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Convert workload hours to FTE and show the staffing gap

  • For FP&A and financial analysts
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're sizing a team from workload hours. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Productive hours per FTE:", "FTE needed:", "Current FTE:" and "Gap:", each with the math to two decimals. Productive hours per FTE is 2,080 paid hours minus 260 hours of holidays and leave. Don't mention overtime or contractors. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering. Say FTE; never use the words headcount, heads or staff.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Dividing by 2,080. The AI uses paid hours and gets 3.00 FTE needed. Try: Say: "Productive hours = 2,080 - 260."
  • Suggesting overtime or contractors. The AI proposes covering the gap with a contractor. Try: Add: "Do not mention overtime or contractors."
  • Wrong rounding. The AI shows 3.4 or 3.429. Try: Add: "Two decimals."
  • Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the four lines
  • Subtracts leave
  • Asks for two decimals
  • Bans side topics
  • Caps length

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