@ckelsoe/prompt-architect 3.0.2 → 3.1.1

package/skills/prompt-architect/references/frameworks/self-refine.md

@@ -1,205 +1,205 @@
-# Self-Refine Framework
-
-## Overview
-
-Self-Refine is an iterative output improvement framework where a single model acts as its own generator, critic, and refiner — with no external training, no additional models, and no labeled data required. The core loop: generate an initial output → produce specific, actionable feedback → refine using that feedback → repeat until a stopping criterion is met.
-
-**Research basis:** "Self-Refine: Iterative Refinement with Self-Feedback" (Madaan et al., arXiv 2303.17651, NeurIPS 2023). Tested across 7 task types — improvement of 5-40% over single-pass generation from GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. Humans preferred Self-Refined outputs in blind evaluation. Project site: selfrefine.info.
-
-## The Core Loop
-
-```
-GENERATE → FEEDBACK → REFINE → [repeat] → STOP
-```
-
-Each phase:
-1. **Generate**: Produce an initial output (can be your first draft or AI-generated)
-2. **Feedback**: Analyze the output for specific, actionable weaknesses across defined dimensions
-3. **Refine**: Rewrite addressing every feedback point — with the feedback visible as context
-4. **Stop**: When quality threshold met, max iterations reached, or feedback says "looks good"
-
-**Key insight:** Maintaining a history of previous outputs + feedback in context prevents regression and helps the model track progress across iterations.
-
-## Components
-
-### Initial Output
-**Purpose:** The starting point. Can be a first AI generation or something you've already written that needs improvement.
-
-### Feedback Dimensions
-**Purpose:** The specific aspects to evaluate. Defining these explicitly produces much better critiques than asking for generic feedback.
-
-**Common dimensions by task type:**
-- **Code**: correctness, efficiency, readability, edge cases, error handling
-- **Writing**: clarity, structure, tone, specificity, conciseness, audience fit
-- **Reasoning**: logical validity, completeness, unsupported claims, missed considerations
-- **Plans/strategies**: feasibility, completeness, risks, measurability
-
-### Refinement Instruction
-**Purpose:** Directs the model to rewrite addressing every feedback point, using the critique as a direct specification.
-
-### Stop Condition
-**Purpose:** When to stop iterating. Options:
-- Fixed iterations (e.g., "run 2 refinement cycles")
-- Quality signal ("stop when feedback has no major issues")
-- Manual review (you decide when it's good enough)
-
-## Template Structure
-
-### Single Cycle (most common)
-```
-INITIAL OUTPUT:
-[Paste the output to improve, or ask the AI to generate a first draft]
-
-FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
-Review the output above for:
-1. [Dimension 1 — e.g., "Clarity: Is every sentence clear and unambiguous?"]
-2. [Dimension 2 — e.g., "Completeness: What important points are missing?"]
-3. [Dimension 3 — e.g., "Tone: Is the voice appropriate for the audience?"]
-4. [Dimension 4 — add as needed]
-
-For each dimension: identify specific problems with quoted examples,
-explain why each is a problem, and suggest concrete improvements.
-
-REFINEMENT:
-Now rewrite the output addressing every point of your feedback.
-Show the refined version only (no commentary).
-```
-
-### Multi-Cycle with History
-```
-ITERATION 1:
-[Generate initial output or paste existing]
-
-ITERATION 1 FEEDBACK:
-Analyze for [dimensions]. Be specific and actionable.
-
-ITERATION 2:
-Rewrite addressing all feedback above.
-[AI produces refined version]
-
-ITERATION 2 FEEDBACK:
-Analyze the refined version for any remaining issues.
-
-ITERATION 3 (if needed):
-Rewrite addressing remaining issues.
-
-STOP when feedback says "no major issues remaining."
-```
-
-### Self-Refine as a Single Compound Prompt
-```
-TASK: [What you want to produce]
-
-GENERATE: Write an initial [output type] for the above.
-
-FEEDBACK: Review your output for: [dimension 1], [dimension 2], [dimension 3].
-List specific issues with quoted examples and concrete suggestions.
-
-REFINE: Rewrite addressing all feedback. Show only the final refined version.
-```
-
-## Complete Examples
-
-### Example 1: Code Review and Improvement
-
-```
-INITIAL OUTPUT:
-def get_user_data(user_id):
-    db = connect_to_database()
-    result = db.query(f"SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {user_id}")
-    return result
-
-FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
-Review for:
-1. Security: Any injection vulnerabilities or unsafe patterns?
-2. Error handling: What happens if the DB is unavailable or user doesn't exist?
-3. Resource management: Are connections properly managed?
-4. Code quality: Any Python best practices violations?
-
-REFINEMENT:
-Rewrite the function addressing all feedback points.
-```
-
-### Example 2: Writing Improvement
-
-```
-INITIAL OUTPUT:
-[Paste a paragraph or email draft]
-
-FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
-Review for:
-1. Clarity: Any sentences that are ambiguous or require re-reading?
-2. Conciseness: What can be cut without losing meaning?
-3. Opening: Does the first sentence earn the reader's attention?
-4. Call to action: Is the desired reader action explicit and easy to take?
-
-REFINEMENT:
-Rewrite addressing every point. Match the original length or shorter.
-```
-
-### Example 3: Strategic Plan
-
-```
-INITIAL OUTPUT:
-[Paste a strategy or plan]
-
-FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
-Review for:
-1. Completeness: What important scenarios or stakeholders are not addressed?
-2. Feasibility: Which actions assume resources or capabilities we may not have?
-3. Measurability: Which outcomes have no defined success metric?
-4. Risk: What's the biggest single point of failure?
-
-REFINEMENT:
-Revise the plan addressing all feedback. Add a risk mitigation note for the
-biggest single point of failure identified.
-```
-
-## Best Use Cases
-
-1. **Any Output Quality Improvement**
-   - Code, writing, plans, analysis, summaries
-   - When the first draft is never the final draft
-
-2. **Domain-Specific Quality Gates**
-   - Code correctness + security
-   - Medical/legal content accuracy
-   - Brand voice compliance
-
-3. **Iterative Document Refinement**
-   - Proposals, reports, documentation
-   - Any output where multiple review dimensions apply
-
-4. **Self-QA Before Submitting**
-   - Run Self-Refine before using any AI output in high-stakes contexts
-
-## Selection Criteria
-
-**Choose Self-Refine when:**
-- ✅ You have an output that needs improvement
-- ✅ Multiple quality dimensions apply
-- ✅ The first pass is rarely final
-- ✅ You want systematic critique, not just vague "make it better"
-
-**Avoid when:**
-- ❌ You need a specific type of critique → use CAI Critique-Revise (principle-based) or Devil's Advocate (opposing argument)
-- ❌ Task is brand new (nothing to refine yet) → generate first, then Self-Refine
-- ❌ Simple task → direct prompt is faster
-
-## Self-Refine vs. Similar Frameworks
-
-| | Self-Refine | CAI Critique-Revise | BAB | Chain of Density |
-|---|---|---|---|---|
-| Direction | Any output → improvement | Output vs. explicit principle | Before state → after state | Content → denser compression |
-| Critique type | Multi-dimensional quality | Principle-aligned alignment | Transformation rules | Density/information |
-| Iterations | Configurable loop | One cycle (or more) | Single transform | N passes |
-| Best for | General quality improvement | Alignment/compliance | Rewriting existing content | Summarization |
-
-## Quick Reference
-
-| Phase | Purpose | Key Question |
-|-------|---------|--------------|
-| Generate | Initial output | "What's a first pass?" |
-| Feedback | Specific critique | "What's wrong and why?" |
-| Refine | Improved version | "Fix every problem found" |
-| Stop | Termination | "Is it good enough?" |
+# Self-Refine Framework
+
+## Overview
+
+Self-Refine is an iterative output improvement framework where a single model acts as its own generator, critic, and refiner — with no external training, no additional models, and no labeled data required. The core loop: generate an initial output → produce specific, actionable feedback → refine using that feedback → repeat until a stopping criterion is met.
+
+**Research basis:** "Self-Refine: Iterative Refinement with Self-Feedback" (Madaan et al., arXiv 2303.17651, NeurIPS 2023). Tested across 7 task types — improvement of 5-40% over single-pass generation from GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. Humans preferred Self-Refined outputs in blind evaluation. Project site: selfrefine.info.
+
+## The Core Loop
+
+```
+GENERATE → FEEDBACK → REFINE → [repeat] → STOP
+```
+
+Each phase:
+1. **Generate**: Produce an initial output (can be your first draft or AI-generated)
+2. **Feedback**: Analyze the output for specific, actionable weaknesses across defined dimensions
+3. **Refine**: Rewrite addressing every feedback point — with the feedback visible as context
+4. **Stop**: When quality threshold met, max iterations reached, or feedback says "looks good"
+
+**Key insight:** Maintaining a history of previous outputs + feedback in context prevents regression and helps the model track progress across iterations.
+
+## Components
+
+### Initial Output
+**Purpose:** The starting point. Can be a first AI generation or something you've already written that needs improvement.
+
+### Feedback Dimensions
+**Purpose:** The specific aspects to evaluate. Defining these explicitly produces much better critiques than asking for generic feedback.
+
+**Common dimensions by task type:**
+- **Code**: correctness, efficiency, readability, edge cases, error handling
+- **Writing**: clarity, structure, tone, specificity, conciseness, audience fit
+- **Reasoning**: logical validity, completeness, unsupported claims, missed considerations
+- **Plans/strategies**: feasibility, completeness, risks, measurability
+
+### Refinement Instruction
+**Purpose:** Directs the model to rewrite addressing every feedback point, using the critique as a direct specification.
+
+### Stop Condition
+**Purpose:** When to stop iterating. Options:
+- Fixed iterations (e.g., "run 2 refinement cycles")
+- Quality signal ("stop when feedback has no major issues")
+- Manual review (you decide when it's good enough)
+
+## Template Structure
+
+### Single Cycle (most common)
+```
+INITIAL OUTPUT:
+[Paste the output to improve, or ask the AI to generate a first draft]
+
+FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
+Review the output above for:
+1. [Dimension 1 — e.g., "Clarity: Is every sentence clear and unambiguous?"]
+2. [Dimension 2 — e.g., "Completeness: What important points are missing?"]
+3. [Dimension 3 — e.g., "Tone: Is the voice appropriate for the audience?"]
+4. [Dimension 4 — add as needed]
+
+For each dimension: identify specific problems with quoted examples,
+explain why each is a problem, and suggest concrete improvements.
+
+REFINEMENT:
+Now rewrite the output addressing every point of your feedback.
+Show the refined version only (no commentary).
+```
+
+### Multi-Cycle with History
+```
+ITERATION 1:
+[Generate initial output or paste existing]
+
+ITERATION 1 FEEDBACK:
+Analyze for [dimensions]. Be specific and actionable.
+
+ITERATION 2:
+Rewrite addressing all feedback above.
+[AI produces refined version]
+
+ITERATION 2 FEEDBACK:
+Analyze the refined version for any remaining issues.
+
+ITERATION 3 (if needed):
+Rewrite addressing remaining issues.
+
+STOP when feedback says "no major issues remaining."
+```
+
+### Self-Refine as a Single Compound Prompt
+```
+TASK: [What you want to produce]
+
+GENERATE: Write an initial [output type] for the above.
+
+FEEDBACK: Review your output for: [dimension 1], [dimension 2], [dimension 3].
+List specific issues with quoted examples and concrete suggestions.
+
+REFINE: Rewrite addressing all feedback. Show only the final refined version.
+```
+
+## Complete Examples
+
+### Example 1: Code Review and Improvement
+
+```
+INITIAL OUTPUT:
+def get_user_data(user_id):
+    db = connect_to_database()
+    result = db.query(f"SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {user_id}")
+    return result
+
+FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
+Review for:
+1. Security: Any injection vulnerabilities or unsafe patterns?
+2. Error handling: What happens if the DB is unavailable or user doesn't exist?
+3. Resource management: Are connections properly managed?
+4. Code quality: Any Python best practices violations?
+
+REFINEMENT:
+Rewrite the function addressing all feedback points.
+```
+
+### Example 2: Writing Improvement
+
+```
+INITIAL OUTPUT:
+[Paste a paragraph or email draft]
+
+FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
+Review for:
+1. Clarity: Any sentences that are ambiguous or require re-reading?
+2. Conciseness: What can be cut without losing meaning?
+3. Opening: Does the first sentence earn the reader's attention?
+4. Call to action: Is the desired reader action explicit and easy to take?
+
+REFINEMENT:
+Rewrite addressing every point. Match the original length or shorter.
+```
+
+### Example 3: Strategic Plan
+
+```
+INITIAL OUTPUT:
+[Paste a strategy or plan]
+
+FEEDBACK DIMENSIONS:
+Review for:
+1. Completeness: What important scenarios or stakeholders are not addressed?
+2. Feasibility: Which actions assume resources or capabilities we may not have?
+3. Measurability: Which outcomes have no defined success metric?
+4. Risk: What's the biggest single point of failure?
+
+REFINEMENT:
+Revise the plan addressing all feedback. Add a risk mitigation note for the
+biggest single point of failure identified.
+```
+
+## Best Use Cases
+
+1. **Any Output Quality Improvement**
+   - Code, writing, plans, analysis, summaries
+   - When the first draft is never the final draft
+
+2. **Domain-Specific Quality Gates**
+   - Code correctness + security
+   - Medical/legal content accuracy
+   - Brand voice compliance
+
+3. **Iterative Document Refinement**
+   - Proposals, reports, documentation
+   - Any output where multiple review dimensions apply
+
+4. **Self-QA Before Submitting**
+   - Run Self-Refine before using any AI output in high-stakes contexts
+
+## Selection Criteria
+
+**Choose Self-Refine when:**
+- ✅ You have an output that needs improvement
+- ✅ Multiple quality dimensions apply
+- ✅ The first pass is rarely final
+- ✅ You want systematic critique, not just vague "make it better"
+
+**Avoid when:**
+- ❌ You need a specific type of critique → use CAI Critique-Revise (principle-based) or Devil's Advocate (opposing argument)
+- ❌ Task is brand new (nothing to refine yet) → generate first, then Self-Refine
+- ❌ Simple task → direct prompt is faster
+
+## Self-Refine vs. Similar Frameworks
+
+| | Self-Refine | CAI Critique-Revise | BAB | Chain of Density |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| Direction | Any output → improvement | Output vs. explicit principle | Before state → after state | Content → denser compression |
+| Critique type | Multi-dimensional quality | Principle-aligned alignment | Transformation rules | Density/information |
+| Iterations | Configurable loop | One cycle (or more) | Single transform | N passes |
+| Best for | General quality improvement | Alignment/compliance | Rewriting existing content | Summarization |
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+| Phase | Purpose | Key Question |
+|-------|---------|--------------|
+| Generate | Initial output | "What's a first pass?" |
+| Feedback | Specific critique | "What's wrong and why?" |
+| Refine | Improved version | "Fix every problem found" |
+| Stop | Termination | "Is it good enough?" |