plan-before-prompt

name	plan-before-prompt
category	kata
description	Sketch the deliverable structure before you open a Copilot prompt. Use for any output longer than a paragraph: memos, briefs, decks, recaps, status updates, proposals. Skip only for one-line answers. Triggers: "draft a memo", "build a deck", "write a brief", second time reprompting.

Plan Before Prompt

Copilot drafts beautifully when you give it shape. It rambles when you don't.

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Quick Reference

Deliverable	Skeleton time	Sections to pre-name
Decision memo	60s	TL;DR · Context · Options · Reco · Risks · Ask
Status update	60s	RAG · Wins · Risks · Ask
Research synthesis	2min	Sources · Themes · Synthesis · So-what
Deck	3min	One title per slide; one decision per deck
Email reply	30s	Acknowledge · Answer · Next step

When to Use

• Any deliverable longer than ~150 words.
• Any deliverable with more than one section or audience.
• When you've already prompted twice and don't like either output — stop, plan, then re-prompt.

How to Use

Write the skeleton in two minutes before opening Copilot:

TITLE
Audience: <who>
Decision/Action: <what they should do after reading>
Sections:
  1. <heading> — <one-line purpose>
  2. <heading> — <one-line purpose>
  3. ...
Sources to cite: <files, links, threads>
Tone: <executive / collegial / formal / direct>
Length: <approx>

Then ask Copilot to draft one section at a time, feeding it the relevant source per section. Stitch at the end.

Examples

Don't: Unplanned	Do: Planned
"Write me a 2-page memo on X"	Skeleton with Context / Options / Reco named, then "draft section 2 from [source]"
Reprompting "make it shorter" 5 times	Skeleton with explicit word budget per section
Letting Copilot pick headings	You pick headings; Copilot fills under each
One mega-prompt	Section-by-section, each with its own source

Critical Rules

• Two minutes of planning saves twenty of reprompting.
• You pick the structure, not Copilot. Structure encodes judgment.
• Section-by-section drafting, not one-shot. Each section gets its own source.
• If you've reprompted twice and still don't like it, stop. Re-plan.

Common Pitfalls

• Planning in your head, not on paper — the structure drifts.
• Over-planning a 2-paragraph reply.
• Letting the Copilot draft retrofit the structure (you'll inherit its choices).
• Skipping the "what to leave out" line — the most-skipped, highest-leverage line.

Anti-Patterns

• "Write me a 2-page memo on X" — you're outsourcing the thinking, not the typing.
• Planning in your head only. Write it down. The act of writing forces clarity.
• Over-planning. Two minutes, not twenty.

Verify Before Prompting

• Skeleton written down.
• Audience and decision named.
• Each section has a one-line purpose.
• Sources mapped to sections.
• Length budget set per section.

Related

• clarify-the-ask, intent-framing
• drafting-with-copilot
• refining-iteratively