ridgeline scenarioWhere it bites at a real-feeling company.
  3. 3How AI helpsPrompts you can copy, and what to check.
  4. 4The trapThe mistake the lesson exists to prevent.
  5. 5ExerciseReal work against the starter kit.
  6. 6Your turnA focused problem, with hints one step at a time.
  7. 7Self-checkStamp each item when it's true.
  8. 8Answer keyOpens after you submit. Effort first.

A job, not a quiz

The course comes with the Ridgeline starter kit, so the exercises feel like a real first month:

  • A seeded warehouse: orders, tickets, invoices, ad spend, returns, rentals.
  • Stub systems to change safely: a helpdesk, a wholesale portal, carriers, a returns app.
  • Bugs planted where real ones hide, and a story date so the numbers check out.
  • Runnable code in the browser for the beginner and coding modules.
  • Progress and self-checks saved to your account.

Every trap in Ridgeline happened in real work, somewhere. Only the company is made up.

A note from the author

This is the course I wish I’d had when I stopped being “the developer” and started being asked why the numbers were wrong. It’s about the work around the code: the systems, the data and the people. I hope it saves you a few of the lessons I learned the hard way.

Increase-Chris Alaede

GET THE COURSE

All 16 modules, the capstone and the starter kit.

  • 15 cards beyond the free ones, with answer keys
  • The Ridgeline starter kit
  • Your progress saved as you go
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