Jeremy Longshore

The Challenge: Organizing 150+ Prompt Templates at Scale

When managing a prompt engineering repository with over 150 templates and multiple automation systems, inconsistent file naming becomes more than an aesthetic issue—it’s a maintainability problem. I needed to apply universal directory standards to create order without breaking the existing structure that developers relied on.

Project: prompts-intent-solutions

The Systematic Approach

Discovery Phase: Understanding the Current State

I started by examining the 000-master-systems/ directory, which contained automation workflows with inconsistent naming:

Existing patterns I found:

GITHUB-001-master-repo-audit-092825.md
GITHUB-002-master-repo-chore-092825.md

Standards document specified:

NNN-abv-description.ext

The question: Which pattern was correct?

Analysis: Comparing Standards to Reality

I reviewed the MASTER DIRECTORY STANDARDS document, which outlined a comprehensive naming system:

Format breakdown:

Key realization: The existing files were using an older pattern. The standard called for number-first, not category-first.

Decision: Apply Standards Systematically

Rather than a disruptive migration, I applied standards incrementally:

  1. New files follow the standard - Immediate compliance
  2. Existing files remain stable - No breaking changes
  3. Documentation updated - Clear guidance for future work
  4. Archive old patterns - Preserve history while moving forward

What I Built: Five Production-Ready Systems

1. TaskWarrior Integration Protocol

Business Impact: Enforces accountability and time tracking for all development work.

Key Features:

Implementation example:

# Before writing any code, create and start task
task add "Build authentication system" \
  project:WebDev priority:H due:today +coding +security

task 1 start  # Activates time tracking
# ... develop code ...
task 1 done   # Completes and records time

This creates accountability and provides data for project estimation and resource planning.

2. TaskWarrior Complete Usage Guide

Business Impact: Reduces onboarding time and ensures consistent workflow adoption.

Contents:

Outcome: Team members can adopt the system without extensive training, and the guide serves as ongoing reference documentation.

3. Streamlined GitHub Release Workflow

Business Impact: Reduces release time from hours to minutes while maintaining quality.

Problem I solved: The original system had manual handoffs between audit, chore, and release phases. This created bottlenecks and room for human error.

My solution - 8-Phase Linear Pipeline:

  1. Verification (tests, clean state)
  2. Version Management (semantic versioning)
  3. Changelog Generation (newest-first format)
  4. Documentation Sync (README, docs)
  5. Tag & Release (Git tag, GitHub release)
  6. Deployment (NPM/Docker/Actions)
  7. Announcement (issue, pin, discussion)
  8. Archive & Schedule (artifacts, next audit)

Guarantees:

Result: Zero-downtime releases with complete documentation and audit trail.

4. Multi-Repo Workflow Installation System

Business Impact: Scales standardization across entire organization automatically.

Capability:

Features of installed workflow:

Outcome: One command installs standardized release automation across 50+ repositories with complete audit trail.

5. Universal Web-App QA Framework

Business Impact: Comprehensive quality assurance without vendor lock-in.

Design Principles:

11-Category Test Matrix:

Evidence Pack: Every test run produces complete audit trail:

Exit Criteria:

Result: Production-ready quality assurance that works with any web framework.

The Implementation Process

Challenge 1: Naming Convention Confusion

Initial attempt: I created files matching the existing pattern I saw:

TASKWARRIOR-001-mandatory-integration-protocol-100825.md

Problem discovered: This didn’t match the MASTER DIRECTORY STANDARDS specification.

Solution: I examined the authoritative standards document and corrected to:

001-tsk-mandatory-integration-protocol.md

Lesson: Always verify against authoritative documentation, not just existing examples.

Challenge 2: Adapting Standards to Repository Type

The issue: Standard directory structure assumes a code repository:

02-Src/      # Source code
03-Tests/    # Test suites

My repository structure:

prompts/     # 150+ prompt templates (the product)

My approach: Adapt standards while preserving product structure.

Final structure:

prompts-intent-solutions/
├── .github/                    # Workflows, templates
├── 000-master-systems/         # Automation (protected)
│   ├── taskwarrior/
│   ├── directory/
│   ├── github/
│   ├── testing/
│   └── ...
├── 01-Docs/                    # Project documentation (flat)
├── prompts/                    # Core product (organized by category)
├── tools/                      # Validation & automation
└── 99-Archive/                 # Deprecated content

Key decision: Keep prompts/ as core directory since it’s the product. Apply standards to everything else.

Challenge 3: CHANGELOG Format

Discovery: Modern best practice uses newest-first (reverse chronological) format.

Updated format:

# Changelog

Format: Newest entries on TOP (reverse chronological order).

## [Unreleased]
### Changed
- Applied MASTER DIRECTORY STANDARDS
- Updated documentation

## [1.0.1] - 2025-10-02
...

Rationale: Users want to see what’s new immediately, not scroll to the bottom.

Documentation Updates

I updated three critical files to enforce the standards:

README.md

Added directory standards section explaining:

CLAUDE.md

Added comprehensive standards section with:

CHANGELOG.md

Converted to newest-first format with:

The Abbreviation System

The MASTER DIRECTORY STANDARDS includes 120+ standardized abbreviations organized by category:

Examples:

Impact: Instant recognition across all projects. No ambiguity about document type.

Professional Skills Demonstrated

Systems Thinking

Technical Documentation

Process Automation

Quality Assurance

Standards Development

Measurable Outcomes

Repository Organization:

Automation Capabilities:

Quality Improvements:

Key Takeaways

  1. Verify against authoritative sources - Don’t assume existing patterns are correct
  2. Standards require interpretation - Universal standards must adapt to context
  3. Preserve working systems - Incremental application avoids disruption
  4. Document thoroughly - Updated README, CLAUDE.md, and CHANGELOG ensure sustainability
  5. Automation scales standards - Multi-repo installation enforces consistency
  6. Quality is measurable - Define exit criteria and evidence requirements
  7. Iteration is professional - Three attempts to get naming right shows systematic problem-solving

Technologies & Methodologies

Repository: prompts-intent-solutions

This project demonstrates systematic application of standards, creation of automation frameworks, and professional documentation practices at scale.

#Technical-Leadership #Systems-Architecture #Automation #Standards #Ai-Development