{"id":"pm-priority-shift-eng-post","audience":"product-managers","category":"writing-emails","track":"writing","technique":"audience","title":"Tell engineers what stops and starts after a priority shift","free":false,"task":"Leadership changed Q1 priorities, and you're posting the change in your team's Slack channel for 9 engineers. You want exactly 4 numbered lines labeled Stop:, Start:, Keep: and Ask:, in that order, each one sentence, plain text. Use the corrected project name (the first note named the wrong one), and keep out the confidential board and revenue details the engineers don't need.","materialLabel":"Your notes from the leadership meeting (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Notes - leadership sync, Mon Jan 6 (Tallyroom)\n\n- Board meeting last week was rough. Q4 net revenue retention 94%, below the 100% target. CONFIDENTIAL - don't share numbers outside the leadership group.\n- Decision: retention is the Q1 focus. Pause the billing migration starting today.\n  CORRECTION (from Jen, 2 hrs later): Not billing migration. Pause the SEARCH REINDEX project. Billing migration continues, finance needs it by March.\n- Start: \"renewal risk\" alerts for account managers. Spec from Priya by Jan 10. Engineering kickoff Jan 13.\n- Mobile app redesign continues as planned, no change.\n- Two people from the search team move to the alerts project. Priya will confirm who with each of them directly before anything is posted.\n- Questions from the team go to Priya. She's holding open office hours Thursday at 2pm in the Larch room.\n- Hiring freeze rumor: NOT true, don't address it unless asked.\n\nMy to-do: update the roadmap doc, tell support lead.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":4},{"type":"maxSentences","max":6},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking for 'an announcement'","why":"The AI writes a friendly multi-paragraph post that buries what changes.","fix":"Show the shape: \"Exactly 4 numbered lines labeled Stop:, Start:, Keep:, Ask:, each one sentence.\"","checks":["numberedItems","maxSentences","plainText"]},{"title":"Missing the correction","why":"The first note says billing migration, and the AI often pauses the wrong project.","fix":"Add: \"Use Jen's correction: we pause the search reindex, not billing.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Leaving out who to ask","why":"The AI ends with 'reach out with questions' and no name or time.","fix":"Add: \"The Ask line names Priya and her Thursday 2pm office hours.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Sharing confidential context","why":"The AI explains the 'why' with the board numbers because they make the post persuasive.","fix":"Add: \"Engineers read this. No revenue numbers, board details, rumors or team moves.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Shows the line labels","patterns":["stop:?","start:?","keep:?"]},{"label":"Says who reads it","patterns":["engineer","slack","team channel"]},{"label":"Uses the correction","patterns":["reindex","correction","not billing"]},{"label":"Keeps confidential details out","patterns":["confidential","no (revenue|numbers|board)","leave out","rumou?r"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"hint":"Engineers need to know exactly what to stop and start, not the boardroom story. Give the AI the line labels, the corrected project, and what must stay private.","rubricLabels":["The Stop line names the search reindex project (not the billing migration), and the 4 lines are labeled Stop:, Start:, Keep: and Ask: in that order","The Start line is the renewal risk alerts project (kickoff Jan 13), and the Keep line covers the billing migration and/or mobile redesign continuing; the Ask line names Priya and Thursday 2pm office hours","Leaves out the confidential retention numbers, the board meeting, the hiring freeze rumor and the names or count of people moving teams"]}