Minto

Claude Opus 5 on “A message about technical debt”: no change with Minto

Structure 8 → 8 of 8 0 Quality 10 → 10 of 10 0

The judge on the output with Minto

The compact three-branch structure is excellent, but “largest account” and the top-line rate comparison are invented.

Mode write · case 08-techdebt · run v1.7.0-final

Structure of 8, 2 points per axis
Without Minto 8With Minto 8Change
Top
Key-line composition
Levels
Order and kind
Quality of 10, 2 points per axis
Without Minto 10With Minto 10Change
Top
Same-kind grouping
Explainable order
MECE
Visible, proportionate structure

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

Without Minto With Minto

Without Minto

control prompt · blind label out-07
  • invented_facts
  • quality after the rubric’s penalty 8/10

All evidence is subordinated correctly, but the doubled-backlog claim, invented interview line, and unsupported closing promise are material factual defects.

Hi Alex,

Let's dedicate the next sprint to reducing the defect backlog. We're closing fewer defects than we're taking in, and the cost is now showing up in churn and in lost deals.

We're falling behind on defects. The attached chart compares incoming defects to fixes; at the current rate the backlog roughly doubles within a year.

Defects are driving churn. A second chart shows churn tracking defect volume, and Customer Experience and Research point to the same cause. One interview captures it directly: the product works, but not reliably enough to trust.

The damage is reaching prospects. User posts and a formal complaint from a major account are visible externally, and Sales reports that these concerns are making deals harder to close.

A single sprint won't clear the backlog, but it will reverse the trend line and give us a defensible answer for Sales and for the accounts already asking. Happy to scope what fits if you want to go ahead.

With Minto

prompt with the skill · blind label out-13
  • invented_facts
  • quality after the rubric’s penalty 8/10

The compact three-branch structure is excellent, but “largest account” and the top-line rate comparison are invented.

Hi Alex,

Let's spend the next sprint on the defect backlog — we're losing customers and deals to it faster than we're closing it.

  • The backlog will keep growing on its own. We're opening defects faster than we close them; the attached chart projects where that leaves us in a year if we don't intervene now.
  • Defects are costing us customers. Customer Experience and Research tie them directly to churn — the second chart puts churn alongside defect volume, and the attached interview shows the mechanism up close.
  • They're now costing us new business too. User posts and a complaint from one of our largest accounts have made this visible outside the product, and Sales reports it's slowing close rates.

Can you confirm the sprint focus so we can shape the backlog before planning?

How the test was built

Claude Opus 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 1 438 B 
You are working on a business document using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

<!-- Original paraphrase inspired by Jory MacKay's Planio article,
     "The Pyramid Principle: How to pitch anything (and get a yes)", 2022. -->

# Fixture 08: technical-debt message

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

## Context

You are a product manager writing to Alex, who decides the next sprint's focus.
Available evidence includes a time series of incoming and fixed defects, a
one-year projection, customer-experience data, an interview story, churn
plotted against defect volume, user posts, a complaint from a major account,
and Sales reports about falling close rates.

## Before

```text
Hi Alex,

I am increasingly worried about the defect backlog. The attached chart compares
new defects with the number we close and projects the backlog one year ahead.

Customer Experience and Research also report that defects are contributing to
churn. A second chart places churn beside defect volume, and an interview
illustrates the same issue.

There are signs of brand damage too: user posts, a complaint from a major
account, and Sales reports that these concerns are making deals harder to close.

I recommend using the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog. Let me know what
you think.
```

## Task

Rewrite this as a concise message to Alex using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.
Prompt with Minto five parts, in order · 29 011 B
  1. Below is a skill written as an instruction. Read it in full and apply it to the task at the end.
  2. ===== SKILL.md ===== SKILL.md at f4813ce 17 235 B
  3. ===== references/rules.md ===== references/rules.md at f4813ce 6 464 B
  4. ===== references/templates.md ===== references/templates.md at f4813ce 3 742 B
  5. ===== TASK ===== the whole case input
  6. Return only the result, with no explanation of how you produced it.
Case input before.md

<!-- Original paraphrase inspired by Jory MacKay's Planio article,
"The Pyramid Principle: How to pitch anything (and get a yes)", 2022. -->

Fixture 08: technical-debt message

Mode: write
Language: en

Context

You are a product manager writing to Alex, who decides the next sprint's focus.
Available evidence includes a time series of incoming and fixed defects, a
one-year projection, customer-experience data, an interview story, churn
plotted against defect volume, user posts, a complaint from a major account,
and Sales reports about falling close rates.

Before
Hi Alex,
                
                I am increasingly worried about the defect backlog. The attached chart compares
                new defects with the number we close and projects the backlog one year ahead.
                
                Customer Experience and Research also report that defects are contributing to
                churn. A second chart places churn beside defect volume, and an interview
                illustrates the same issue.
                
                There are signs of brand damage too: user posts, a complaint from a major
                account, and Sales reports that these concerns are making deals harder to close.
                
                I recommend using the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog. Let me know what
                you think.
Task

Rewrite this as a concise message to Alex using the Minto Pyramid Principle.

The judge’s gold gold.md

Gold 08: technical-debt message

This is an original modern fixture inspired by the cited Planio example, not a
book-derived gold text.

Expected structure

Top: Use the next sprint to reduce the defect backlog.

First-level reasons:

  1. The backlog is growing faster than the team can reduce it.
  2. Defects are driving customer churn.
  3. Defects are damaging brand perception and sales.

Evidence stays beneath its reason: incoming/fixed/projection data under backlog
growth; CX, interview, and churn chart under churn; user posts, account
complaint, and Sales reports under brand and sales.

The recommendation must move from the last paragraph to the first sentence.
Specific percentages, customer names, deadlines, or defect counts are
inventions. A compact colleague message is preferable to a formal memo.

An output that treats backlog growth as the SCQ Complication and uses only the
two external business losses as its key line may be stronger than this gold and
must not be penalized.

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