Prompting 101

By now, you know the shape of the system: the model completes the context it receives, and the harness turns some completions into tool calls, file reads, edits, commands, and observations. Prompting is where you draw the beginning of the pattern you want the agent to continue.

A prompt is not a conversation starter. It is context design: selecting the task, inputs, constraints, examples, vocabulary, and output shape that make the intended continuation the most likely one. Good prompting narrows the completion space before the agent starts spending tool calls and editing code.

Start With the Task and Output Target

Skip pleasantries. AI models don't need "please" or "thank you"—those tokens dilute signal without adding clarity. Start with the decision or artifact you want and the standard it must satisfy.

Ineffective

Can you help us think through usage-based billing?
Thanks!

Effective

Produce an implementation plan for migrating workspace billing from seat-based pricing to usage-based pricing.

Audience: engineering lead and product manager deciding whether this is ready for build planning.
Cover: billing model changes, customer migration, entitlement logic, data backfill, support impact, rollout risk.

Return sections: summary, affected systems, open decisions, migration plan, rollout plan, validation checklist.

1Target

Names the artifact, audience, and business change up front.

2Scope

Defines the systems and risks the plan must cover.

3Contract

Specifies the sections a reviewer can evaluate quickly.

The technique is to name the desired artifact before supplying details. That first phrase biases the completion toward a plan, decision record, review, or spec instead of an open-ended discussion.

Ask Questions to Load Context

Ask questions to load context. In an agent harness, a question can trigger an action sequence: search the repository, read files, query docs, inspect tool output, and synthesize the relevant findings. This is Agentic Search. The question causes the agent to load useful context before you ask it to plan or edit.

How does the onboarding flow currently handle teammate invites before dashboard preview?

That question is enough. The agent must find the flow, inspect the relevant files, and summarize the current behavior before you ask for the change: "Make teammate invites optional before dashboard preview." Use this before planning or editing when the missing information is discoverable.

---

Next: Prompt Contracts