# Write a scope of work: prompt chain Turn rough notes about a piece of work into a scope of work that says what will be delivered, how each part is accepted, what is left out and what is still unknown, without inventing any detail. **Made for:** Anyone who buys or sells a piece of work, such as coordinators, small business owners and freelancers. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **Your notes about the work** (required): Paste everything you know, in any order. What is needed, why, who it is for, when, the money, and who decides. Rough is fine. - **Who is asking and who will do the work** (required): Name the roles, not the contract. Say who asks, who does the work, and who approves. **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: Sort what is known from what is missing Go through the parts of a scope of work and mark each as stated in the notes, missing or unclear. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced project manager who writes scopes of work for people who are not specialists. Your task is to sort the notes below into what is known and what is missing, for each part of a scope of work. The notes about the work: [PASTE HERE: Your notes about the work] Who is asking and who will do the work: [PASTE HERE: Who is asking and who will do the work] Rules: - Use exactly these eight items, in this order: Purpose, What is delivered, Dates, Budget, Who approves, What the asker provides, Who does what, Limits on the work. - In "What the notes say", use the notes' own words, shortened. If the notes say two different things about an item, write both. - Mark Status "stated" if the notes give the item, "missing" if they do not, and "unclear" if the notes disagree with themselves or only hint at it. - For a missing item write "Not in the notes". Do not guess and do not fill gaps. Do not add items. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Item | What the notes say | Status | The Status column must say exactly stated, missing or unclear. ```` **You get back:** A table of eight items, each marked stated, missing or unclear. **Check after Step 1: Each item is marked stated, missing or unclear** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "stated", "missing" or "unclear" in the Status 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: List each deliverable and how it is accepted Name each thing that will be handed over, what the approver will see when it is done, and when it is due. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful writer of agreements who makes finished work easy to recognize. Your task is to list every deliverable the notes ask for, with how it will be accepted and when it is due. The notes about the work: [PASTE HERE: Your notes about the work] What is known and missing: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Sort what is known from what is missing)] Rules: - A deliverable is something that is handed over, such as a file, a report or an event. Do not list activities. - "Accepted when" must be something the person approving can see, count or open. "It looks professional" is not acceptable. "The edited files are in the shared folder and each one opens" is. - Use a number in "Accepted when" only if the notes give it. Otherwise say what the approver would look at. - "Due" must be a date or phrase from the notes. If the notes give none, write "to confirm". Do not make up a date. - Do not add deliverables the notes do not ask for. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Deliverable | Accepted when | Due | ```` **You get back:** A table of each deliverable with how it is accepted and when it is due. **Check after Step 2: Every deliverable has a way to accept it and a due date** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "Deliverable", "Accepted when" and "Due" (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 3: Set the edges of the work List what is not included, what is assumed and what the asker provides, using only what the notes support. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a practical adviser who stops work from growing after it has started. Your task is to set the edges of the work: what is not included, what is being assumed, and what the asker must provide. The notes about the work: [PASTE HERE: Your notes about the work] What is known and missing: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Sort what is known from what is missing)] The deliverables: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (List each deliverable and how it is accepted)] Rules: - Under "Not included", list work someone might expect that the notes do not ask for. Write each as a short line. - Under "Assumptions", list only what the notes imply and the work depends on, such as access or a decision by a certain date. Do not turn a missing item into an assumption. Leave it out so it can be asked. - Under "What the asker provides", list only what the notes say the asker will give or do. - Do not invent a price, a date, a person or a promise. Do not write more than five lines under any heading. Return a short list under three headings: Not included, Assumptions, What the asker provides. ```` **You get back:** Three short lists that set the edges of the work. ## Step 4: Write the scope of work Put the deliverables, edges and open questions into one scope of work that both sides can read in five minutes. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a clear writer who drafts scopes of work that both sides can read in five minutes. Your task is to write the scope of work from the material below. The notes about the work: [PASTE HERE: Your notes about the work] Who is asking and who will do the work: [PASTE HERE: Who is asking and who will do the work] What is known and missing: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Sort what is known from what is missing)] The deliverables: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (List each deliverable and how it is accepted)] The edges of the work: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Set the edges of the work)] Rules: - Use plain words and keep it to 600 words or fewer. Call the two sides by the roles in the line above about who is asking. - Use only facts from the material above. Write every date, amount and name as the notes write it. - Do not number the headings or the lines, and do not add any figure the notes do not contain. - Anything marked "missing" or "unclear" goes under "Questions to settle first", worded as a question. Do not decide it yourself, and do not choose between two figures that disagree. - Do not add payment terms, ownership of the work or legal wording unless the notes give them. Return markdown with these headings in this order and nothing else: ## Purpose ## What will be delivered ## Timeline ## Not included ## Assumptions ## What the asker provides ## How the work is accepted ## Questions to settle first ```` **You get back:** A scope of work with eight headings, ending in the questions still to settle. **Check after Step 4: The scope of work is 600 words or fewer** Check by eye: The answer is no longer than 600 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 figure in the draft is in the notes** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears in the your notes about the work. 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 name, date and amount comes from the notes** 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 name, date and amount comes from the notes Compare the draft with the notes below. Is every name, date, amount and promise in the draft found in the notes? Answer FAIL and quote anything that is not, including a choice the draft made between two figures that the notes disagree on. The notes about the work: [PASTE HERE: Your notes about the work] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Write the scope of work)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Write the scope of work)] 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: Every missing or unclear item is asked as a question** 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 missing or unclear item is asked as a question Compare the section "Questions to settle first" with the table of what is known below. Is every item marked missing or unclear in the table asked as a question, and is none of them written as settled anywhere else in the draft? Answer FAIL and name the item. What is known and missing: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Sort what is known from what is missing)] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Write the scope of work)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Write the scope of work)] 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 4: The other side could start without asking** Ask yourself: Read the draft as the person who will do the work, or the person who will approve it. Could they start without asking anything that is not already in "Questions to settle first"? Mark anything you would not want to commit to, and fix those lines in your own words before you send it. 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 scope of work with what will be delivered, how each part is accepted, what is left out and what is assumed. - A list of questions to settle before the work starts. ## Changing this chain - If you are the one doing the work, say so in the line about who is asking, and send the questions to the asker before you quote a price. - This template writes the work, not the legal terms. If your organization has a standard contract, attach the scope to it as the description of the work. - To add a section your organization always uses, add its heading to the last step's list and to its rules. - To change the length, change 600 in the last step's rules and in its check, both. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.