Before you begin
Open the existing project so your instruction is grounded in the current app.
Write the instruction from the user’s perspective, then state the exact result you want to inspect.
Write the instruction
Before a major prompt, check these ten items
1. Primary user
2. Job they need to finish
3. Trigger that starts the workflow
4. Inputs and source of truth
5. Steps or rules
6. Required output fields
7. What a good result looks like
8. Examples
9. Prohibited behavior
10. Fallback when the system is uncertain
Then add scope control
“For this change, keep [working areas] unchanged.”
And completion control
“Before building, summarize the plan and identify any assumption that could materially change the result.”
You do not need all ten items for every small edit. Use the full checklist when you are creating a new workflow, changing data architecture, adding an AI decision, or preparing for production.
Common mistakes
Treating the checklist as a requirement to answer every question in the first prompt.
Copying generic language without adapting it to the workflow.
Skipping the success and failure criteria.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a prompt be?
Long enough to define the user, job, input, rules, output, and important constraints. Clear structure matters more than word count.
Can I make several changes in one prompt?
Small related changes can be combined, but changes to different systems are easier to test and recover when requested separately.