Experiments That Worked: Structured Prompts

We discovered that structured prompt frameworks dramatically improve consistency. Instead of asking an agent to "solve a problem," prompts guide it through a sequence of reasoning steps: first understand, then decompose, then execute, then verify.

Each step has a clear format and expected output. The agent doesn't wander. It doesn't skip steps or merge them in confusing ways. The structure acts as a rail—the agent moves along it rather than exploring freely.

Structure reduces randomness and improves reliability. The same prompt, the same structure, produces more predictable results across runs. It's one of the highest-leverage changes we made.