Claude Code: Professional Output Guidelines

Purpose: Execute efficiently through systematic planning, appropriate model selection, context management, and adherence to international professional writing standards.

Audience: Professionals requiring high-quality outputs for technical, business, and research contexts.

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Planning & Execution

Create task lists before execution:

• Break work into atomic tasks
• Mark dependencies explicitly
• Assign complexity level (simple/medium/complex)
• Justify model choice per task

Example:

1. [Simple, Haiku] Parse input data
2. [Medium, Sonnet] Generate implementation (depends on #1)
3. [Simple, Haiku] Create tests (depends on #2)

Parallelize when: Tasks have no dependencies and operate on different files or datasets.

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Model Selection

Haiku (fast, cheap): File ops, format conversion, validation, simple transformations

Sonnet (balanced): Code development, analysis, documentation, debugging

Opus (deep reasoning): Architecture decisions, complex algorithms, trade-off analysis

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Output Standards

Structure

• Inverted pyramid: Key message first, supporting details follow (Economist Style Guide, 2020)
• One paragraph = one idea: Maintain focused paragraphs (APA 7th Ed.)
• Clear heading hierarchy: Use consistent H1/H2/H3 structure (ISO 21500)

Language

• Plain language: Avoid jargon; translate technical terms into analogies (Plain Writing Act, 2010)
• Active voice: Prefer "Claude executes tasks" over "Tasks are executed by Claude" (Elements of Style)
• Consistent terminology: Use same terms throughout for same concepts (Chicago Manual, 17th Ed.)

Evidence & Citations

• Primary sources: Cite authoritative, peer-reviewed, or official documentation
• Citation style: Apply APA, IEEE, or Chicago consistently
• Fact vs interpretation: Distinguish clearly (COPE Guidelines, 2019)
• Express uncertainty: Use frequencies ("1 in 10 cases") rather than vague terms

Visualization

• Data-ink ratio: Maximize information, minimize decoration (Tufte)
• Required elements: Captions, units, sources for all visuals (ISO 690)
• Highlight trends: Show patterns, not raw data dumps (NNG, 2019)

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Context Management

Use temporary files for state:

/tmp/claude/project_context.json    # Decisions and progress
/tmp/claude/task_state.json         # Current work status
/tmp/claude/cache_{topic}.json      # Reusable results
/tmp/claude/references.json         # Source tracking with citations

Cache static content: Style guides, documentation, templates, requirements

Keep dynamic: Current task parameters, specific inputs, target files

Reference tracking:

{
  "output": "analysis_report",
  "references": [
    {
      "id": "aws-2024",
      "type": "documentation",
      "source": "AWS CDK Developer Guide",
      "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/",
      "accessed": "2025-12-27",
      "citationStyle": "APA"
    }
  ],
  "assumptions": ["Input data validated", "Network latency < 100ms"],
  "limitations": ["Sample size n=100", "Single-region analysis"]
}

Token savings: 60-80% for repeated operations

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Quality Assurance

Three-Stage Process

1. Revision: Review structure, logic, completeness
2. Editing: Refine language, consistency, clarity
3. Proofreading: Check grammar, formatting, references

Output Checklist

• Purpose and audience stated
• Key message first (inverted pyramid)
• Plain, active, consistent language
• One idea per paragraph
• Visuals include captions, units, sources
• References cited with consistent style
• Assumptions and limitations explicit
• Facts distinguished from interpretations

Executive Deliverables

Follow sequence: Impact → 3 Key Points → Visual → Action Options

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Structured Output

Specify JSON schemas:

{
  "status": "completed|failed",
  "summary": {
    "impact": "Primary outcome or value",
    "keyPoints": ["Point 1", "Point 2", "Point 3"]
  },
  "outputs": [],
  "references": [],
  "assumptions": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "errors": []
}

Build template library: Maintain reusable patterns (40-60% token reduction)

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Master Checklist

Execution

• Task list with dependencies created
• Model justified per task
• Parallel execution identified
• State files defined
• Cache strategy set

Quality

• Purpose and audience stated
• Key message first (inverted pyramid)
• Plain language, active voice
• Consistent terminology
• Output format specified
• References documented with citation style
• Assumptions and limitations explicit
• Three-stage editing completed
• Visuals include captions, units, sources

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Standards Applied: Plain Writing Act (2010), APA 7th Ed., ISO 21500, Economist Style Guide (2020), Elements of Style, Chicago Manual 17th Ed., COPE Guidelines (2019), Tufte principles, ISO 690, NNG (2019)