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Make the call on Thursday's launch when the beta data is mixed

  • For Product managers
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

The Boards 3.0 launch is Thursday, Nov 12, and the beta results are mixed. Write the go/no-go memo from you, Dana Cho (PM), to your VP, Marcus Webb, who decides tomorrow. Plain text, under 280 words, with these capitalized labels on their own lines, in this order: CALL, RULE, CRITERIA, RISKS, CASE AGAINST. CALL is one verdict in one sentence, with no hedging. RULE restates the VP's launch rule. CRITERIA has one line per criterion, marked MET or NOT MET, with the number. RISKS gives each open risk a named owner and a date. CASE AGAINST argues against your own verdict.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Cheerleading or hedging. The AI writes "ship it, results are great" or "it depends on your risk appetite", and the VP gets no call. Try: Add: "CALL is one verdict in one sentence, with no hedging."
  • Ignoring the launch rule. The AI judges the launch by feel and never restates or applies the VP's four conditions. Try: Add: "RULE restates the VP's launch rule. CRITERIA marks each one MET or NOT MET with the number."
  • Burying the unmet criteria. The AI praises the 62% activation and softens the Android bug and the untrained support team into "minor items". Try: Add: "One line per criterion, marked MET or NOT MET, with the number."
  • Risks with no owner or date. The AI lists risks as general worries instead of tying each to a person and a date from the notes. Try: Add: "RISKS: each one with a named owner and a date. CASE AGAINST argues against your own verdict."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI writes a long memo with markdown headings and tables when you only say "short memo". Try: Say "under 240 words, plain text" and cap each section, like "one line per criterion".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Says who it is for
  • Asks for one clear call first
  • Applies the VP's rule
  • Gives each risk an owner and date
  • Argues against its own call

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