{"id":"fpa-span-of-control-lines","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"verification","level":"intermediate","title":"Compute span of control and compare it with the target range","free":false,"task":"You're reporting span of control for the organization. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Span of control:\", \"Target range:\" and \"Gap to low end:\", each with the math. Span of control is individual contributors divided by managers. Facts only: no comment on reorganizing or on any person. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering. Say \"individual contributors\"; never use the words direct reports, team size or ratio.","materialLabel":"Headcount by role and target range (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"SPAN OF CONTROL INPUTS - Finance and Operations division, Nov 2026, Millbrook Foods\n\nManagers (people with direct reports): 6\nIndividual contributors (no direct reports): 30\nTotal people: 36\n\nTarget range set by HR and the CFO: 6 to 8 individual contributors per manager.\n\nMethod: span of control = individual contributors / managers. Gap to low end = low end of the target minus the span.\n\nNotes: there is a rumor that two managers will be merged into one role. Nothing has been announced or decided, and this calculation is about the current organization. Total people is shown for reference and is not the numerator.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the three lines","patterns":["span of control","target range","gap to low end"]},{"label":"Gives the formula","patterns":["individual contributors / managers","30 / 6"]},{"label":"Gives the gap","patterns":["6\\.0 - 5\\.0","low end"]},{"label":"Bans the rumor","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*(rumor|reorgani)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using total people","why":"The AI divides 36 by 6 and gets 6.0.","fix":"Say: \"Span = individual contributors / managers (30 / 6).\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Mentioning the merger","why":"The AI discusses merging two managers.","fix":"Add: \"Do not mention rumors, mergers or reorganizing.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Gap in the wrong direction","why":"The AI shows a negative gap or compares to the high end.","fix":"Add: \"Gap to low end = low end minus the span.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Markdown extras","why":"The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for.\"","checks":["plainText","maxBullets"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits.","fix":"Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"Span of control counts the right people over managers. State the formula and ban the rumor.","rubricLabels":["The line starting \"Span of control:\" shows 30 / 6 = 5.0","The line starting \"Target range:\" shows 6 to 8 and the line starting \"Gap to low end:\" shows 6.0 - 5.0 = 1.0","The output never mentions the rumor, merging managers or reorganizing, and never uses the words direct reports, team size or ratio"]}