Methodology · Prompt Engineering

Iterative Prompt Refinement Loop

Turn prompt writing into a measured loop so every change is judged against real outputs instead of a hunch.

Description

Treat a prompt like an experiment, not a one-shot write. Draft the simplest prompt that could work, run it on real inputs, read the failures, change one thing, and run again. Stop when the prompt clears a quality bar you set before you started. The loop is cheap, and it beats guessing at wording.

When to apply

Use this whenever a single prompt drives a feature and its output quality matters. Reach for it the moment a prompt 'mostly works but sometimes fails'. Don't apply it to a throwaway one-off prompt you will never run again.

What it involves

  • Draft the simplest prompt
  • Run on real inputs
  • Read and bucket the failures
  • Change one thing
  • Re-run and compare
  • Freeze and keep the examples

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