# Scope a job before you start: prompt chain List everything a job could involve, decide what is in and out, say what done looks like in a way you can check by looking, and set when to stop, all on one page. **Made for:** Anyone who gets open-ended requests, such as coordinators, assistants and team leads. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **The job as it was given to you** (required): Paste the request or describe the job in your own words. Rough is fine. - **Time and help you have** (required): How much time you can give it, any deadline, and who else can help. **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: List everything the job could involve Write out every piece of work the job might include, marking which ones the request actually names. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced project coordinator who makes vague requests concrete. Your task is to list every piece of work the job below could involve, from the obvious to the easy to forget. The job: [PASTE HERE: The job as it was given to you] Time and help available: [PASTE HERE: Time and help you have] Rules: - Write each piece as a short action, such as "Delete files older than five years". - Mark each piece "stated" if the request clearly names it, or "assumed" if you are adding it as something someone might expect. - Include the pieces nobody mentions: talking to the people affected, testing, telling people it is done. - List 6 to 15 pieces. Do not decide yet what is in or out. Do not estimate time yet. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Piece of work | Source | The Source column must say exactly stated or assumed. ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of every piece of work, each marked stated or assumed. **Check after Step 1: Each piece is marked stated or assumed** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "stated" or "assumed" in the Source 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 2: Decide what is in, out or later Put every piece in, out or later, with a reason, using the time and help you have. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a practical coordinator who protects people from taking on too much. Your task is to decide, for every piece of work below, whether it is in scope, out of scope or for later. The pieces: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List everything the job could involve)] The job as given: [PASTE HERE: The job as it was given to you] Time and help available: [PASTE HERE: Time and help you have] Rules: - Mark "in" only the pieces that can reasonably be done in the time available and that the request names or clearly needs. - Mark "later" what is worth doing but will not fit. Mark "out" what is not part of this job. - Give a reason for every row, in a short phrase. - Do not drop any piece. Do not add new pieces. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Piece of work | Decision | Reason | The Decision column must say exactly in, out or later. ```` **You get back:** A table that puts every piece in, out or later, with a reason. **Check after Step 2: Each decision is in, out or later** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "in", "out" or "later" in the Decision 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: Define done for each piece that is in For each piece marked in, write what done means and how to see that it is done. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a quality-minded coordinator who makes finished work easy to recognize. Your task is to write, for every piece marked "in" below, what done means and how someone could check it just by looking. The scope decisions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Decide what is in, out or later)] Rules: - A check must be something you can see, count or open: "The folder has 10 or fewer top-level folders" is a check. "The drive is tidy" is not. - Do not use words like good, clear, tidy, better or ready on their own. Say what you would see. - Write one row for every piece marked "in" and no rows for other pieces. - Do not change the scope decisions. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Piece of work | Done means | How to check by looking | ```` **You get back:** A table that says what done means for each piece in scope and how to check it by looking. **Check after Step 3: Every piece has a way to check it** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "Done means" and "How to check by looking" (a blank or a dash does not count). 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: Decide when to stop Set the limits that tell you when to stop and ask, so the job does not grow. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a coordinator who helps people stop jobs from growing. Your task is to write the stopping rules for the job below. The job: [PASTE HERE: The job as it was given to you] Time and help available: [PASTE HERE: Time and help you have] What is in scope: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Define done for each piece that is in)] Rules: - Write three kinds of rule: a time limit (when to stop even if it is not finished), a size limit (what to do if the job turns out to be bigger than expected), and a question rule (what to ask, and who, before going further). - Base the limits on the time and help given. Do not invent a deadline or a person. - Do not write more than six lines in all. Return a short list with three headings: Time limit, Size limit, Ask before going further. ```` **You get back:** Three short stopping rules (a time limit, a size limit and when to ask). ## Step 5: Write the one-page scope note Put the scope, the done checks and the stopping rules on one short page you can share. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a coordinator writing a short note that gets agreement before work starts. Your task is to combine the work below into one scope note that the person who asked can read in two minutes. The scope decisions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Decide what is in, out or later)] What done looks like: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Define done for each piece that is in)] The stopping rules: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Decide when to stop)] Rules: - Use plain words. Keep it to 300 words or fewer. - List "out" and "later" items so the reader sees what is not included. - End with one line asking the reader to confirm or change the scope. - Do not add items that are not in the work above. Return markdown in this shape and nothing else: ## The job ## In scope ## Not included ## Done means ## When I will stop ## Please confirm ```` **You get back:** A one-page scope note the person who asked can confirm. **Check after Step 5: The note is 300 words or fewer** Check by eye: The answer is no longer than 300 words. 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 done check can be made by looking** 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 done check can be made by looking Read the "How to check by looking" column. Can each check be done by looking at, counting or opening something, with no judgment about quality? Answer FAIL and name any row that uses a feeling word such as good, clear, tidy or ready instead of something you can see. The work to check (the answer from Step 3 (Define done for each piece that is in)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Define done for each piece that is in)] 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 2: Every in-scope piece reaches the note** 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 in-scope piece reaches the note Compare the scope note with the scope decisions below. Is every piece marked "in" named in the note, and is every piece marked "out" or "later" shown as not included? The scope decisions: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Decide what is in, out or later)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the one-page scope note)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the one-page scope note)] 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 can live with the boundary** Ask yourself: Read the note as the person who asked. Would they agree with what is left out? If not, fix the Decision column and run the last two steps again. 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 one-page scope note with what is in, what is not, what done means and when to stop. - A list of the later items, so nothing good is lost. ## Changing this chain - If the person who asked is available, send them the note before you start and change it with their answer. - To plan several jobs at once, run the template once per job and compare the notes side by side. - If your team has a standard form for requests, paste its headings into the last step in place of the ones shown. - To change the size of the note, change 300 in the last step's rules and in its check, both. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.