Build Your Starter Library Capstone

What Is a Capstone?

A capstone is a final project that shows you can do what you learned.

For this course, your capstone is building a 5-prompt starter library. This is the foundation. Once you have five prompts that work, you can add more whenever you find a new prompt you like.

Your Capstone Project: Five Tested Prompts

By the end of this project, you will have a document with five prompts that you have tested and that actually work.

Step 1: Pick Five Tasks

Choose five tasks you do every week. These should be real work tasks that take time.

Examples:

• Write a weekly status email
• Create a meeting summary
• Draft a proposal
• Plan next week
• Research a topic for a project

Pick tasks you know you will do again. This makes your library useful.

Step 2: Write a Prompt for Each Task

For each task, write a prompt using the patterns from this course.

Use the lessons:

• Email workflow (four steps)
• Report workflow (four steps)
• Research workflow (three steps)
• Planning workflow (three steps)

Write a full prompt. Include context, examples, constraints, and tone.

Example: Task: "Write a weekly status email" Prompt: "Write a weekly status email for my manager. Format: Accomplishments (3 bullet points), Next Week (3 bullet points), Blockers (1 item). Keep it under 250 words. Professional and positive tone. End with a question or ask."

Step 3: Test Each Prompt

Run each prompt with real input.

Do this three times per prompt if you can. But at minimum, use it once with a real task.

For each test:

• Note if the output was useful
• Mark if you had to edit it heavily or just light edits
• Check if it matches your style
• Rate it: works well, needs tweaking, does not work

Step 4: Improve Prompts That Need It

If a prompt did not work well:

• Add more context
• Tighten constraints
• Add an example
• Clarify the phrasing

Test again. Keep improving until it works.

Step 5: Save to Your Library

For each of your five prompts, record:

• Prompt name (specific and clear)
• What it is for (one sentence)
• The full prompt text (exact wording)
• When to use it (when this prompt is best)
• One note on how to improve it (what you learned from testing)

Step 6: Share With a Colleague

Pick one prompt that works well. Share it with a colleague.

Asking: "I wrote this prompt for [task]. Can you try it and tell me if it works for you?"

Listen to their feedback. Did it work? What did they change?

Note what they said. That is valuable information.

What Your Library Should Look Like

When you are done, you have:

• 5 prompts
• Each tested and working
• Each documented with name, purpose, full text, when to use, and notes
• Each shared with at least one colleague

This is your foundation. After this course, you can add more. But these five are yours and they work.

How to Store It

Choose one:

1. Google Doc - Sections for each prompt, easy to share
2. Spreadsheet - Columns for Name, Purpose, Prompt, When to Use, Notes
3. Notes app - Quick access, organized by category
4. A file on your computer - Whatever works

The format does not matter. What matters is that you can find and use your prompts.

Timeline

You do not have to finish in one week.

• Days 1-2: Pick five tasks. Write one prompt for each.
• Days 3-4: Test each prompt (at least once each).
• Days 5-6: Improve any that need it. Test again.
• Day 7: Save all five to your library. Share one with a colleague.

If you have less time, start with three prompts instead of five. Same process. Shorter timeline.

Examples of Five Prompts for a Manager

Prompt 1: "Write a weekly status email" Prompt 2: "Write feedback for an employee" Prompt 3: "Draft a job description" Prompt 4: "Research salary ranges for roles" Prompt 5: "Plan a team meeting agenda"

Each one tested, named, and documented.

Examples of Five Prompts for a Sales Person

Prompt 1: "Write a cold email to a prospect" Prompt 2: "Research a prospect company" Prompt 3: "Write a follow-up email" Prompt 4: "Create a proposal outline" Prompt 5: "Write a quote thank-you email"

Each one tested, named, and documented.

Examples of Five Prompts for a Writer

Prompt 1: "Write a blog post outline" Prompt 2: "Expand an outline section" Prompt 3: "Write an SEO title and meta description" Prompt 4: "Research a topic for a blog" Prompt 5: "Edit a blog post for tone"

Each one tested, named, and documented.

Your Next Step

Start now. Pick one task. Write one prompt. Test it. Does it work? If yes, save it. If no, improve it. Then do the same for prompts two through five.

You now have a library you can use for the rest of your career.