How to use this
A prompt is a wish you keep in your head. A spec gets it onto the page. Every workflow is the same three steps: where it starts (Input), what kicks it off (Trigger), where it lands (Output). Fill the lines below for your own use case. If it touches sensitive data, write the NOT ALLOWED lines first. Then hand the spec to Claude (or any tool) and let it build.
① THE SHAPE
The spec, in one page.
Each line maps to one of the 5 building blocks (Instructions, Knowledge, Memory, Context, Tools) plus the shape (Input, Trigger, Output). Fill the brackets.
SPEC [the job, in one line]
INPUT [where it starts: the sheet, files, data]
TRIGGER [what kicks it off: a schedule, a status, a click]
OUTPUT [where it lands: a nudge, a doc, an answer, a record]
INSTRUCTIONS [the job and the rules it must follow]
KNOWLEDGE [what it must read: policies, templates, current data]
MEMORY [what "done" looks like, held so it does not drift]
CONTEXT [situational details: who reports to whom, today's date]
TOOLS [what it may touch, and where output goes]
DONE [the success test, in one line]
NOT ALLOWED [the limits, written in first]
② WORKED EXAMPLE
Olivia's onboarding nudge.
Nudge managers to finish a new hire's onboarding plan. Built live with a sample sheet and a real Slack nudge.
SPEC Nudge each manager to finish their new hire's 30 to 60 day onboarding plan.
INPUT The onboarding tracker sheet (new hire, manager, start date, plan status, on leave).
TRIGGER Every Friday, any hire not "Done" who started within the last 60 days.
OUTPUT A short, friendly Slack DM to that manager, plus a shared hub channel for general info.
INSTRUCTIONS Nudge gently, once a week, only the managers who are behind. One bundled message each.
KNOWLEDGE The tracker, the 30 to 60 day onboarding template, the 60-day policy.
MEMORY Done = every hire has a filled plan within 60 days. Do not double-nudge.
CONTEXT Who is on leave this week; today's date for "day X of 60".
TOOLS Read the sheet, send Slack. Not the payroll system. Not another manager's rows.
DONE Every new hire has a completed plan within 60 days.
NOT ALLOWED Never nudge someone on leave. Never show one hire's status to another manager.
③ WORKED EXAMPLE
The compensation-change workflow.
The most sensitive build, so the spec is mostly guardrails. The AI is the rails; the approval and the payroll write stay human.
SPEC Move an approved comp change into payroll, with approval as a hard gate.
INPUT A request sheet (employee, manager, current base + bonus, requested change, reason).
TRIGGER A manager submits a request; HR ops runs the approved batch on the weekly payroll run.
OUTPUT On approval the approved figure lands in a payroll-input sheet with an approval reference; a Slack notification once applied.
INSTRUCTIONS Approval is a hard gate. The number in payroll equals the approved figure, never the requested one.
KNOWLEDGE Comp policy, bands and budget; the approval matrix; current comp (read only).
MEMORY Done = approved figure in payroll, matching the approval, logged.
CONTEXT Who reports to whom (row-level access); the payroll run date; the approver for this band.
TOOLS Read comp and policy; write the request and payroll-input sheets; notify. Never write payroll itself.
DONE Every approved change reaches payroll exactly as approved, fully traceable.
NOT ALLOWED A manager seeing another manager's people. An unapproved or different number reaching payroll. Comp is RESTRICTED.
④ TAKE IT FURTHER
From a spec to something your team reuses.
The same use case levels up. Most HR wins live happily at rung 2 or 3.
1 · CHAT Run the spec by hand: paste the data, ask, read the answer. Zero setup.
2 · COWORK Load the policy and template once, so you do not re-explain every time.
3 · AGENTIC Connect a sheet and Slack, put it on a schedule. Now it runs on its own.
4 · CLAUDE CODE Bundle the spec into a Skill, version it, hand it to the team.
5 · PLUGIN A plugin is a bundle of Skills. The team installs one thing, not ten.
⑤ MAKE IT YOURS
Install the skill in your own Claude.
Fork it once, and Claude pulls this structure in automatically whenever you scope a workflow.
FORK IT Download the skill below. It is a folder, spec-builder/SKILL.md, zipped.
STEP 1 In claude.ai: Settings, then Features. Turn on Code execution (Skills need it).
STEP 2 Settings, Features, Skills, Upload skill, then choose spec-builder-skill.zip.
DONE Claude loads it automatically when you scope a workflow, or say "use the spec builder".
WHEN Any time you are about to build: start with a spec, not a prompt.
NOTE Skills are per person on claude.ai. Each teammate uploads their own copy.