Claude Sonnet 5 on “The role of the board”: worse with Minto on both measures

Structure 1 → 0 of 8 −1 Quality 7 → 6 of 10 −1

The judge on the output with Minto

It offers a sound SCQ frame, yet stops at four questions and retains a purpose-style closing sentence.

Mode write · case 05-role-of-board · run v1.7.0-final

Structure of 8, 2 points per axis
Structure	Without Minto 1	Change
Top	1	−1
Key-line composition	0
Levels	0
Order and kind	0

Quality of 10, 2 points per axis
Quality	Without Minto 7	With Minto 6	Change
Top	1	0	−1
Same-kind grouping	2	2
Explainable order	1	1
MECE	1	1
Visible, proportionate structure	2	2

Outputs and the judge’s words are quoted as written, in English.

Without Minto With Minto

Without Minto

control prompt · blind label out-10

unacknowledged_source_loss
more_than_four_first_level
quality after the rubric’s penalty 4/10

It states the desired shift promptly, then reproduces the five-question agenda without the reorganization context.

The Board should shift its focus from operational matters to policy and planning, but doing so raises five questions that need to be resolved first:

What size and composition will let the Board carry out its planning and policy role effectively?
How should responsibilities be divided between the Board and the Executive Committee, and how should the two bodies relate to one another?
How can outside directors be made effective participants?
What principles should govern the selection and tenure of directors?
How should the Board move from its present arrangement with the Executive Committee to the arrangement it wants?

With Minto

prompt with the skill · blind label out-14

invented_facts
quality after the rubric’s penalty 5/10

It offers a sound SCQ frame, yet stops at four questions and retains a purpose-style closing sentence.

Since October's reorganization gave divisional managers full authority for day-to-day operations, the Board is now expected to concentrate on policy and planning. Yet the Board has continued to spend much of its time on short-term operational matters. To redefine its role, the Board needs to resolve four questions:

What size and composition will let the Board do this work effectively?
How should responsibilities be divided between the Board and the Executive Committee?
How can outside directors be made effective participants?
What principles should govern the selection and tenure of directors?

This memorandum sets out ideas on each, together with alternative ways to move from the present arrangement to the one the Board decides on.

The judge

Recurring defect	without	with Minto
Original agenda topics remain at the first level instead of becoming support for actionsthe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Core loop §4, Groups	present	present
“Alternative ways to get there” remains a substantive branchthe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Core loop §6, MECE	present	absent
The required action to formalize Board operation through policies and procedures is absentthe skill has no such rule · Core loop §4, deriving actions from source mechanics	present	present
The answer does not appear in the first sentencethe rule is there but buried · Core loop §3 and Mode 3 answer-first rendering	absent	present
The ordering principle is never namedthe rule is there but buried · Core loop §5 versus Mode 3 delivery guidance	present	present
Supplied context or a source topic disappears without acknowledgementthe skill has the rule; the model did not follow it · Mode 3, “Keep every fact from the source”	present	absent

Decisive questions

First-level kind
without topics/reasons
with Minto topics/reasons
Source topics unchanged at first level
without 5
with Minto 4
Transition branch?
without Yes
with Minto No; it remains document-wide
Purpose gone?
without Yes
with Minto No
Top answers required change?
without No
with Minto No
SCQ contradicts context?
without No
with Minto No
All source topics retained?
without Yes
with Minto Yes
Invented facts
without None
with Minto “Much of its time”

Judge’s check	without	with Minto
Answer first	yes	no
First-level elements	5	4
First-level kind matches the gold	no	no
Invented facts	no	yes
Source lost without a note	yes	no
Mode respected	yes	yes
Reader’s question stated literally	yes	yes
Order type named	no	no
SCQ introduction present	no	yes

How the test was built

Claude Sonnet 5 received the same task twice. The control prompt is one framing line and the task. The prompt with Minto is the same task preceded by the full text of the skill. The judge read both outputs among 16 under blind labels and did not know which one had the skill.

Prompt without Minto 1 403 B

You are working on a business document using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

<!-- Faithful paraphrase of Minto (2010), Chapter 2, the board-role
     introduction. Original wording for this fixture. -->

# Fixture 05: role of the board

**Mode:** `write`
**Language:** `en`

## Context

In October, a reorganization gave divisional managers full authority for
day-to-day operations. Policy and planning remain the Board's responsibility.
The Board has nevertheless spent years dealing with short-term operational
problems.

Open questions include Board size and membership, the division of work between
the Board and Executive Committee, effective participation by outside members,
and selection and tenure.

## Before

```text
The purpose of this memorandum is to collect ideas for discussion about:

1. Board composition and optimum size.
2. The broad roles of the Board and Executive Committee, the responsibilities
   of each, and their relationship.
3. How to make an outside director an effective participant.
4. Principles for selecting directors and setting their tenure.
5. Alternative ways to move from the present Board and Executive Committee
   arrangement to the desired one.
```

## Task

Rewrite the opening using the Minto Pyramid Principle. Return the introduction
and the points it sets out, not the full memorandum.

Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.

Prompt with Minto five parts, in order · 28 976 B

Below is a skill written as an instruction. Read it in full and apply it to the task at the end.
===== SKILL.md ===== SKILL.md at f4813ce 17 235 B
===== references/rules.md ===== references/rules.md at f4813ce 6 464 B
===== references/templates.md ===== references/templates.md at f4813ce 3 742 B
===== TASK ===== the whole case input
Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.

Case input before.md

Fixture 05: role of the board

Mode: write
Language: en

Context

In October, a reorganization gave divisional managers full authority for
day-to-day operations. Policy and planning remain the Board's responsibility.
The Board has nevertheless spent years dealing with short-term operational
problems.

Open questions include Board size and membership, the division of work between
the Board and Executive Committee, effective participation by outside members,
and selection and tenure.

Before

The purpose of this memorandum is to collect ideas for discussion about:
                
                1. Board composition and optimum size.
                2. The broad roles of the Board and Executive Committee, the responsibilities
                   of each, and their relationship.
                3. How to make an outside director an effective participant.
                4. Principles for selecting directors and setting their tenure.
                5. Alternative ways to move from the present Board and Executive Committee
                   arrangement to the desired one.

Task

Rewrite the opening using the Minto Pyramid Principle. Return the introduction
and the points it sets out, not the full memorandum.

The judge’s gold gold.md

Gold 05: role of the board

Source structure: Minto (2010), Chapter 2.

Expected structure

Element	Expected value
Reader question	What must the Board change to focus on long-range strategy?
Top	The Board should make the changes that let it concentrate on strategy
Key-line kind	Actions

Key line:

Hand day-to-day operating responsibility to the Executive Committee.
Broaden the Board to include outside directors.
Formalize internal operation through policies and procedures.

The October reorganization is the Situation. The Board's long habit of handling
short-term issues is the Complication.

None of the five source topics should survive unchanged as a first-level point.
Composition, roles, outside participation, and tenure become evidence beneath
the three actions. "Alternative ways to get there" describes the entire
document and is not a branch. The purpose statement disappears because it is
neither Situation nor answer.

Judge gpt-5.6-sol, effort high · Claude Sonnet 5, effort low · skill from commit f4813ce · run v1.7.0-final