# Session 3 Handout: Quality Gates and Your Library

<p class="meta">FAST-03 Prompt Engineering for the Workplace · 7formations · Instructor: Wadood Chaudhary · All examples fictional</p>

## Why this session matters

Good prompts lower the error rate; they don't remove it. Every output still needs a decision before anyone relies on it, and some inputs should never reach the tool at all. This session gives you a three-door gate for outputs, a rule for overshared data, and a way to turn your best prompts into a library coworkers can trust.

## Key concepts

### 1. The three doors

| Door | When | Next step |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Accept as draft** | Facts check against the source; only light edits needed | Edit, then you send and own it |
| **Revise** | Fixable issues: one wrong fact correctable from source, length, tone, a missing heading | Fix in the prompt or by hand; recheck |
| **Reject** | Wrong job; invented material facts; restricted data in the thread | Discard; fix the prompt or input; report if data was involved |

Every decision gets **one sentence tied to facts or data, never style.** "Reject: states a May 23 rain date not on the sheet." Not: "Reject: sounds robotic." Style issues are always revise.

"Accept as draft" never means "send unread." It means the draft is a sound starting point.

### 2. Restricted data already in a thread

If a guest's address, a card number, a child's details, or health information was pasted:

1. **Reject** the output, however good it looks.
2. **Report** under your employer's policy: what was entered, when, which tool.
3. **Restart** in a new chat with sanitized input.

**Don't "ask it to forget."** The data has already been sent to the service and may be retained under the vendor's and your employer's settings. A prompt can't undo that; only the people who manage the account can act on it.

### 3. Stripping an overshare

Before pasting any email or message, ask: *what does the task actually need?* Usually the question, not the person. Strip:

- names, contact details, addresses;
- children's names, ages tied to names, and any health information;
- account, card, or ID numbers;
- remarks about coworkers or complaints (route those to a manager).

### 4. Ownership

**The person who sends it owns it.** Not the vendor, not the prompt-library owner, not "the AI." If you wouldn't sign it, don't send it.

### 5. A library people trust

A prompt library is a shared set of tested prompts. Each entry carries:

| Field | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Task name and owner | Someone keeps it current |
| Source to fence | Everyone binds to the same facts |
| Prompt (five parts) | Consistent quality |
| Check step and gate rule | Every user checks the same way |
| Strip list | Data rules travel with the prompt |
| Last tested (date, tool) | Models change; retest after updates |
| "Do not use for" | Keeps it out of the wrong jobs |

**Swap test:** a partner runs your prompt cold, without asking you anything. Every question they want to ask is a missing instruction.

## Worked example: gating three outputs

| Output | Door | Reason |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult; no lifeguard on duty. Sign up by May 13." | Accept as draft | All facts match the sheet |
| Same, but "Sign up by May 15" | Revise | One date wrong; correct from the sheet |
| "Bring your dog! Pets welcome on the beach." | Reject | Invented policy; pets not in the sheet |

## Checklist: gate and library

- [ ] Input stripped of everything the task doesn't need.
- [ ] Output gated: door plus one fact or data sentence.
- [ ] Restricted data in thread? Reject, report, restart.
- [ ] Library entry has all seven fields.
- [ ] Partner cold test passed; questions turned into instructions.
- [ ] Retest date on the calendar.

## Do and don't

| Do | Don't |
| --- | --- |
| Gate every output before use | Send an "accept" without reading |
| Reject on facts, data, or wrong job | Reject because of style |
| Report overshares promptly | Ask the AI to forget |
| Store the library in an approved shared place | Keep the team's prompts in personal chat history |
| Retest after tool updates | Assume June's prompt still works in October |

## Try this at work

1. Gate your next five AI outputs and log the door and reason.
2. Write three library entries for tasks you do weekly.
3. Ask a coworker to run one cold; fix what they asked about.
4. Agree with your manager where the team library lives and who reviews it.

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Quality gate | A decision point an output must pass before use |
| Overshare | Information pasted into a prompt that the task doesn't need |
| Strip list | Items always removed before a prompt |
| Prompt library | A shared, maintained set of tested prompts |
| Swap (cold) test | A partner runs your prompt without your help |
| Ownership | Accountability of the sender for what is sent |

## Key takeaways

- Three doors: accept as draft, revise, reject, each with a fact or data reason.
- Overshare: reject, report, restart. Never "forget."
- The sender owns it. The library makes good prompts the default.