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Write an hourly incident status update for stakeholders
- For IT and security teams
- You practice Asking for a format you can use
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
Write the 3 pm status update for the email outage incident. Use exactly 4 lines starting 'Status:', 'Impact:', 'What we're doing:' and 'Next update:'. Only include confirmed facts; the next update is always 1 hour after this one. Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Passing on speculation. The AI includes the cyberattack guess, which spreads fear. Try: Say: "Only confirmed facts."
- No fixed shape. The AI writes a paragraph or a full incident report. Try: Give the lines: "Status:, Impact:, What we're doing:, Next update:"
- Forgetting the next update. The AI ends with 'we'll keep you posted'. Try: Add: "Next update: 1 hour after this one, 4 pm."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Ask for less than the limit and cap each line: "each line under 15 words, under 55 words total."
- Letting markdown in. AI adds bold and headings by default, and in the status page they show up as stray symbols. Try: Add: "Plain text only, no bold, no headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the 4 lines
- Uses confirmed facts only
- Sets the next update time
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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