# Break a project into steps: checklist

Turn a project description into a short list of steps with one job each, put them in an order a person can follow, say how long each takes and who does it, and check the plan against the date.

## Before you start

- [ ] Have ready: The project
  Paste what you know, in any order. Say what you are making, the date it must be done by, who can help and how many hours you have.

## Step 1: List the pieces the project needs

- [ ] Write down each thing the description says must exist, be booked, be sent or be ready, with the words it uses.
- [ ] You have: A table of the pieces the project needs, each with the description's own words.
- [ ] Check: Every quote in the Quote column appears word for word in the project.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 2: Split each piece into steps of one job

- [ ] Turn every piece into steps that each do one thing, and say how to tell each is done.
- [ ] You have: A lettered table of steps, each with one job and a way to see it is done.
- [ ] Check: Every row of the table has something written in "One job" and "Done when" (a blank or a dash does not count).
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 3: Put the steps in order

- [ ] Say which steps must be finished before each one can start, and list them so each comes after the ones it needs.
- [ ] You have: The steps in an order a person can follow, each with what it needs first.
- [ ] Check: Every row of the table has something written in "Needs first" (a blank or a dash does not count).
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 4: Say how long each step takes and who does it

- [ ] Give each step a time in plain words and a person or role, using only the people the description names.
- [ ] You have: The ordered steps with a time in plain words and a person or role on each.
- [ ] Check: Every row of the table has one of "under an hour", "half a day", "a day", "a few days" or "a week or more" in the Time needed column.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 5: Write the plan and check it against the date

- [ ] Put the steps, the times and a plain answer to "does it fit?" on one page a person can follow.
- [ ] You have: A one-page plan with the steps in order, times, people, a fit check and the open questions.
- [ ] Check: The answer includes the words "Check the order and the times with the people who will do the work before you start.".
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Final checks

- [ ] Check: Every number in the answer also appears in the project.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Read the "One job" column in the answer. Does any step name two jobs, joined by "and", "then", a comma or a list? Answer FAIL and quote each step that does.
  Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Read the table from top to bottom. Does any step come before a step listed in its "Needs first" cell, or name a letter that is not a step in the table? Answer FAIL and name each step that does.
  Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Read the "Does it fit?" section. Does it say a plan fits or does not fit using only the hours and the date in the project description? If the description gives no hours or no date, does it say so instead of guessing? Answer FAIL and quote each claim the description does not support.
  Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Read the plan with the person who will do the work. Ask whether any step must come earlier or later than shown and whether each time matches how long it takes them. Only they know how long their own work takes.
  Checked by you. If not: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it.

## You end up with

- [ ] A one-page plan with the steps in order, each with what it needs first, a time and a person.
- [ ] A plain answer to whether the plan fits the date and the hours.
- [ ] The questions the description leaves open.

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From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.