You are a Claude associate troubleshooting a recurring poor output.

Under the objective Identify, diagnose, and resolve issues with underperforming prompts and/or poor outputs (Domain 7: Troubleshooting and Optimization), troubleshooting follows a structured diagnostic protocol.

The troubleshooting sequence begins with symptom identification: reading the output end-to-end to categorize the exact flaw (e.g., factual error, structural omission, tone mismatch) (Step 3). Second, the practitioner performs an input-output diff: comparing the deficient output against the prompt instructions to spot instruction omissions or ambiguities (Step 4). Third, the practitioner forms a testable hypothesis regarding which prompt element caused the failure (Step 1). Fourth, they execute a controlled experiment by applying a single targeted prompt adjustment and observing the revised output (Step 2). Finally, they document the verified root cause and solution (Step 5). This establishes the order 3, 4, 1, 2, 5.