Structure
Inputs, guardrails, tool calls, and evaluation hooks documented inline.
Libraries beat lone-wolf prompts
A prompt template library works when it encodes decisions: tone, output shape, refusal behavior, and fallback paths. Templates that are only clever prose rot the moment a model update changes formatting habits.
Version templates like APIs—breaking changes get a semver bump and a migration note. Link each template to the owning team and the evaluation harness that guards it.
Structure teams will actually reuse
Use consistent slots: ROLE, CONTEXT, CONSTRAINTS, OUTPUT_FORMAT, ESCALATION. Humans scan faster when layout is predictable; machines parse safer.
Include negative examples (“never invent policy numbers”) beside positive ones. Ambiguity is where shortcuts appear.
Governance without friction
Lightweight review for new templates; auto-approve patch-level typo fixes. Block merges that lack a linked eval result or owner sign-off for customer-facing paths.
Retire templates that fall below usage thresholds—dead entries train people to ignore the library entirely.
Discovery and onboarding
Tag by workflow (support, sales, engineering) and risk tier. New hires should find “approved starting points” in under two minutes from the wiki root.
SignalSpring treats the library as internal product: quarterly usability interviews beat annual audits.