Library › Operations AI › Project managers
Ask five precise questions about the vague phrases in a draft SOP
- For Project managers
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Advanced
About this exercise
Write a prompt for exactly 5 numbered questions about a draft SOP. Each question quotes one vague phrase from the draft in quotation marks and asks one precise question that would make it measurable. Skip steps that are already specific. Plain text, under 120 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Questioning clear steps. The AI asks about the 24-hour rule or the A-bin. Try: Say: "Skip steps that are already specific."
- Not quoting the phrase. The AI asks general questions about the SOP. Try: Say: "Quote one vague phrase in quotation marks in each question."
- Double questions. The AI asks who and how long in one question. Try: Say: "Ask ONE precise question per phrase."
- Getting markdown back. AI adds bold, headings and bullets by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted. Try: Say "plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks".
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands over the limit. Try: Cap each part instead of the total, for example "each line under 15 words".
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets the count
- Asks to quote the phrase
- Asks for measurable answers
- Skips specific steps
- Asks for plain text
Related exercises
- Accrue unpaid wages for the working days after the last pay period (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Age a returns queue in business days and flag the ones over the limit (Customer Support & Success AI · Customer support teams)
- Alert sales to a competitor's price change, facts only (Research & AI Search · Product managers)
- Annualize recurring revenue without the one-time fee (Data AI · Finance and accounting)
- Answer a credit dispute with the full-hour rule and the math (Customer Support & Success AI · Customer support teams)