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Cursor Product & Developer-Workflow Fluency1 / 2

1 min lesson

Prompt and context strategy

Work through this case: "A trial team reports the agent's output is 'mediocre.' Before blaming the model, what do you investigate?" Say what you would do and why.

Step 1 of 2

Prompt and context strategythe difference between reliable and noisy output

Most disappointing output traces back to missing context, not a weak model. Coaching engineers to give the agent the right files, the right rules and a clear intent is the skill that turns a frustrated trial user into a daily user.

Coaching the difference: a vague ask vs. a context-rich one
# Weak - no files, no intent, no constraints
"fix the checkout bug"

# Strong - scoped context, clear intent, explicit guardrails
"@checkout.ts @cart.ts the total is wrong when a coupon is applied.
 Trace where discount is computed, fix it and add a failing test
 that reproduces the coupon case. Use integer cents (see project rules)."