Prompt Revision Checklist — Before You Ship v2

Overview

Most prompt revisions ship unreviewed because there's nothing forcing the review. This checklist is that forcing function, and a diff automates four of its five checks. Did anything get removed that the old version relied on? Did the new wording introduce vague terms? Did format/length/constraint control go up or at least stay flat? Did two instructions start contradicting each other? And if the prompt grew, does every added line change the output? The loaded pair fails exactly one check — see if you can spot which before the report tells you.

Workflow

1. 1
   Run the diff on the loaded pair

   Version B keeps the structure but 'improves' the tone. Compare Versions runs checks 1–4 automatically.

2. 2
   Spot the failed check

   No removals, control intact, no contradictions — but 'engaging', 'interesting', and 'where appropriate' are new ambiguity. Check 2 fails.

3. 3
   Decide intentionally

   Maybe the personality is worth the looseness — but now it's a decision instead of an accident.

4. 4
   Adopt the checklist

   Diff every revision and read the risk changes top to bottom — that is checks 1 through 4; the fifth (growth justified?) is yours.

Why This Works

• A checklist only works when it's cheap — the diff runs four of five checks automatically
• New vague wording is the most common revision regression and the hardest to see when you wrote it
• Forcing one explicit decision per flagged change keeps revisions intentional

Use cases

• Reviewing a revision before it replaces the production prompt
• Teaching teammates what to look for when editing shared prompts
• Turning prompt editing from vibes into a repeatable check