In order to have Ada understands you properly is knowing how to explain your idea, not the idea itself. These are the prompts I use to give it a clear goal. Change the brackets to fit your app.
1- Start small:
I’m building a [type of app] for [target users]. It helps them [main goal]. For the first version, focus on [feature one], [feature two], and [feature three]. Keep navigation simple and leave advanced features for later. Ask me about any missing details before making assumptions.
Trying to describe every feature at once makes the first version harder to build and test.
2- Explain how your data connects:
My app needs Customers, Services, and Bookings. Each booking belongs to one customer and one service. A customer can have many bookings, and a service can appear in many bookings. Help me structure the collections, properties, and relationships for this workflow. Flag anything that needs clarification.
Listing collections isn’t enough. The relationships are what matter.
3. Describe the full journey:
Help me build this booking journey: the user browses services, opens a service’s details, selects an available time, confirms the booking, and sees it in My Bookings. Explain what each screen needs and how the selected service and booking information should move through the flow. Prevent confirmation when required information is missing.
This gives you something complete to test from start to finish.
4- Give every screen a purpose:
Improve the [screen name] so users can easily [main action]. Make that action visually prominent, simplify the layout, and use consistent spacing and readable text. Preserve the existing functionality and data connections. Explain the proposed changes first.
“Make it look better” is too open. Tell Ada what the user should do on that screen.
5- Report problems with details:
On [screen name], when I [action], I expect [result], but instead [actual behaviour]. Investigate the relevant actions, current record, relationships, and filters. Explain the likely cause before suggesting the smallest fix. Ask for screenshots or settings you cannot inspect.
Asking for the smallest fix helps avoid changes in parts of the app that already work.
My main tip: work on one flow at a time and test before moving on.
What prompts are working for you with Ada? I’d like to see what others are using.
Ali Bazzi
Adalo Expert & Community Leader