Most teams operate with half of one layer. Here is the full architecture.
The system-level directive — role, goal, constraints, and non-negotiables the model must operate within. The layer most teams skip or shortchange entirely.
Few-shot demonstrations of what good output looks like. A model that has seen two strong campaign briefs will produce better briefs than one that has seen none.
The facts specific to this task — audience segment, product details, market context, competitive positioning. Information the model cannot infer and must be given.
Prior interactions, decisions, feedback, or outputs relevant to the current task. In most production workflows this layer is absent entirely — forcing the model to start cold every session.
External resources the model can query or act on — search, databases, APIs. Relevant when the task requires information that cannot fit in the context window directly.