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10 AI Prompts I Use as an Engineering Manager (1:1s, Reviews, Planning)

#ai #productivity #career #leadership

Engineering management is 80% communication. Here are 10 AI prompts I use regularly that save me hours every week.

1. One-on-One Prep 

Prepare for a 1:1 with [EMPLOYEE NAME], a [ROLE] who has been here [DURATION].
Recent context: [RECENT WORK/ISSUES].
Generate:
- 3 questions to check on their current work
- 2 questions about career growth
- 1 question about blockers or frustrations
- A growth area to discuss based on their role
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2. Sprint Planning Summary 

Summarize this sprint's goals for the team:
Tickets: [PASTE TICKETS]
Output:
- 3-5 bullet summary of what we're delivering
- Key dependencies or risks
- What "done" looks like for this sprint
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3. Performance Review Draft 

Draft a performance review for [NAME] covering [PERIOD].
Inputs: [CONTRIBUTIONS, CHALLENGES, FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS]
Constraints:
- Start with strengths (2-3 specific examples)
- Growth areas (1-2, with specific suggestions)
- Use concrete examples, not generic statements
- End with goals for next period
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4. Code Review Feedback 

Review this PR feedback I'm about to give:
[FEEDBACK TEXT]
Check:
- Is it specific and actionable?
- Does it sound harsh or supportive?
- Did I include a suggested fix?
- Is the priority clear (blocker vs nice-to-have)?
Rewrite if needed.
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5. Incident Postmortem 

Write an incident postmortem for [INCIDENT].
Inputs: timeline [TIMELINE], impact [IMPACT], root cause [ROOT CAUSE].
Format:
- Summary (2 sentences)
- Timeline (key events)
- Impact (users/data/duration)
- Root cause
- Action items (with owners and dates)
- What went well / what didn't
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6. Hiring: Interview Questions 

Generate interview questions for a [ROLE] candidate.
Include:
- 3 technical questions (increasing difficulty)
- 2 system design questions
- 2 behavioral questions about collaboration
- 1 question about handling failure/mistakes
For each, include what a good answer looks like.
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7. Team Update Email 

Write a weekly team update email.
Inputs: [WINS, CURRENT WORK, BLOCKERS, UPCOMING].
Constraints:
- Under 200 words
- Start with the biggest win
- Group by: Shipped / In Progress / Blocked
- End with what to watch for next week
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8. Architecture Decision Record 

Write an ADR for [DECISION].
Context: [WHY WE'RE DECIDING]
Options considered: [OPTION A, B, C]
Decision: [WHAT WE CHOSE]
Include:
- Trade-offs of each option
- Why we chose this one
- What would make us revisit this decision
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9. Onboarding Plan 

Create a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan for a new [ROLE].
Include:
- Week 1: setup, access, first task
- Weeks 2-4: first real contribution
- Days 30-60: ownership of a feature
- Days 60-90: full independence
For each phase: specific milestones and check-ins.
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10. Retrospective Action Items 

Summarize these retro notes into action items:
[RETRO NOTES]
For each action item:
- What specifically will we do?
- Who owns it?
- By when?
- How will we know it worked?
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Every one of these prompts was tested against real management scenarios. The full collection of 200+ tested prompts (including these) covers development, operations, marketing, and more.

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