A good prompt is not a workflow: the 5 elements that make AI tasks repeatable
Druss_ · reddit · 2026-09-14
The author argues that a great prompt only automates one cognitive step — if a human still has to remember to run it, gather inputs, inspect results, and decide what's next, you haven't automated the process. For recurring AI work, he says you need at least: a trigger, authoritative inputs/source of truth, acceptance or verification criteria, an exception path, and a clear human decision boundary. Example: instead of a manager asking for a Monday status summary, the process should detect relevant changes, prepare a cited brief from approved sources, and surface only issues requiring a decision. His suspicion: the hard part is no longer the prompt but the process design around it — and he asks practitioners whether triggering/context, verification, exception handling, or human handoff is hardest in practice.
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