Playbooks: Chain AI Prompts Into Reusable Workflows

A single AI prompt that tackles a single task is cool. But let's be honest, our work as designers is rarely that simple.

Think about it. Running a design sprint isn't one task. It's weeks of preparation, problem framing, ideation, prototyping, testing, and synthesizing findings. Preparing for a promotion isn't just "write a doc." It's understanding expectations, building evidence over months, aligning with your manager, and navigating company politics.

These are workflows, not tasks. And they need more than a single prompt.

The Problem With One-Off Prompts

Don't get me wrong, I love a good prompt. I've built over 100 of them on this site. But I kept running into the same issue:

I'd use a prompt to write a problem statement. Great. Then I'd need to do competitive analysis. Different prompt. Then user journey mapping. Another prompt. Then ideation synthesis. You get the idea.

Each prompt worked fine on its own. But I was constantly context-switching, re-explaining my project, and stitching things together manually.

There had to be a better way.

Enter Playbooks

Playbooks are step-by-step workflows that chain multiple prompts together into a reusable process.

Each playbook:

• Breaks down complex work into phases so you know what to do and when
• Tells you what to deliver at each step so you're not guessing if you're done
• Links to relevant prompts so you can get AI help exactly when you need it
• Includes tips from experience, the stuff you usually learn the hard way

It's like having a senior designer walk you through a process, except it's available at 2am when you're prepping for tomorrow's critique.

18 Playbooks (So Far)

I've built playbooks for the work that used to stress me out:

Design

• Run a Design Sprint
• Run a Design Critique
• Build a Design System
• Run Usability Tests
• Run an Accessibility Audit
• Handoff to Engineering

Product

• Write a PRD / Product Spec
• Product Launch Checklist
• Product Roadmap Planning
• Competitive Product Analysis
• Run a Beta Program
• Quarterly Business Review

Research

• Conduct a User Research Study
• Design & Analyze a Survey
• Design & Analyze A/B Tests

Career

• Run an Effective 1:1 with Manager
• Prepare for a Promotion
• Lead a Cross-Functional Project

How to Use Them

Pick a playbook. Start at step one.

Each step tells you:

1. What you're doing and why
2. How long it typically takes
3. What you should have when you're done
4. Which prompts can help
5. Tips to avoid common mistakes

You don't have to follow every step religiously. Skip what doesn't apply. Adapt to your situation. The playbook is a guide, not a rulebook.

Why This Matters

Early in my career, I wasted so much time figuring out how to do things. Not the craft, the process.

How do you actually run a critique that helps? What goes in a PRD? How do you prepare for a promotion conversation without sounding awkward?

Nobody teaches this stuff. You learn it by watching senior designers, making mistakes, and slowly piecing it together over years.

Playbooks are my attempt to shortcut that. To write down what I wish someone had told me.

What's Next

I'll keep adding playbooks as I figure out more workflows worth documenting. If there's a process you're struggling with, let me know. It might become the next one.

And if you try a playbook and find gaps, tell me. These are living documents, and they get better with feedback.

Happy designing.