AI Prompts for Project Management

You are an experienced Scrum Master helping plan Sprint {{sprint_number}} for {{team_name}}.

Team context:
- Team size: {{team_size}} engineers
- Sprint duration: {{sprint_length}} weeks
- Average velocity: {{velocity}} story points (last 3 sprints: {{recent_velocities}})
- Capacity this sprint: {{capacity_notes}} (PTO, holidays, on-call rotations)

Product backlog items under consideration:
{{backlog_items}}

For each item, evaluate:
1. Does it have clear acceptance criteria? If not, flag it.
2. Is the estimate realistic given the team's history with similar work?
3. Are dependencies resolved or at risk?

Produce:

## Sprint {{sprint_number}} Plan

### Sprint Goal
One sentence describing what we will deliver and why it matters to users.

### Committed Items
| Story | Points | Owner | Dependencies | Risk |
|-------|--------|-------|-------------|------|

### Stretch Goals (if capacity allows)
Items that are ready but exceed our velocity target.

### Capacity Analysis
- Total available points: [calculated from velocity and capacity]
- Committed points: [sum]
- Buffer: [remaining] (target: 15-20% buffer for unplanned work)

### Risks & Mitigations
Flag any items where delivery is uncertain and suggest mitigations.

### Carry-Over from Sprint {{prev_sprint}}
{{carryover_items}}
For each, explain why it was not completed and whether the remaining work estimate has changed.

Generate a project status report for {{project_name}} — Week of {{report_date}}.

Audience: {{audience}} (e.g., engineering team, executive leadership, cross-functional stakeholders)

Raw data for this period:
- Completed: {{completed_items}}
- In Progress: {{in_progress_items}}
- Blocked: {{blocked_items}}
- Metrics: {{metrics}}

## Status Report: {{project_name}}

### Overall Status: [Green / Yellow / Red]
One-sentence summary. Be honest — do not default to Green.

### Key Accomplishments
Bullet points of what shipped or was completed. For each, state the user/business impact, not just the task.

### In Progress
For each active workstream:
- What is being worked on
- Expected completion date
- Current confidence level (High / Medium / Low)

### Blockers & Risks
| Blocker/Risk | Impact | Owner | Mitigation | Resolution ETA |
|-------------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|

### Metrics
| Metric | Last Period | This Period | Trend | Target |
|--------|------------|-------------|-------|--------|

### Decisions Needed
List any decisions that require input from the audience to unblock progress.

### Next Week Plan
Top 3 priorities and what "done" looks like for each.

Tailor the language and detail level to the {{audience}}. Executives want impact and timeline; engineers want technical specifics.

Create a risk register for {{project_name}} currently in the {{project_phase}} phase.

Project context:
{{project_context}}

Team: {{team_description}}
Timeline: {{timeline}}
Budget: {{budget_info}}

## Risk Register

For each risk, provide:

| ID | Risk Description | Category | Likelihood (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Risk Score | Owner | Mitigation Strategy | Contingency Plan | Status | Last Reviewed |
|----|-----------------|----------|-------------------|---------------|------------|-------|---------------------|-----------------|--------|---------------|

Categories to evaluate:
1. **Technical** — architecture decisions, tech debt, integration complexity, performance
2. **Resource** — team turnover, skill gaps, availability, key person dependencies
3. **Schedule** — deadline pressure, dependency delays, scope creep
4. **External** — vendor reliability, regulatory changes, market shifts
5. **Scope** — requirements ambiguity, stakeholder alignment, feature creep
6. **Budget** — cost overruns, unexpected expenses, funding changes

For the top 5 risks (highest risk score):
- Write a detailed mitigation plan with specific actions and deadlines
- Define trigger conditions: what observable event tells us this risk is materializing?
- Define the contingency plan: if mitigation fails, what is plan B?

### Risk Heat Map
Create a text-based 5x5 matrix of Likelihood vs. Impact, placing each risk ID in its cell.

### Summary
- Total risks identified: [count]
- Critical (score >= 20): [count and IDs]
- Unmitigated risks: [count and IDs]
- Recommended review cadence: {{review_frequency}}

Create a structured meeting agenda for: {{meeting_title}}

Meeting type: {{meeting_type}} (standup | planning | review | retro | 1:1 | decision | kickoff)
Duration: {{duration}} minutes
Attendees: {{attendees}}
Meeting goal: {{meeting_goal}}

## {{meeting_title}}
**Date:** {{meeting_date}} | **Duration:** {{duration}} min | **Facilitator:** {{facilitator}}

### Pre-Read (share 24 hours before)
List any documents, dashboards, or context attendees should review before the meeting.

### Agenda

| Time | Duration | Topic | Owner | Type | Notes |
|------|----------|-------|-------|------|-------|

Type categories: Info (one-way update), Discussion (open dialogue), Decision (must leave with a choice), Action (assign next steps)

Rules:
- Every topic has a clear owner and time box
- Decision items include the options under consideration
- The last 5 minutes are always reserved for: action items recap + next steps
- No topic should exceed {{max_topic_minutes}} minutes — if it needs more, it needs its own meeting

### Decision Log (fill during meeting)
| Decision | Options Considered | Chosen | Rationale | Owner |
|----------|-------------------|--------|-----------|-------|

### Action Items (fill during meeting)
| Action | Owner | Due Date |
|--------|-------|----------|

### Parking Lot
Topics raised but deferred to a future meeting.

If this is a recurring meeting, note what changed from last time: {{previous_action_items}}

Facilitate a sprint retrospective for Sprint {{sprint_number}} of {{team_name}}.

Sprint data:
- Planned: {{planned_points}} points | Completed: {{completed_points}} points
- Stories committed: {{committed_count}} | Completed: {{completed_count_actual}} | Carried over: {{carryover_count}}
- Bugs found in sprint: {{bugs_found}} | Bugs found in production: {{prod_bugs}}
- Average cycle time: {{cycle_time}}
- Sprint goal achieved: {{goal_achieved}} (Yes / Partially / No)

Previous retro action items and their status:
{{previous_actions}}

## Retrospective: Sprint {{sprint_number}}

### Data Review (5 min)
Present the sprint metrics above. Highlight:
- Velocity trend (compare to last 3 sprints)
- Completion rate
- Any anomalies in the data

### What Went Well (10 min)
Prompt questions to draw out positives:
- What should we make sure to keep doing?
- Where did collaboration work especially well?
- What process improvement from a previous retro is paying off?

### What Didn't Go Well (10 min)
Prompt questions to surface issues:
- Where did we feel most frustrated?
- What surprised us (and shouldn't have)?
- What would we do differently if we could redo this sprint?

### Root Cause Analysis (10 min)
For the top 2-3 issues identified, apply the "5 Whys" technique:
- Problem: [stated issue]
  - Why? ...
  - Why? ...
  - (continue until root cause is found)

### Action Items (10 min)
For each root cause, propose:
| Action | Owner | Definition of Done | Due Date | How We'll Measure Success |
|--------|-------|-------------------|----------|--------------------------|

Limit to 3 action items maximum. Better to complete 3 than ignore 10.

### Previous Action Item Review
| Action | Status | Notes |
|--------|--------|-------|

Flag any recurring issues that have appeared in 3+ retros — these need escalation, not another action item.

Create a resource allocation plan for {{planning_period}} across the following projects and team members.

## Team
{{team_members}}
(For each: name, role, skills, current allocation %, any constraints like PTO or part-time)

## Projects Requiring Resources
{{projects}}
(For each: name, priority, required skills, estimated effort in person-weeks, deadline, current status)

## Produce:

### Allocation Matrix
| Team Member | {{project_1}} | {{project_2}} | ... | Buffer | Total |
|-------------|------|------|-----|--------|-------|
(Percentages must sum to 100% per person. No one should be at 100% — reserve {{buffer_percent}}% for unplanned work.)

### Skill Coverage Analysis
For each project, verify:
- Required skills are covered by assigned team members
- No single point of failure (at least 2 people can cover critical skills)
- Flag any skill gaps that need hiring, training, or external help

### Conflict Resolution
Identify where the same person is needed by multiple projects at >80% combined allocation. For each conflict:
- The competing demands
- Recommended resolution (prioritize, defer, hire, split)
- Impact of each option on project timelines

### Risk Assessment
- **Over-allocated individuals** (>85%): burnout risk
- **Under-allocated individuals** (<50%): opportunity for cross-training
- **Key person dependencies**: what happens if [person] is unavailable for 2 weeks?
- **Timeline risks**: which projects cannot meet deadline with current allocation?

### Recommendations
Prioritized list of allocation changes, hiring needs, or timeline adjustments.

Optimization priority: {{optimization_priority}} (delivery speed | team sustainability | cost efficiency | skill development)