Apply task decomposition techniques
Break large or multi-part work into reviewable steps, and agree the structure before the bulk work starts.
Recognising the best way to sequence a big task, such as a long report, an RFP response or classifying thousands of records.
Key ideas
- Outline, then sections, then a consistency pass
- For long documents, agree an outline mapped to the requirements, draft section by section with the relevant inputs, then ask Claude to check consistency across sections.
- Agree the scheme before bulk work
- For analysis of many records (returns, survey comments), have Claude propose categories from a sample, agree them, then classify everything against the agreed scheme.
- Chain prompts
- Feed the output of one step into the next (extract facts → identify gaps → list risks). Each step is easier to check than one giant answer.
- Extract, then answer
- For questions about a long document, ask Claude to pull out the relevant passages first and answer only from them.
- Summarise hierarchically
- When there is too much material for one pass, summarise each piece separately, then combine the summaries.
Worked example
A bid manager must respond to a 40-page RFP.
Here is the RFP. Write our full response.
Step 1: list every requirement in the RFP with its section number. Step 2: propose an outline that maps each requirement to a response section. (Review.) Step 3: draft section 2 using the attached case studies. … Final step: check all sections for consistent terminology and commitments.
Why: Each step can be reviewed and corrected before it affects the next, and every requirement is traceable to a response.
Common traps
- Splitting work into random chunks in separate chats, which loses consistency.
- Asking for the final answer before agreeing the structure or criteria it depends on.
- Letting Claude decide things that should be human decisions (strategic priorities, which vendor wins) as a “step”.
Big task? Agree the structure first, then build it piece by piece, then check the whole.