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.