The first result is rarely the final one. This is about steering it toward what you meant, without starting over.
When a build comes back not quite right, the instinct is to say exactly that: “no, that’s not it,” or “try again.” 3B will happily try again, but you’ve handed it the same fuzzy signal as last time, so what you usually get is a different not-quite-right build rather than a closer one. Good feedback works the other way round. It tells 3B precisely what it missed and gives it something concrete to steer toward.
Three things make feedback actually land: name the problem, point to where it is, and show what right looks like.
Name the specific problem
“It’s wrong” gives 3B nothing to act on. “The list shows every request, but I only wanted the ones still pending” gives it something exact to change. The more precisely you can describe the gap between what you got and what you wanted, the smaller the next correction has to be.
- Vague: “This isn’t right, fix it.”
- Specific: “A row gets added even when the form’s missing a requester. It should only add one when that field is filled in.”
Point at where the problem is
On a build with a few moving parts, naming the spot saves everyone a round of guesswork. “The Slack note is fine, but the step feeding it is pulling in yesterday’s requests too” tells 3B exactly where to look. You don’t have to diagnose the fix. Just point at the part that’s off, and that’s usually enough.
Show what right looks like
Whenever you can, hand 3B an example of the correct result. “The title should read like ‘Request: standing desk’, not just the item on its own” beats any amount of description, because it removes the guesswork about what you actually meant. A sample of good output steers better than the word “better” ever will.
Feedback in one pass
Put it all together and a solid correction sounds like this:
Two things are off. There is no filter for Approved and I want to see what’s approved and what’s pending approval. And the date’s showing in GMT+1, but the team is based in Boston, so it should show EDT.
That’s specific, it points at the parts that are wrong, and it shows the result you’re after. 3B has everything it needs to close the gap in one go, instead of the two of you trading vague notes back and forth.
One caveat worth noting: feedback like this works when the build is close and drifting on details. When you catch yourself giving the same correction for the third time and it keeps sailing past, that’s a different signal entirely, and it’s what the next piece is about.
Next up: Iterate, restart, or let 3B fix it, for telling a build that needs a nudge from one that needs a clean slate.