process · checklist-decomposition TEC-0004

Turn the procedure into a checklist

Convert constraints and steps into an explicit checklist the model must tick off before finishing.

Before starting, have the model restate every constraint and step as a numbered checklist. Before finishing, have it walk the list and mark each item as done with evidence. Long instructions become verifiable items, which reduces silent drift on multi-constraint tasks.

Addresses: Following an unfamiliar procedure

Contexts: Coding agent, Autonomous agent, Customer support

Does it work?

supported so far1 supporting · 0 contesting source · last moved 2026-09-04

Efficacy claims — what this technique actually moves, under which conditions, and whether that has been contested.

Fails when:

The instruction carries a single constraint. The gain comes from making several requirements separately checkable, so it is smallest when there is only one. (helps)

mechanismsingle paper
Decomposing an instruction into explicit yes/no items and judging against them beats asking for a holistic score, and the same checklist turned on the model's own draft improves the draft. The gain comes from making each requirement separately checkable, not from the model trying harder — so it is largest on instructions carrying several constraints at once.
- supports TICKing All the Boxes: Generated Checklists Improve LLM Evaluation and Generation (2024)

Code

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Sources

Either way, bring evidence: a link, or what you saw.

Whether a technique works is a claim. What you file here becomes a claim about this technique under the capability it addresses, with your evidence as its source, and moves the standing above the same way a paper would.