What you keep, for how long
Lesson 3 of 6 · Files & Audits
1 · Learn the move · Comparison matrix
Ask AI how long to keep signed timesheets and it hands you a confident number that came from nowhere near your organization. Retention is set by your policy, not by a chat window. What the comparison matrix does is build the shape: one row per record type, columns for where it lives, who owns it, how long you keep it, and what happens at the end. Every cell it can't source from the policy you paste renders [NEEDS: your policy]. A matrix full of honest blanks is a to-do list. A matrix full of invented periods is a liability with your initials on it.
You are building my retention matrix. Columns: record type / where it's stored / owner / retention period / disposition / policy section. Rows are my record types below. Fill retention and disposition ONLY from the policy text I paste. Any cell the policy doesn't cover renders [NEEDS: your policy], never a typical or standard period. End with the record types my policy is silent on. [record types + policy text]
2 · Your turn. You write the prompt
Your executive asks how long the office keeps signed timesheets and you realize nobody has opened the retention policy since 2019. The policy covers four record types. Your file room holds eleven. Write a prompt that builds the matrix without inventing a single period.
Remember: the AI sees only your prompt, not this page. If the situation isn't in your prompt, it doesn't exist.
Optional. These shape the output when you run your prompt below, not your score.