Ask another team for help on a cross-team dependency
A request message another team can say yes to, with clear scope, timing, and what's in it for them.
The prompt
Write a request to another team for work my feature depends on.
Team and person I am asking: [TEAM, LEAD, RELATIONSHIP]
What I need from them: [SPECIFIC WORK - e.g. a new API endpoint, a data field, a design review]
Why it matters: [USER OR BUSINESS OUTCOME, LINK TO COMPANY GOALS]
When I need it and why: [DATE, WHAT HAPPENS IF IT SLIPS]
What we can do to reduce their effort: [e.g. we write the spec, we contribute code, we handle testing]
Their current priorities, if known: [CONTEXT]
Requirements:
- Open with the specific ask and the date in the first two sentences.
- Define the need precisely enough to estimate: inputs, outputs, acceptance criteria, and what is out of scope.
- Explain the value to them or to a shared goal, not just to my team.
- Offer options if the full ask is hard: smaller version, later date, our team doing part of it.
- Propose a next step: a 20-minute call or a reply by a date.
- Respectful, not entitled. No guilt or escalation threats.
Return:
1. The message for chat or email (under 200 words).
2. A short dependency summary I can paste into the ticket.
3. A follow-up note to send if I hear nothing in a week, and when escalating to managers is appropriate.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Email & Workplace Communication prompts
What to fill in
- TEAM, LEAD, RELATIONSHIP
- USER OR BUSINESS OUTCOME, LINK TO COMPANY GOALS
- DATE, WHAT HAPPENS IF IT SLIPS
- e.g. we write the spec, we contribute code, we handle testing
- CONTEXT
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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