Individual prompts produce one output. Multi-step workflows produce compounding outputs where each step builds on the last.
Example: User Research → Feature Brief Workflow
Step 1: Synthesize interviews
Step 2: Identify the top problem
Based on the synthesis above, identify the single user problem with the strongest combination of:
- Number of users affected (breadth)
- Severity of pain (depth)
- Absence of an existing solution (whitespace)
Step 3: Generate solution hypotheses
Generate 4 distinct solution directions. For each:
- What is the core mechanic of the solution?
- What would the user's experience change to?
- What is the MVP version (could ship in 2 weeks)?
- What is the full version?
- What assumption does this solution rely on that we should test?
Step 4: Write the feature brief
Write a one-page feature brief covering:
- Problem (from the problem statement, verbatim or refined)
- Proposed solution (from the direction I chose)
- Why now (what makes this the right time to solve this)
- Success metrics (measurable, 60-day horizon)
- Key risks and how we'll mitigate them
- Open questions before we start design
In four steps, you've gone from raw interview notes to a brief ready to hand to design. The total time: 45–60 minutes, including your own review at each step.