# The lecture structure

> How a lecture runs: one live demo launched on the premise you set and left running, two check-ins where you push it further, and Q&A to close

The lecture is one half of the week's rhythm; the
[crit](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/topics/studio-crit-model/) is the other. It runs to the same shape every
week, so the format costs you nothing after week 1. For times, rooms and the
decks themselves, see the [lectures page](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/lectures/).

## The shape

1. opener: you set the demo's premise, and it's set running
2. agentic concept block
3. first check-in: the demo is revealed, and you push it further
4. web concept block
5. second check-in: the demo is revealed again, and you push it once more
6. closer: the next crit's provocation
7. Q&A

The structured content runs around ninety minutes; Q&A takes what's left.

From week 9, you spend more lecture time on your final project. In weeks 9 and
10, you get a brief introduction to the web topic in the lecture and the full
explanation on its topic page. Week 11 is a guest lecture from
[Tom Griffiths](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/people/tom-griffiths/), one of the course tutors, presenting
his own material --- so there is no demo and no check-ins that week. Week 12 has
no lecture: the Thursday 11am slot hosts an optional seminar instead,
[Scientific Research in the Age of Gen AI](https://events.humanitix.com/gen-ai-pannel-2026)
(Hanna Neumann 1.33; register only if you're going), and Friday 30 October,
1--3pm, is a final-project drop-in in the usual lecture room.

## One demo, one run

Every lecture with a demo uses a single live one on a real repo, launched near
the start and still running at the closer. Most weeks it starts from a
[hall of fame](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/hof/) pick, and the class identifies the premise --- what it
will build --- before anything runs.

Live means live. Nothing is staged or rehearsed, every prompt is composed on the
spot, and some weeks the demo goes sideways; the recovery is usually worth more
than the plan would have been.

Twice per lecture, the convenor pauses the slides and asks the class to take
over. You see what the agent has done, get half a minute with the person next to
you, then answer the standing question: "yes, and" --- how can the premise go
further? The convenor types and runs one suggestion, so everyone watches the
same unplanned experiment. Weird suggestions are the good ones.

Following along in your own clone of the
[lecture-demos repo](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/topics/lecture-demos/) is welcome, and a laptop is worth
bringing for it, but you can participate without one.

## The record

Lectures are captured by the standard ANU AV setup and the recordings are
published on [Canvas](https://canvas.anu.edu.au). Within 24 hours, a cleaned-up
transcript of the demo's Claude Code session is published alongside the deck and
a PDF of the slides. Both are linked from that week's post on
[Ed Discussion](https://edstem.org).

The microphones record the front of the room reliably. Neighbour discussions
during the check-ins and much of the Q&A happen off-microphone, so the recording
captures them poorly or not at all. The deck does not include those discussions.

The PDF is the deck as delivered and doesn't change. The deck on this site is
kept current, so it may have gained corrections, citations, examples and
diagrams since the lecture.

Lectures are not marked. If you miss one, catching up is on you: watch the
recording, read the deck and transcript, and bring what's still unclear to Ed or
your next crit.

Source: <https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/comp4020-agentic-coding-studio/topics/lecture-structure/>\
Licence: [CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)\
Cite as: Swift, B. (2026). _COMP4020/COMP8020 Agentic Coding Studio_ [Course materials]. ANU School of Computing. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21395760
