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Sort a roadmap review into what's decided and what's open
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You ran the quarterly roadmap review and need to post the outcome. You want exactly 4 numbered lines, decided items first, each starting with Decided: or Open:, under 60 words, plain text. One decision was reversed at the end, so log the final call, and give each Open line the person who owns getting an answer. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Missing the reversal. Feb 1 is said first, and the change comes at the end. Try: Add: "The price increase moved to April 1 at the end. Use that."
- Mixing decided and open. The AI lists topics in meeting order without saying which is settled. Try: Add: "Start each line with Decided: or Open:, decided first."
- Leaving open items ownerless. The AI lists open questions with no one assigned. Try: Add: "Each Open line names who brings the answer and when."
- Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI writes headings and paragraphs. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered lines, plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 10 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says how many lines
- Labels each line
- Catches the reversal
- Names owners
- Sets a word limit
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