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List questions for a retiring teammate about undocumented duties

  • For Managers and team leads
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Write a handover checklist with exactly 4 lines in plain text, each starting with [ ]. Cover only duties that have no written documentation, one question per line, each starting "Ask Walt:" followed by a question under 18 words that names the system or task. Order the lines by how soon the duty next happens, soonest first. Today is Nov 6.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Including documented duties. The AI adds the FTP upload. Try: Say: "Cover only duties with no written documentation."
  • Wrong order. The AI keeps the list order. Try: Say: "Order by how soon the duty next happens, soonest first."
  • Statements instead of questions. The AI writes instructions. Try: Say: "Each line starts Ask Walt: and is a question."
  • Wrong count. The AI writes 7 lines, one per duty. Try: Say: "Exactly 4 lines."
  • Markdown. The AI uses a markdown checklist. Try: Say: "Plain text; lines start with [ ]."
  • 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 part instead, for example: "each line under 15 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Line format
  • Undocumented only
  • Order by date
  • Question length
  • Gives today's date

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