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Assign weekend coverage fairly with a clear tie rule

  • For Managers and team leads
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Assign the four weekends in order. Rules: give each weekend to the available person with the fewest weekends so far (update the count after each weekend), break ties alphabetically, and never give someone two weekends in a row. Output a table with the header Weekend | Person | Their total after, one row per weekend, then a last line "Final totals:" listing all four people and their totals. Plain text, under 80 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Ignoring the leave. The AI gives Cy the last weekend. Try: Say: "Only available people; Cy is on leave Nov 29-30."
  • Skipping the no-consecutive rule. The AI gives Dee two weekends in a row. Try: Say: "Never give someone two weekends in a row."
  • Not updating counts. The AI uses the starting counts for every weekend. Try: Say: "Update the count after each weekend."
  • Wrong table. The AI adds columns. Try: Say: "Exactly this header and four rows."
  • Markdown. The AI bolds names. Try: Say: "Plain text."
  • 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

  • Gives the header
  • Fewest weekends rule
  • Tie rule and no back-to-back
  • Availability
  • Final totals line

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