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Build a staffing gap table that accounts for approved leave

  • For Operations and supply chain
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You manage a dock team and need to see where next week is short. Write a prompt for a markdown table with the columns Shift, Needed, Available and Gap, one row per shift. Available means scheduled minus anyone on approved leave that day. Gap is Needed minus Available, with overstaffed shifts as negative numbers. After the table add one line, "Total short: N", counting only the shifts that are short (do not net out overstaffed ones). Nothing else.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Ignoring approved leave. The AI trusts the schedule and counts Priya Nair on Wednesday. Try: Say: "Available = scheduled minus anyone on approved leave that day."
  • Netting overstaffing. The AI subtracts the extra person on Tuesday from the total. Try: Say: "Total short counts only shifts that are short; do not net out overstaffed ones."
  • Not a table. The AI writes a paragraph or a list. Try: Name the four columns and say one row per shift.
  • 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

  • Names the four columns
  • Subtracts approved leave
  • Handles overstaffed shifts
  • Defines the total line
  • Sets a length limit

Practice this now ↑

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