'Done when' is the part of a prompt that describes a finished result. It tells the AI what to aim for and tells you what to check.
Without it, the AI stops where it thinks a typical answer ends. With it, it can aim for your target.
Name one or two checks the result must pass: 'a colleague could use it without questions', 'three options with one sentence each', 'fits on one page'.
A criterion works best if you can tell at a glance whether it is met. 'Good' is hard to check, 'under 100 words' is easy.
If the result misses a point of your 'done when', say which one. The next answer can be adjusted against exactly that.
Our free page 'How to prompt better' has a copyable template for the four questions: goal, background, limits and done when. Open How to prompt better
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
#AI #Prompting #ChatGPT #Claude #Productivity
This page gives general information and is not legal, financial or medical advice. [email protected]