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Estimate payback for a rebid and flag what is only an estimate

  • For Procurement
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Advanced

About this exercise

Write a prompt for plain text with exactly five lines: "Savings per year:", "Payback:", "Three-year net:", "Flag:" and "Decision owner:". Show the math on the first three. Payback is switching cost divided by yearly savings, in years with one decimal. The Flag line must say the savings come from a survey, not quotes, and mention the incumbent's performance. Do not recommend rebidding or renewing. Under 100 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Presenting savings as certain. The AI says the company will save $16,200. Try: Say: "Flag that the 7% comes from a survey, not quotes."
  • Ignoring the switching cost. The AI reports 3 x 8,400 as the net. Try: Say: "Three-year net = 3 x yearly savings minus 9,000."
  • Recommending. The AI says to rebid. Try: Say: "Do not recommend rebidding or renewing."
  • Wrong lines. The AI writes a pros and cons list. Try: Quote the five labels.
  • Markdown extras and long output. 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" and cap each line, for example "each line under 15 words".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Quotes the five labels
  • Shows the math
  • Flags the survey
  • Rules out a recommendation
  • Asks for plain text

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