Workshop 1: First Blood illustration
Workshop 01Beginner90 minEveryone

First Blood

Set up your identity and automate your first task

What you'll learn5 objectives
  • Create a personalised CLAUDE.md identity file that tells Cowork who you are, what tools you use, and what rules to follow
  • Run a universal reconciliation prompt against your department's data and produce a verified Excel workbook
  • Apply the CTOC prompt framework to understand why good prompts work and bad prompts fail
  • Use the Traffic Light verification method to catch the five things Cowork gets wrong before they matter
  • Write a specific Monday Promise that commits you to one automated task next week
0 of 10
1

The Monday Morning Massacre

Intro

Watch three Monday morning tasks get cleared in under 2 minutes — the same work you do manually every week.

5 min

9:01am Monday. 47 unread messages. A queue of tickets, alerts, cases you haven't touched since Thursday. A 9:30 review meeting you haven't prepped for. The dreaded quick question just landed.

Two hours burned before real work begins. Watch the facilitator clear three of those tasks in under two minutes.

These were controlled demos. The data was clean. The connections were pre-configured. The prompts were refined over many iterations. Your first attempts will take 5-10 minutes, not 30 seconds. That is normal. But even at 10 minutes per task, you are reclaiming over an hour of Monday morning drudgery.
2

Where Cowork Fits

Learn

Chat, Cowork, Code — three tools, three jobs. Everything in this course lives in the Cowork tab.

5 min

Claude ships in three flavours. Pick the right one — the course only uses Cowork.

Chat

Access: No files, no tools, no memory between sessions

Best For: Quick questions, brainstorming, one-off lookups

Analogy: Calling a smart friend — helpful in the moment, forgotten by tomorrow

Cowork

Access: Workspace folder, CLAUDE.md, skills, MCP connectors, scheduled tasks

Best For: Everything in this course — file processing, automation, enterprise integration

Analogy: A junior analyst who reads fast, never sleeps, follows instructions precisely, and always needs review

Code

Access: Code repositories, terminal commands, developer workflows

Best For: Software engineering — not relevant for non-engineers

Analogy: A pair programmer — powerful if you write code, irrelevant if you do not

Everything in this course happens in the Cowork tab. If you are in the Chat tab, you are in the wrong place.
3

Your Identity

Step-by-Step

Build the CLAUDE.md file that tells Cowork your role, tools, and rules — so every future prompt knows your context without you explaining it.

10 min

CLAUDE.md is your employee brief for Cowork — department, tools, rules, file types. Without it, Cowork is a generalist. With it, it's a colleague who already read onboarding docs.

0/6 steps complete

1

Create your workspace folder. Mac: press Cmd+Space, type Terminal, press Enter. Then type mkdir ~/Cowork-Workspace and press Enter. Windows: open File Explorer, navigate to your user folder, create a new folder called Cowork-Workspace.

2

Grant Cowork access to your workspace folder. Open Claude Desktop. Click the Cowork tab. When prompted, select ONLY the Cowork-Workspace folder you just created.

Safety: CRITICAL — Never grant Cowork access to Desktop, Documents, Downloads, or your home folder. Cowork has full read/write access to every folder you give it. One wrong selection and it can read, modify, or delete your personal files, cloud-synced directories, or sensitive documents. Use a dedicated, empty folder.
3

Download your data pack. Go to the Data Packs page (top menu → Toolkit → Data Packs). Find Workshop 1, then your department. Download the two Excel files, the inbox-dump file, and context-brief.md into your Cowork-Workspace folder.

4

Run /sun:workspace in Cowork. Type /sun:workspace in the chat input and press Enter — the / prefix triggers a skill (a pre-built workflow). Answer the department and role questions. It generates a CLAUDE.md file customised to your department.

5

Review your CLAUDE.md. Open it in a text editor. Does it describe your job accurately? Does it list the right tools? Edit anything that is wrong — this file is yours.

6

Verify setup. Ask Cowork: List all files in my workspace folder. Tell me the filename, type, and size of each.

CLAUDE.md is not a one-time setup. It evolves with you. As you learn new tools, change teams, or refine your workflows, update your CLAUDE.md. The better it describes your world, the better Cowork serves you.
4

The Messy Inbox

Exercise

Paste a wall of unstructured text — email chain, call transcript, Slack dump — and extract the key facts into a structured table in one prompt.

15 min

Every data pack has an inbox-dump — email chain, call transcript, JSON alert, Slack thread. One prompt turns it into a structured table.

Read the inbox-dump file in my workspace. Extract every key fact, action item, deadline, and decision into a structured table with columns: Item, Type (fact/action/deadline/decision), Owner, Due Date, Priority (high/medium/low).
Your turn
1

Find your inbox-dump file in your workspace folder. The format varies by department: .pdf for Chargebacks/Legal/Risk, .json for Fraud, .xlsx for Finance/Treasury, .docx for Onboarding/HR, .md for others.

2

Read the document yourself first. Spend 2 minutes scanning it. Note the action items, deadlines, and key facts.

3

Run the extraction prompt: Read the inbox-dump file. Extract every key fact, action item, deadline, and decision into a structured table.

4

Compare the AI output against your manual scan. What did it find that you missed? What did it get wrong?

Most of your real work arrives as messy text — emails, Slack threads, meeting notes. If Cowork can handle this, it can handle almost anything.
5

The CTOC Framework

Key Concept

Context, Task, Output, Constraints — the four-part formula that turns a vague request into a prompt Cowork can execute reliably.

5 min

Prompt-writing as a repeatable method. Four letters. Miss one and the output degrades.

C
Context
What you have — files, data, situation. Your CLAUDE.md fills in what you leave out.
T
Task
What you want done — specific verbs, clear actions.
O
Output
What you want back — exact format, structure, visual treatment.
C
Constraints
The rules — what to enforce, what to avoid, non-negotiables.
6

Your First Kill — Reconciliation

Try It

One prompt. Your CLAUDE.md and department data do the rest. Produce a 3-sheet Excel workbook with matched rows, discrepancies, and a summary — for your exact role.

⏱ 10 min30 min
Challenge
10:00

Everyone types the same prompt. Everyone gets a different workbook — because your CLAUDE.md and your data do the customisation, not the prompt. Type it, hit Enter, wait. Don't add anything.

0/6 complete

Stretch Challenges

  • : Pipe reconciliation output into a summary memo as a Word document — your first prompt chain
  • : Run /sun:verify on your output — compare its findings against your manual checks
7

Traffic Light Verification

Safety

Green, Yellow, Red — a 3-tier quality check to catch the five things Cowork gets wrong before a polished-looking output misleads you.

5 min

Polished. Confident. Fast. That's exactly what makes Cowork's output dangerous — a wrong number in a handsome doc is worse than no doc. Traffic Light gives you a 3-tier check, one per risk class.

GREEN

Numbers and Formatting

Do the formulas work? Do the totals add up? Are currencies correct? Is conditional formatting applied?

30 seconds — click into cells, spot-check arithmetic

Click Summary sheet totals. Does matched count + discrepancy count equal total? Click a SUM formula — does it reference the right cells?

YELLOW

Classifications and Labels

Did Cowork categorise items correctly? Are labels accurate? Right severity, status, department?

1-2 minutes — requires domain knowledge to evaluate

Are red items actually critical? Or did Cowork flag a EUR 0.01 rounding difference as critical because it technically exceeds a threshold?

RED

Judgments and Recommendations

Did Cowork make a recommendation, suggest an action, assess risk, or make a decision?

Human review required — Cowork drafts, you decide

If the workbook recommends escalating a discrepancy to a manager, the recommendation is a draft. You decide whether escalation is warranted.

1 Miscalculate

LLMs predict numbers, they do not compute. Always use formulas in spreadsheets, never hardcoded values.

Mitigation: CTOC Constraint: 'Use formulas, not hardcoded values.'

2 Misclassify

Pattern matching, not judgment. Keywords drive classification. 'Terminal issue' caused by a network problem may get labelled 'Hardware.'

Mitigation: Always check the YELLOW tier. Verify categories against your domain knowledge.

3 Hallucinate references

Cowork may cite pages that do not exist, ticket numbers that were never created, or reports that are not in your workspace.

Mitigation: If the output includes a link, click it. If it references a document, find it. If it cites a number, trace it.

4 Sound confident when wrong

No uncertainty flags. No 'I think' or 'I am not sure.' Every output is presented with 100% confidence regardless of accuracy.

Mitigation: You provide the uncertainty that Cowork cannot. Assume outputs need verification until proven correct.

5 Miss what it cannot see

If data is not in your workspace or connected tools, Cowork does not know about it and will not tell you it is missing.

Mitigation: Before running a task, ask: 'Is everything Cowork needs actually in the workspace?'

This is a FinTech company. We handle payment data, merchant PII, and regulated financial information. The 'Draft, don't decide' rule is not a suggestion — it is a compliance requirement. Every workshop includes a verification step. Skipping verification is not an option.
8

Find the Lie

Exercise

Your AI output has at least one error. It looks convincing. You have 10 minutes to find it — before it finds you in a meeting.

10 min

Your output has at least one error. It looks convincing. You have 10 minutes to find it — then compare workbooks with a neighbour from a different department.

Your turn
1

GREEN check: Click on summary totals. Are they formulas or hardcoded numbers? Hardcoded = untraceable calculation.

2

YELLOW check: Pick 3 discrepancies. Go back to the source files. Do the amounts actually match what the AI reported?

3

RED check: Look at any item flagged as critical or urgent. Do you agree with that classification based on your department's rules?

4

Cross-pollination: Compare your workbook with a neighbour from a different department. Same prompt, different universe.

Verification is not busywork — it is detective work. The AI is fast but not always right. Finding the error before your manager does is the skill that makes automation trustworthy.
9

Monday Promise

Practice

Write one specific automation you'll run next Monday — concrete enough to report back on it in Workshop 2.

5 min

Not use AI more. Not explore Cowork. One specific task, one day, one time — something you'll see Monday morning and actually do.

Skills like /sun:reconcile were installed when you ran /sun:workspace earlier. If a command isn't recognised, type its name to install it.

Monday at [time], I will [action] on [specific data].

Chargebacks

Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on last week's scheme outcome report against our internal tracker.

Same reconciliation as the workshop, but with real data and real discrepancies.

Finance

Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on Friday's bank settlement file against our internal ledger.

Settlement reconciliation is a weekly ritual. Monday is when the files land.

Customer Relations

Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:ticket-triage on the weekend ticket queue.

Monday morning ticket triage is the most time-consuming 30 minutes of the week.

Sales

Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on pipeline deal records against CRM stage history.

Weekly pipeline hygiene finds stale deals, lapsed follow-ups, and stages needing updates.

Compliance / CDD

Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:alert-triage on the weekend screening alerts from the AML monitoring tool.

Monday morning alert queues are the compliance version of the Monday Morning Massacre.

  • Does it name a specific day and time?
  • Does it name a specific action or skill?
  • Does it name specific data or files?
  • Could someone else on your team read it and know exactly what you mean?
10

Buffer

Step-by-Step

Confirm your three deliverables, troubleshoot any blockers, and see what you'll build in Workshop 2.

3 min
  • CLAUDE.md — Is the file in your workspace folder? Does it describe your department, tools, and workflows?
  • Reconciliation workbook — Is your .xlsx file there? Does it have 3 sheets? Did it pass at least 4 of 6 verification checks?
  • Skills installed — Type /sun:reconcile in Cowork. Does it recognise the command?

Cowork did not produce an Excel file

Re-run the prompt and add: 'Output must be an .xlsx file with multiple sheets.' The Output element of CTOC was not specific enough.

The formulas are hardcoded numbers

Re-run with the explicit constraint: 'Every total, count, and sum must be an Excel formula referencing cells, not a hardcoded value.'

CLAUDE.md was not generated

Run /sun:workspace again. If it fails, create CLAUDE.md manually from a template on the workshop portal.

Conditional formatting is missing

Add to your prompt: 'Apply conditional formatting to every row in Sheet 2: red fill for critical discrepancies, yellow fill for minor.'

Go outside. Your Monday morning just got 90 minutes shorter.

Steal This Prompt

Copy these prompts, customize the file paths to match your workspace, and use them in Cowork. Replace ~ with your actual home directory path if needed.

SAP Ledger vs Bank Statement

Start here
Read sap-ledger-export.xlsx and bank-statement.xlsx. Match by Transaction_Reference. Flag: posting date differences > 2 business days, amount mismatches > 0.01 (decimal shift patte...
Show full prompt
Read sap-ledger-export.xlsx and bank-statement.xlsx.
Match by Transaction_Reference. Flag: posting date differences > 2 business days, amount mismatches > 0.01 (decimal shift pattern), entries in bank missing from SAP, duplicate postings.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Use EUR formatting. Separate suspense account items into their own tab.
Accounting

Scheme Outcomes vs Case Tracker

Read scheme-report.xlsx and internal-tracker.xlsx. Match by ARN. Flag: amount mismatches > 100, status conflicts between scheme decision and internal tracker, currency mismatches, ...
Show full prompt
Read scheme-report.xlsx and internal-tracker.xlsx.
Match by ARN. Flag: amount mismatches > 100, status conflicts between scheme decision and internal tracker, currency mismatches, approaching deadlines.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Highlight any case where scheme and tracker disagree on outcome.
Chargebacks

Screening Export vs Internal Notes

Read screening-export.xlsx and internal-notes.xlsx. Match by Alert_ID. Flag: disposition disagreements, high-risk geography alerts with low similarity scores, alerts missing intern...
Show full prompt
Read screening-export.xlsx and internal-notes.xlsx.
Match by Alert_ID. Flag: disposition disagreements, high-risk geography alerts with low similarity scores, alerts missing internal review.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Escalate any alert where geography risk overrides low similarity score.
Compliance / CDD

Local Performance vs Central Report

Read country-performance.xlsx and central-report.xlsx. Match by Country_Code and Metric_Name. Flag: value differences > 5%, metrics present in local but missing from central, date ...
Show full prompt
Read country-performance.xlsx and central-report.xlsx.
Match by Country_Code and Metric_Name. Flag: value differences > 5%, metrics present in local but missing from central, date range misalignments between sources.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Group discrepancies by country. Highlight any metric where local reports a higher number than central.
Country Operations

Ticket Volumes vs Staffing Levels

Read ticket-volumes.xlsx and staffing-levels.xlsx. Match by date. Flag: SLA breaches, understaffed days, overstaffed days, Monday volume spikes. Produce a reconciliation workbook (...
Show full prompt
Read ticket-volumes.xlsx and staffing-levels.xlsx.
Match by date. Flag: SLA breaches, understaffed days, overstaffed days, Monday volume spikes.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Highlight any day where ticket-to-agent ratio exceeds 15:1.
Customer Relations

Snowflake Pipeline vs Tableau Dashboard

Read snowflake-output.xlsx and tableau-totals.xlsx. Match by Report_Name and Date. Flag: row count differences, sum mismatches > 0.01, reports present in pipeline but missing from ...
Show full prompt
Read snowflake-output.xlsx and tableau-totals.xlsx.
Match by Report_Name and Date. Flag: row count differences, sum mismatches > 0.01, reports present in pipeline but missing from dashboard, stale dashboards not refreshed in > 24 hours.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Note any discrepancy that could indicate a broken DBT model or failed Airbyte sync.
Data / Analytics

Bank Settlement vs Internal Ledger

Read bank-statement.xlsx and internal-ledger.xlsx. Match by Reference_Number. Flag: amount differences > 500, timing gaps > 3 days, unreconciled items. Produce a reconciliation wor...
Show full prompt
Read bank-statement.xlsx and internal-ledger.xlsx.
Match by Reference_Number. Flag: amount differences > 500, timing gaps > 3 days, unreconciled items.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Use EUR currency formatting. Highlight decimal shift patterns.
Finance

fraud monitoring tool Alerts vs Jira Dispositions

Read sardine-alerts.xlsx and jira-dispositions.xlsx. Match by Alert_ID. Flag: alerts in fraud monitoring tool with no Jira case, disposition mismatches (e.g. fraud monitoring tool ...
Show full prompt
Read sardine-alerts.xlsx and jira-dispositions.xlsx.
Match by Alert_ID. Flag: alerts in fraud monitoring tool with no Jira case, disposition mismatches (e.g. fraud monitoring tool says high-severity but Jira closed as false positive), cases open > 48 hours without disposition.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Flag any merchant appearing in 3+ unresolved alerts — potential BIN attack or velocity spike.
Fraud

Pipeline Deals vs CRM Records

Read pipeline-deals.xlsx and crm-records.xlsx. Match by Deal_ID. Flag: value discrepancies, deals marked Closed Won in pipeline but Stale in CRM, name mismatches that might be the ...
Show full prompt
Read pipeline-deals.xlsx and crm-records.xlsx.
Match by Deal_ID. Flag: value discrepancies, deals marked Closed Won in pipeline but Stale in CRM, name mismatches that might be the same company.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Calculate total pipeline inflation vs reality.
Inside Sales

Okta Provisioning vs HiBob Directory

Read okta-users.xlsx and hibob-directory.xlsx. Match by Employee_ID. Flag: active HiBob employees missing Okta accounts, departed employees still active in Okta, group assignment m...
Show full prompt
Read okta-users.xlsx and hibob-directory.xlsx.
Match by Employee_ID. Flag: active HiBob employees missing Okta accounts, departed employees still active in Okta, group assignment mismatches vs role, MFA not enabled.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Highlight any departed employee with Okta access still active — security risk.
IT / Helpdesk

Contract Tracker vs DocuSign Status

Read contract-tracker.xlsx and docusign-export.xlsx. Match by Contract_ID. Flag: contracts marked Executed in tracker but still Pending in DocuSign, agreements past signature deadl...
Show full prompt
Read contract-tracker.xlsx and docusign-export.xlsx.
Match by Contract_ID. Flag: contracts marked Executed in tracker but still Pending in DocuSign, agreements past signature deadline, contracts in DocuSign with no tracker entry.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Separate NDAs from commercial agreements. Flag any contract > 30 days without signature.
Legal

Zuper Dispatch vs Delivery Confirmations

Read zuper-dispatch.xlsx and courier-confirmations.xlsx. Match by Order_ID. Flag: dispatched but unconfirmed deliveries > 3 days, delivery date mismatches, terminals dispatched to ...
Show full prompt
Read zuper-dispatch.xlsx and courier-confirmations.xlsx.
Match by Order_ID. Flag: dispatched but unconfirmed deliveries > 3 days, delivery date mismatches, terminals dispatched to wrong address, failed deliveries not rebooked.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Group by country. Flag any terminal with 2+ failed delivery attempts for escalation.
Logistics / Supply Chain

Campaign Tracker vs Braze Performance

Read campaign-tracker.xlsx and braze-performance.xlsx. Match by Campaign_ID. Flag: campaigns in tracker not found in Braze, send count discrepancies > 10%, campaigns marked Live in...
Show full prompt
Read campaign-tracker.xlsx and braze-performance.xlsx.
Match by Campaign_ID. Flag: campaigns in tracker not found in Braze, send count discrepancies > 10%, campaigns marked Live in tracker but Paused in Braze, missing UTM parameters.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Break out by channel (email, push, in-app, SMS). Highlight campaigns with 0 sends.
Marketing

Application Tracker vs CDD Status

Read application-tracker.xlsx and cdd-status.xlsx. Match by Application_ID. Flag: applications approved in CDD but blocked in operations, stuck applications > 14 days, missing CDD ...
Show full prompt
Read application-tracker.xlsx and cdd-status.xlsx.
Match by Application_ID. Flag: applications approved in CDD but blocked in operations, stuck applications > 14 days, missing CDD records.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Flag the top 5 longest-waiting applications.
Onboarding

workflow automation platform Bot Logs vs Slack Request Outcomes

Read workato-bot-logs.xlsx and slack-request-outcomes.xlsx. Match by Request_ID. Flag: bot executions that failed silently (no Slack confirmation), requests completed in Slack but ...
Show full prompt
Read workato-bot-logs.xlsx and slack-request-outcomes.xlsx.
Match by Request_ID. Flag: bot executions that failed silently (no Slack confirmation), requests completed in Slack but no workflow automation platform log, recipe errors requiring manual reprocessing.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Group failures by workflow automation platform recipe name. Flag recipes with > 5% failure rate.
Operations

Partner Commission Claims vs Internal Calculations

Read partner-claims.xlsx and internal-commissions.xlsx. Match by Partner_ID and Reporting_Week. Flag: amount differences > 1%, merchants claimed by partner but not in internal reco...
Show full prompt
Read partner-claims.xlsx and internal-commissions.xlsx.
Match by Partner_ID and Reporting_Week. Flag: amount differences > 1%, merchants claimed by partner but not in internal records, clawback-eligible transactions missing from claims, duplicate payments across countries.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Exclude eCommerce services per commission model rules. Flag any duplicate ISA across multiple countries.
Partnerships

HR Records vs On-Call Schedule

Read hibob-export.xlsx and opsgenie-schedule.xlsx. Match by Employee_ID and date. Flag: hours differences (scheduled vs logged may be incident callouts, not errors), missing entrie...
Show full prompt
Read hibob-export.xlsx and opsgenie-schedule.xlsx.
Match by Employee_ID and date. Flag: hours differences (scheduled vs logged may be incident callouts, not errors), missing entries in either source.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Distinguish scheduled overtime from unscheduled incident callouts.
People / HR

Activation Tracker vs Transaction Records

Read activation-tracker.xlsx and transaction-records.xlsx. Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: merchants marked Activated but with zero transactions, merchants transacting but not marked A...
Show full prompt
Read activation-tracker.xlsx and transaction-records.xlsx.
Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: merchants marked Activated but with zero transactions, merchants transacting but not marked Activated, activation date vs first transaction date gap > 7 days.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Segment by product type (POS vs eCommerce). Flag merchants onboarded > 30 days ago with no first transaction.
Product Activation

Sprint Commitments vs Delivery Status

Read sprint-plan.xlsx and jira-sprint-report.xlsx. Match by Ticket_ID. Flag: tickets committed but not started, scope changes (tickets added mid-sprint), story point mismatches bet...
Show full prompt
Read sprint-plan.xlsx and jira-sprint-report.xlsx.
Match by Ticket_ID. Flag: tickets committed but not started, scope changes (tickets added mid-sprint), story point mismatches between plan and Jira, tickets marked Done in plan but still In Progress in Jira.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Calculate planned vs actual velocity. Flag any ticket reassigned mid-sprint.
Product Management

Tier 2 Escalations vs Resolution Records

Read tier2-escalations.xlsx and resolution-records.xlsx. Match by Ticket_ID. Flag: escalations with no resolution record, resolution times > SLA, tickets resolved in Tier 2 but sti...
Show full prompt
Read tier2-escalations.xlsx and resolution-records.xlsx.
Match by Ticket_ID. Flag: escalations with no resolution record, resolution times > SLA, tickets resolved in Tier 2 but still open in Zendesk, duplicate escalations for the same merchant issue.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Group by escalation category. Flag recurring merchant issues (same Merchant_ID appearing 3+ times).
Product Operations

Cancellation Requests vs Save Outcomes

Read cancellation-requests.xlsx and save-outcomes.xlsx. Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: cancellations with no save attempt, merchants marked Saved but still showing as Cancelled, repri...
Show full prompt
Read cancellation-requests.xlsx and save-outcomes.xlsx.
Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: cancellations with no save attempt, merchants marked Saved but still showing as Cancelled, repricing offers made but not applied, outcome recorded but no call log.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Exclude business-closure cancellations (handled by CR). Calculate save rate by reason code.
Retention

Risk Scores vs Merchant Review Outcomes

Read risk-model-scores.xlsx and merchant-reviews.xlsx. Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: high-risk scores with no review scheduled, review outcome disagrees with model score (e.g. model ...
Show full prompt
Read risk-model-scores.xlsx and merchant-reviews.xlsx.
Match by Merchant_ID. Flag: high-risk scores with no review scheduled, review outcome disagrees with model score (e.g. model says high-risk but review cleared), merchants exceeding chargeback thresholds without restriction, reviews overdue > 30 days.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Flag any merchant with MOTO or manual-entry ratios above guardrail thresholds.
Risk

Scheme Fee Statements vs Internal Fee Calculations

Read scheme-fee-statement.xlsx and internal-fee-calc.xlsx. Match by Merchant_ID and Fee_Type. Flag: amount differences > 0.50, fee categories billed by scheme but not in internal m...
Show full prompt
Read scheme-fee-statement.xlsx and internal-fee-calc.xlsx.
Match by Merchant_ID and Fee_Type. Flag: amount differences > 0.50, fee categories billed by scheme but not in internal model, interchange rate mismatches, MCC-driven fee discrepancies.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Separate by scheme (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX). Total the revenue leakage from unmatched fees.
Scheme Operations

Safeguarding Sweep Records vs Bank Balances

Read sweep-records.xlsx and bank-balances.xlsx. Match by Sweep_Date and Bank_Account. Flag: sweep amounts not reflected in bank balance, timing differences > 1 business day, partne...
Show full prompt
Read sweep-records.xlsx and bank-balances.xlsx.
Match by Sweep_Date and Bank_Account. Flag: sweep amounts not reflected in bank balance, timing differences > 1 business day, partner bank A vs partner bank B split deviating from 80/20 target, balance corrections not reconciled.
Produce a reconciliation workbook (.xlsx) with matched, discrepancy, and summary sheets.
Calculate net safeguarding position per bank. Flag any day where sweep total and bank movement differ by > 1000.
Treasury

Key Takeaways

  1. CLAUDE.md is your identity — It tells Cowork who you are, what tools you use, and what rules to follow. The same prompt produces completely different outputs depending on your CLAUDE.md. Update it as your role evolves.

  2. CTOC makes prompts repeatable — Context, Task, Output, Constraints. Four elements. Miss one and the output degrades. You do not need longer prompts — you need complete ones.

  3. Same Prompt, Different Universe — One universal prompt produced different workbooks for every department because identity context and data files did the customisation. Write prompts that are portable, not department-specific.

  4. Draft, don't decide — Cowork produces drafts. You make decisions. The Traffic Light framework (GREEN for numbers, YELLOW for classifications, RED for judgments) is your verification checklist for every output.

  5. One Monday Promise — The gap between "interesting workshop" and "actual time saved" is one specific task on one specific Monday. If you cannot name the task, the day, and the data, you are not ready.

Materials

Select your department using the picker in the top right to see the exercise files for this workshop. Click any file to preview it in place.

Safety Note

Cowork can read, write, and delete anything inside the folder you grant access to. Outside it, Cowork cannot touch your files.

Rules from this workshop forward:

  • Never grant access to folders with PCI data, unredacted KYC documents, cloud-synced directories, or your home/Desktop/Documents/Downloads folders
  • Never let Cowork run inside a shared drive, cloud-synced folder, or directory with production credentials
  • Always use a dedicated, isolated workspace folder
  • Never forward, publish, or act on Cowork output without verification
  • Never paste Cowork output into customer-facing systems without review
  • Never let Cowork access live databases or production APIs during learning
  • Always verify outputs before forwarding, publishing, or acting on them
  • Always treat Cowork's output as a draft requiring human sign-off

All example data uses fictional merchants, employees, and transactions.