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Separate decisions from open questions after a review

Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

After a messy product review, you need a decision log for the team wiki. Write exactly 5 numbered lines, each starting 'Decided:' or 'Open:', with every decided item first and naming its owner, under 90 words, plain text. Use the final version of anything that changed during the meeting, and don't invent owners for open items.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Asking for 'meeting notes'. The AI writes a recap with headings for attendees, discussion and next steps. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 5 numbered lines starting Decided: or Open:. 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 line instead: "each line under 16 words."
  • Mixing decided and open. The AI follows the order people spoke, so decisions and questions are tangled. Try: Add: "All Decided lines first, each with its owner, then the Open lines."
  • Using the first number. The beta size changed mid-meeting, and the AI may keep 20. Try: Add: "Use the final version of anything that changed (the beta is 30 customers)."
  • Filling in an owner. AI likes complete-looking logs and may assign the help center rewrite to someone. Try: Add: "Don't invent owners. If nobody owns it, say so."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Shows the line labels
  • Puts decisions first
  • Uses final versions
  • Forbids invented owners
  • Sets a word limit

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