Prompt recipes
Ask for the decision. Let VSLZ choose the visual.
The best prompts describe what the reader needs to understand, the evidence available, and the context that makes the answer trustworthy. You usually do not need to name a chart type or visualization library.
RANK
Which segment is carrying retention?
Leadership wants a fast read on the strongest segment and where retention risk begins.
Try this prompt
Use VSLZ to help a leadership team answer: Which customer segment is carrying retention, and where is the risk?
FY2025 net revenue retention:
- Enterprise: 118%
- Mid-market: 109%
- SMB: 96%
- Partners: 88%
Treat 100% NRR as the minimum healthy threshold.
Make the takeaway obvious, rank the segments, emphasize only what matters, and keep the period, unit, and source visible. Choose the visual form that best communicates the answer.
Source: Northstar operating case — illustrative synthetic data.Good result
Enterprise leads at 118% NRR; SMB and Partners are below the 100% healthy threshold
Net revenue retention by segment
FY2025 · rate
Why this works
- The user asks a decision question, not for ECharts or a bar chart.
- The threshold makes “risk” objectively interpretable.
- The result leads with the answer, then shows the evidence.
CHANGE DRIVERS
Why did margin improve?
Finance leadership needs to understand a movement, not merely see two endpoint values.
Try this prompt
Use VSLZ to explain to finance leadership why gross margin improved from 42% in Q1 to 44% in Q2.
Drivers, in percentage points:
- Pricing: +5
- Mix: +3
- Support cost: -4
- Infrastructure: -2
Show the bridge from the starting margin to the ending margin. Make the main positive and negative drivers easy to see, and keep the units and source visible. Choose the best visual for explaining the change.
Source: Northstar operating case — illustrative synthetic data.Good result
Pricing and mix add 8pp, more than offsetting 6pp of cost pressure to lift gross margin from 42% to 44%
Bridge from Q1 to Q2 gross margin
Q1 to Q2 · percentage points
Why this works
- It gives the starting point, ending point, and reconciled drivers.
- It asks for the communication goal (“explain the change”), not a library command.
- The result headline performs the arithmetic and states the conclusion.
PROCESS
Where does onboarding get stuck?
Operations needs to understand a workflow and the intervention point.
Try this prompt
Use VSLZ to explain this onboarding flow to an operations lead and make the main intervention point obvious.
Flow:
1. Invite workspace
2. Configure workspace
3. Check whether data is ready
4. If data is not ready → resolve setup friction
5. If data is ready → activate first workflow
6. The setup-friction path also continues to activate first workflow
7. Activation → first value
The main bottleneck is around configuration, data readiness, and resolving setup friction.
Show a simple process that can be understood in a few seconds. Keep the bottleneck visually prominent and avoid unnecessary decoration.
Source: illustrative operating process.Good result
A single onboarding bottleneck sits between configuration and first value
Onboarding flow and bottleneck
Illustrative operating process · the highlighted path is the intervention point
Why this works
- The user supplies the actual process semantics.
- The desired reader outcome is explicit.
- VSLZ is free to choose the diagram structure while preserving the intended emphasis.
NETWORK
Where will reliability work have the most leverage?
SRE wants to find shared dependency points and inspect ownership interactively.
Try this prompt
Use VSLZ to help an SRE team decide where reliability work has the highest leverage.
Dependencies:
- Web app → Identity
- Mobile app → Identity
- Pricing → Checkout
- Identity → Checkout
- Checkout → Orders
- Orders → Payments
- Orders → Events
- Payments → Events
Known ownership:
- Identity → Platform
- Checkout → Commerce
Show dependency direction, make shared convergence points stand out, and let node selection reveal ownership or role metadata when available. This is an exploratory dependency map, not a fixed process flow.Good result
Identity and Checkout are the shared convergence points where reliability work has the broadest leverage
Reliability dependency leverage
Illustrative dependency map · highlighted nodes are convergence points
Why this works
- The user communicates relationships as facts rather than Mermaid or Cytoscape syntax.
- The prompt distinguishes an exploratory network from a process diagram.
- Interaction is requested because it helps the decision, not because it is decorative.
Advanced users can still request a specific visual when the communication job calls for it. Start with what the reader needs to decide.