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CCAO-F · Study Guide

← Domain 5: Configuration and Knowledge Management

5.3 · Lesson 3 of 4

System-Level and Project Instructions

What you need to know

Standing instructions work best when they are short, specific, and maintained. A tight list of rules Claude can follow beats a long essay of preferences, and instructions need an owner who updates them as the work changes.

Short and specific wins

  • Keep instructions short — every extra paragraph competes with the rules that matter.
  • Be specific: “summaries under 150 words with a one-line recommendation” beats “be concise and helpful.”
  • Include role, audience, output format, and hard constraints.
  • Add a fallback for missing information so Claude asks instead of guessing.

Test, tighten, own

Run a few real prompts, including an edge case where the right behavior is to ask a question. Tighten wherever the output is off. Check that instructions do not contradict knowledge files. Name who maintains them and when they are reviewed.

Worked example

Start with one long marketing preference paragraph. Rewrite into a half-page checklist: audience, voice, format, what to avoid, what to do when stuck. Remove uncheckable intensifiers and contradictions. Three test prompts — including the edge case — confirm the intended behavior before the Project goes live.

Exam traps

  • Long, vague preference essays

    A handful of precise rules outperforms pages of general wishes.

  • "Be professional and concise" as the only rule

    Hard to check. Prefer “two short paragraphs and one recommendation, plain language.”

  • Contradictory instructions or instructions that fight knowledge files

    Resolve conflicts; Claude cannot obey both sides.

  • Unowned instructions with no review date

    Unowned instructions quietly go stale as the work changes.

Practice scenario

A marketing Project’s standing instructions are a long paragraph of preferences like “be professional, thorough, and helpful.” Outputs are inconsistent. What is the best fix?

Choose one answer

Build exercise

Write and Tighten Standing Instructions

5.3 · Intermediate · ~30 min · claude.ai

What you will practise

  • Why short, specific instructions beat long, vague ones.
  • How to state rules Claude can follow and you can check.
  • How conflicts or filler in instructions weaken results.
  • How to test instructions against edge cases.

Use the Domain 5 instructions exercise so the final set fits on half a page and every rule is checkable.

Open Domain 5 exercises

Path: /learn/claude-associate/exercises/5-configuration-knowledge

Sources

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