Prompt Failure Diagnostics
When your prompt produced poor output, diagnose the root cause before rewriting. Three core mechanisms:
Ambiguity— model misinterpretedCompetition— conflicting instructionsCapability Gap— exceeds model ability
Output is unfocused, wanderingAmbiguity
Output is shallow, trivialOver-constrained
Output drifts off topicAmbiguity
Output is academic, no recommendationAmbiguity
Reasoning is tangled, incoherentAmbiguity
Correct facts, wrong analysis typeAmbiguity
Jumped to conclusion too fastMode conflict
Stated certainty without basisCapability gap
Mixed dimensions (legal + economic)Competition
Conclusion sounds good but fragileMissing step
Specific but wrong factsCapability gap
Mechanical, formulaic outputOver-constrained