Reuse good work

Learn 14 planned minutes

Reuse the method, not the matter

Copying an old prompt can save effort, but it can also carry an old client name, price or assumption into the next task. Separate stable working instructions from case-specific input. Stable instructions might require source locations and human approval. The particular signed contract and the client's facts belong in the approved matter context.

A template gives the shape of an output. A checklist identifies checks. A workflow card describes a repeatable process, including inputs, steps, output and stopping points. These can all support an installed skill, but writing them in a document does not install anything.

In the OpenAI documentation inspected for this edition, a skill packages instructions and supporting resources for a focused task. A plugin can bundle skills and connections to tools. Products differ in packaging and activation; verify the current instructions for the approved surface. OAISKILLS

Know where context lives

A project or matter space may group related chats and files. Custom instructions may hold preferences. Memory may retain information across interactions. None should be assumed to implement the firm's access rules or perfectly isolate matters. Confirm actual workspace behaviour, sharing and retention settings before using real information.

For this course, keep reusable instructions generic and disable or avoid persistent storage of matter facts. Use explicit sources for each task. If the assistant appears to remember an old fact, check where it came from rather than accepting it as current evidence.

A knowledge collection is useful only if its contents are suitable: identified owners, document status, dates and permissions matter. Retrieval can bring an obsolete clause or the wrong matter into a conversation. “It came from the firm's library” does not prove it is the approved current position.

Build one small skill

Choose a task you have already performed and checked. Name when the workflow should be used and when it should not. Define required input, output format, source checks, stop conditions, reviewer, owner and version. Start with the blueprint in the toolkit.

Test it on the known ordinary case. Then remove a required source or introduce an unsigned change. Look for whether it flags the problem, not just whether the output looks consistent. Record corrections and retest. An instruction saying “always verify” is not evidence that verification occurs. ANTHROPIC

If your approved environment supports skills, a facilitator can help you create or select one through its supported interface, inspect it and invoke it explicitly. Inspect associated resources, tools and executable steps before trusting a third-party package. Do not install an unknown skill because it promises legal expertise. The portable card and simulation route teach the same process design; live installation remains a separately recorded observation.

Worked example

Weak reusable instruction: “Write our client update exactly like the last one.” It risks copying last week's facts and approvals.

Better card: “Use the supplied current source list. Summarise confirmed facts and unresolved decisions in at most 150 words, cite locations, and label the result draft for the named reviewer. Stop if a required source or permission is missing. Never send.”

The current matter's facts are inputs. The review method is reusable. If the signed source is missing, the desired result is a request for it, not a more confident guess.

Practise 20 planned minutes

Guided practice

Adapt the toolkit blueprint for Cedar. Test with C01–C05, then without C03. Use S07 if working in simulation. Record the expected behaviour before reviewing the result. Change the card if it invents standard terms or silently substitutes the sales email.

Feedback — compare after your attempt

The ordinary case can produce a bounded draft. Without C03, the signed terms are unavailable; the workflow must identify that limitation and withhold a definitive summary of them. With unsigned C07, a newer filename does not establish a changed contract. An owner, version and retest date help prevent today's useful instructions from becoming tomorrow's stale process.

Practice assignment

Complete A07 with a workflow card of at most 200 words plus two short test records. Mark it as a paper blueprint, tested prompt or actually tested installed skill. Do not claim installation just because the text is ready. Keep the card free of real matter information.

Participation

Ask a peer when your card should refuse to proceed. Solo alternative: supply a hypothetical missing document and write the safe response you expect.

Check 6 planned minutes

Two formative checks. Choose an answer, then check it or open the comparison. Retry freely; this is not an award or an observed-skill record.

Source study and completion check

Optional pointer: OAISKILLS, “Use skills for repeatable work” and “Choose between a skill and a plugin”. Explain which part of your card is reusable and which context must be provided afresh. Complete AI07's two checks.

Before moving on, compare your artifact with the module feedback, correct material errors and keep its actual route label. This page does not record or certify completion.