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Write a 3-sentence hours burn readout after a change order
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your director wants a 3-sentence readout on the Corwin project's hours. The client approved a 40-hour change order for Design yesterday, so Design's budget is now 160 hours (not in the tracker yet). Sentence 1: overall hours used ÷ budget. Sentence 2: each phase's percent used. Sentence 3: the phase closest to its budget. Whole percents, plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not mentioning the change order. The tracker doesn't have it, so the AI reports Design 25% over. Try: Add: "Design's budget is now 160 hours after a change order."
- Leaving the shape open. The AI writes a status report with headings and risks. Try: Say: "Exactly 3 sentences: overall, each phase, closest to budget."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each sentence: "each sentence under 20 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in your director's email. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Mentions the change order
- Says what each sentence holds
- Asks to show the math
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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