Forum Discussion
Is Your AI Prompt Missing the Real Problem? | Introducing the 6W + E Framework
One thing I’ve noticed while working with Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot:
Sometimes the problem isn't the AI.
It's the way we think before we prompt.
We often write:
“Create a presentation on AI.”
“Summarize this document.”
“Write an email to the customer.”
The AI can certainly do these tasks.
But will the output be what we actually need?
I've been working on a simple principle to make prompting easier to remember:
6W + E
WHY → WHAT → WHO → WITH → WAY → WIN → EVALUATE
Here’s how I think about it:
WHY — Why are we asking AI to do this?
WHAT — What exactly do we want?
WHO — Who is the audience or stakeholder?
WITH — What context, data, documents or tools should AI work with?
WAY — How should the output or task be delivered?
WIN — What does a successful outcome look like?
EVALUATE — Did the result actually achieve what we wanted?
The last one is particularly important.
Good prompting shouldn't be:
Prompt → Answer → Done
It should be:
Think → Prompt → Evaluate → Refine
I don't see 6W + E as a formula for writing longer prompts.
I see it as a way to think more clearly before asking AI to work.
And as we move from prompting to Copilot, AI workflows and AI agents, I believe this way of thinking becomes even more important.
I'm going to explore this with practical Copilot examples in our upcoming Tuesday Prompt Day discussions.
But before we get there, I'd like to start with the community:
👉 Which of these do you most often forget when prompting AI?
WHY | WHAT | WHO | WITH | WAY | WIN | EVALUATE
And do you normally evaluate and refine the first response—or accept it as it is?
I'm curious to hear how others approach this.
That is why I have added the important framework 'E' which is Evaluate in my 6W+E framework. It is not always possible to get your desired result in 1 go so we need to keep evaluating it. However, I feel in your case it was not that complicated for the Copilot to identify the issue and tell you. But sometimes it happens and we need to keep up working as this is technology which works best when we both understand each other.
5 Replies
My problem has been that Copilot doesn't know Occam's Razor. Copilot knows everything and it insists on giving me the most complicated answers to questions. I recently had a problem running a personal Windows EXE from Task Scheduler. Device Guard blocked the program. As it happens, disabling Device Guard is really hard and not recommended. But moving the EXE to be under Program Files solved the issue, without needing to digitally sign my EXE. Moving the EXE to a different folder was really easy, but Copilot didn't suggest it at first.
I led Copilot down the wrong path because I asked Copilot how to stop Device Guard from blocking my EXE, and for some reason, Copilot decided that the best answer was to disable Device Guard. I should have asked what simple changes I could make to allow my EXE to run from Task Scheduler. There won't always be a simple solution, but Copilot will never tell me if I don't ask.UPDATE: I attended an MS webinar, Get Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot. rahukpachauri is not helping the community with more prompting tips. MS is happy to provide these. For complicated prompts specify the goal (such as to write 500 words), the context (such as for a love song), suggested sources (such as wikipedia), and the expectations (such as to make my spouse smile). Be more professional with your AI bot and it will respond more professionally.
I appreciate your feedback and good to know you are learning the MS tips for prompt engineering - the goal, context, source and expectations. My framework is designed on a simpler way of understanding the topic which is relatable and give you result which you expect. When you go deeper into prompt engineering, I hope this will help everyone who are looking to learn and grow in the field of Prompt Engineering and Generative AI.
That is why I have added the important framework 'E' which is Evaluate in my 6W+E framework. It is not always possible to get your desired result in 1 go so we need to keep evaluating it. However, I feel in your case it was not that complicated for the Copilot to identify the issue and tell you. But sometimes it happens and we need to keep up working as this is technology which works best when we both understand each other.
I'm happy for rahulpachauri in getting marked as a solution by someone, but all he said was, "try things, evaluate the results, and keep doing that until something works."
My problem has been that Copilot doesn't know Occam's Razor. Copilot knows everything and it insists on giving me the most complicated answers to questions. I recently had a problem running a personal Windows EXE from Task Scheduler. Device Guard blocked the program. As it happens, disabling Device Guard is really hard and not recommended. But moving the EXE to be under Program Files solved the issue, without needing to digitally sign my EXE. Moving the EXE to a different folder was really easy, but Copilot didn't suggest it at first.
I led Copilot down the wrong path because I asked Copilot how to stop Device Guard from blocking my EXE, and for some reason, Copilot decided that the best answer was to disable Device Guard. I should have asked what simple changes I could make to allow my EXE to run from Task Scheduler. There won't always be a simple solution, but Copilot will never tell me if I don't ask.
