# Compare options and get a recommendation: prompt chain Read each option, pick the factors that matter for your decision, compare them in one table, drop the factors where the options tie, and get a recommendation that also argues the runner-up's case. **Made for:** Anyone who has to choose between options and explain the choice to a manager, a team or themselves. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **The options** (required): Paste what you know about each option. Give each one a name and put a blank line between options. - **What you are deciding and for whom** (required): Say what the choice is, who it is for, and what matters most to them. - **Must-haves and limits** (optional): List anything an option must meet to be allowed, such as a budget or a deadline. Leave empty if there are none. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: Read each option List the facts stated about each option, and what is not stated. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful analyst who reads each option on its own terms. Your task is to list, for each option below, the facts the text states and the facts it leaves out. The options: [PASTE HERE: The options] What is being decided: [PASTE HERE: What you are deciding and for whom] Rules: - Use only what the text says. Copy numbers exactly as written. - Under "Not stated", list things a person would need to know for this decision that the text does not say. - Do not compare the options yet and do not give an opinion. Return one section per option, named as in the text, each with two short lists: Stated and Not stated. ```` **You get back:** For each option, a list of stated facts and a list of facts that are missing. **Check after Step 1: Every number comes from the options** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears in the options. If it does not pass: 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: Build the comparison table Choose the factors that matter for this decision and compare every option on each. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an analyst who builds clear comparison tables for decision makers. Your task is to pick the 4 to 7 factors that matter most for this decision, then compare every option on each factor in one table. What is being decided: [PASTE HERE: What you are deciding and for whom] Must-haves and limits: [PASTE HERE: Must-haves and limits] What each option says: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Read each option)] Rules: - Choose factors from what matters to the person deciding and from the must-haves. Do not choose a factor only because the options mention it. - Fill each cell in a few words, copying numbers exactly as written. If an option does not say, write "not stated". - In the last column, write "tie" if the options are the same in practice on that factor, or "differs" if they are not. - If an option fails a must-have, add a row called "Meets the must-haves" and say which option fails and why. - Do not recommend yet. Return one markdown table with the factor in the first column, one column for each option, and a last column named Difference: | Factor | (option names, one column each) | Difference | ```` **You get back:** A comparison table with a column for each option and a Difference column marked tie or differs. **Check after Step 2: Each factor is marked tie or differs** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "tie" or "differs" in the Difference column. If it does not pass: 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: Drop the factors where options tie Remove the factors where the options are the same, so only the real differences are left. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an analyst who removes noise from a comparison. Your task is to cut the table below down to only the factors where the options differ. The table: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Build the comparison table)] Rules: - Remove every row marked "tie". Keep every row marked "differs", exactly as it is. - Always keep the row about the must-haves, if there is one, and mark it "differs". - After the table, add one line listing the factors you dropped, so the reader can see them. - Do not change any cell and do not add rows. Return the shortened table in the same columns, then: Dropped because the options tie: (the factors, or "None") ```` **You get back:** A table of only the factors where the options differ, and a list of the ones dropped. **Check after Step 3: Only differing factors are left** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "differs" in the Difference column. If it does not pass: 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: Recommend one option Recommend one option with reasons tied to the factors that differ, and say what you give up. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a trusted advisor who gives a clear recommendation and explains it. Your task is to recommend one option from the table below. What is being decided: [PASTE HERE: What you are deciding and for whom] Must-haves and limits: [PASTE HERE: Must-haves and limits] The factors where the options differ: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Drop the factors where options tie)] The original options: [PASTE HERE: The options] Rules: - Recommend an option that meets every must-have. If none does, say so and recommend the closest, naming what it misses. - Give three reasons at most, each tied to a factor in the table. - Say plainly what the person gives up by choosing it. - Use only numbers that appear in the options text. Do not add estimates or new figures. - Name the runner-up in one line. Return in this shape and nothing else: Recommendation: (the option's name) Why: (the reasons, each naming its factor) What you give up: (one or two lines) Runner-up: (the option's name) ```` **You get back:** A recommendation with reasons, what is given up, and the runner-up. **Check after Step 4: A recommendation is named** Check by eye: The answer includes the words "Recommendation:". If it does not pass: 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: Argue the runner-up's case Make the best honest case for the runner-up, and say what would change the recommendation. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an honest devil's advocate who tests a recommendation before it is accepted. Your task is to make the strongest fair case for the runner-up option, then say what fact would change the recommendation. The recommendation: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Recommend one option)] The factors where the options differ: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Drop the factors where options tie)] The original options: [PASTE HERE: The options] Rules: - Use only facts from the options text and the table. Do not invent advantages. - Argue for the runner-up as if you wanted it to win, but do not exaggerate. - Name one or two facts that are "not stated" in the options and could flip the choice if they turned out differently. - Do not change the recommendation yourself. Return in this shape and nothing else: Case for the runner-up: (three or four sentences) What would change my mind: (one or two facts to find out, and which way each would push) ```` **You get back:** The runner-up's best case and the facts that could change the recommendation. **Check after Step 5: The facts that could change the answer are named** Check by eye: The answer includes the words "What would change my mind:". If it does not pass: 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 Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: Every number in the recommendation is in the options** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears in the options. If it does not pass: 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 check 2: Every reason names a factor from the table** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every reason names a factor from the table Read the reasons in the recommendation next to the factors table. Does every reason point to a factor that is in the table, with no reason that rests on something the options never said? Answer FAIL and name the reason if not. The options: [PASTE HERE: The options] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Recommend one option)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Recommend one option)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: 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 check 3: You make the final call** Ask yourself: Read the recommendation and the runner-up's case together. Is there a fact you know that the options text does not, such as how a vendor treated you before, that changes the answer? If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A comparison table showing only the real differences. - A recommendation with its reasons and what you give up. - The runner-up's case, and the facts to find out before you decide. ## Changing this chain - To weigh one factor more than the rest, say so in "What you are deciding and for whom", for example "Cost matters twice as much as anything else". - To compare more than five options, first run the template with all of them, then run it again with only the top two. - If you do not know the facts yet, paste what you have anyway. The first step lists what is missing, so you know what to ask. - To get the answer in a format for your team, replace the shape at the end of the recommendation step. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.