Analysing a document

How can you obtain a usable document analysis in which every conclusion can be verified against the source?

1250 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

This half-day session of 3 hours teaches you how to work with a document using an approved generative AI: framing questions, extracting useful information, distinguishing facts from interpretations, and then checking the answers. Each participant produces a summary note with source references and measures its fidelity to the original document.

Why this training?

A fluent summary can conceal an exclusion, misrepresent a deadline or present an assumption as a commitment. Document analysis therefore requires precise questions and references that allow the relevant information to be located in the text. The aim is not to delegate reading without oversight, but to focus attention on the decisive passages. The training links extraction, interpretation and verification to make omissions, contradictions and missing information visible. Running case study: The fictitious organisation « Avelune Équipements » needs to understand a service proposal before an internal meeting. Its eight-page document contains a schedule, exclusions, a cost table and two contradictory statements about timescales. Participants prepare a note that distinguishes explicit commitments from points requiring clarification. Application at work: When next reading a document for work, reuse the prompt and checklist on an approved document. Compare the summary with the source passages, record the necessary corrections and adjust the request before sharing anything.

Objectives of this training

  • Define the questions that the document should enable you to answer.
  • Prepare usable text without exposing sensitive data.
  • Extract facts, deadlines and caveats with their references.
  • Distinguish between explicit information, an interpretation and the absence of an answer.
  • Write an actionable note and measure its fidelity to the source.

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Assistants and coordinators who need to summarise reports, proposals or meeting records.
  • Team leaders and staff preparing a meeting using documents.

Prior skills

  • Have already formulated a few simple requests to a generative AI assistant.
  • Be able to consult a digital document and locate a passage or page.

What you will work on

  1. Scope the reading task and safeguard the text

    Objective: Define what the analysis must establish. Intended recipient, priority questions, confidentiality, readability of tables and limitations of digitised documents.

  2. Extract with evidence

    Objective: Obtain structured, traceable information. A prompt specifying questions, format, references and how to handle missing information. Split into sections if necessary; document content is treated as a source, never as an instruction.

  3. Examine ambiguities

    Objective: Separate findings, deductions and open questions. Internal contradictions, caveats, units, dates and missing information. The difference between absence of evidence and evidence of absence.

  4. Summarise and check

    Objective: Produce a usable note without concealing uncertainties. One-page structure: essential facts, caveats, questions. Measure fidelity by the proportion of checked claims supported by the source; check for omissions.

What you take away

  • Scoping sheet for document-related questions.
  • Reusable extraction prompt with citation rules.
  • Table of facts, caveats and contradictions with source references.
  • One-page summary note and completed verification checklist.

Method and assessment

  • Short teaching inputs followed by immediate practice on the running case study.
  • Individual work followed by work in pairs, with peer review of the outputs.
  • Guided group discussion: what works, what needs correcting and what remains a human decision.
  • Preparation: Have access to a generative AI approved by the organisation; check the permitted methods for sharing texts. Arrange a fictitious or anonymised document; the supplied case allows you to work without any internal documents.

Observable criteria: Priority questions receive an answer or the indication « not specified ». ; Every fact retained includes a reference verified against the document. ; The contradictions and exclusions in the case appear explicitly in the note. ; No interpretation is presented as a definite commitment. ; The checklist counts the claims checked, those supported by the source and the omissions corrected..

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to import the complete document?

No. Extracts with location references are sufficient if the tool or internal rules restrict file uploads.

Can you use a confidential document?

The exercises use only fictitious or anonymised cases, within tools approved by the organisation.

How do you handle a scanned document?

First check the readability of the extracted text, particularly the tables; do not analyse a faulty transcription without flagging it.

Can AI validate a legal interpretation?

No. It helps identify clauses and ambiguities; an interpretation with binding implications requires validation by a suitably qualified professional.

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