Chapter 7: Crafting Your Own Master Prompt
Step 1: Define Your Project Requirements
Before writing your prompt, document these essential elements:
- Core Objective: What is the primary purpose of this web application?
- User Stories: Who will use the app and what will they do?
- Technical Constraints: Budget, timeline, performance requirements
- Success Metrics: How will you know if the app is successful?
Essential Pre-Work: "Know Enough" Project Planning
Business Goal Definition
Clearly articulate why you're building this application:
Primary Business Objective: The main goal of the application
▼
- Revenue generation (sales, subscriptions, leads)
- Brand building (awareness, engagement, trust)
- Operational efficiency (automation, self-service)
- Customer satisfaction (support, education, community)
Success Metrics: How you'll measure achievement
▼
- Conversion rates (visitors to leads, leads to customers)
- Engagement metrics (time on site, pages per visit)
- Revenue metrics (sales, average order value)
- Operational metrics (time saved, error reduction)
Target Audience: Who you're building for
▼
- Primary user demographics and psychographics
- User technical proficiency level
- User needs, goals, and pain points
- Usage context (device, location, time)
User Journey Mapping
Map out how users will interact with your application:
Entry Points: How users discover and enter your application
▼
- Direct traffic (typing URL directly)
- Referral traffic (links from other sites)
- Search traffic (finding via search engines)
- Social traffic (coming from social platforms)
Core User Flows: Primary pathways through your application
▼
- New user onboarding journey
- Regular user engagement path
- Conversion/transaction process
- Account management activities
Exit Points: How users leave your application
▼
- Conversion completion actions
- "Dead ends" where users might drop off
- Intentional exit paths (logout, completion)
- Re-engagement opportunities
Feature Prioritization
Determine what functionality is most important:
Must-Have Features: Core functionality required for launch
▼
- Essential user actions
- Critical business functions
- Minimum viable product components
- Technical infrastructure requirements
Should-Have Features: Important but not launch-critical
▼
- Enhancement functionalities
- User experience improvements
- Additional conversion tools
- Extended capabilities
Could-Have Features: Desirable but not essential
▼
- Nice-to-have functionalities
- Future enhancement opportunities
- Advanced user capabilities
- Additional integration points
Won't-Have Features: Explicitly excluded from scope
▼
- Features beyond current scope
- Future phase considerations
- Technically challenging components
- Low-priority capabilities
Step 2: Fill In The Master Prompt Template
Use this template to create your comprehensive prompt:
PROJECT OVERVIEW
[One paragraph describing what you're building and its purpose]
KEY SECTIONS
1. [Section/Page 1 Name]
- [Key element]
- [Key element]
- [Key element]
2. [Section/Page 2 Name]
- [Key element]
- [Key element]
- [Key element]
[Continue for all major sections]
FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS
[Component 1 Name]:
- [Functionality detail]
- [Functionality detail]
- [Functionality detail]
[Component 2 Name]:
- [Functionality detail]
- [Functionality detail]
- [Functionality detail]
[Continue for all functional components]
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Frontend:
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
Backend:
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
Data Collection:
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
- [Requirement]
BUSINESS INTEGRATION
[Integration Point 1]:
- [Detail]
- [Detail]
- [Detail]
[Integration Point 2]:
- [Detail]
- [Detail]
- [Detail]
REFERENCE MATERIALS
- [Reference 1]
- [Reference 2]
- [Reference 3]
DEVELOPMENT NOTES
- [Note 1]
- [Note 2]
- [Note 3]
