ChatGPT Project per Engagement with Public Background

1. Open your real project plan in your own tools.
2. Save a copy with a new name, such as plan-public-version.
3. In the copy, replace the client name, the matter name, the counterparty names, market names and any figures with placeholders: "[Client]", "[Matter code]", "Company A", "Market 1".
4. Keep the structure: workstreams, deliverables, owners by role (for example "analyst" and "project lead") and review points. Leave out dates if the dates would identify the matter.
5. Read the copy from top to bottom as a stranger would. If anything could identify the engagement, replace it.

What you should see: A plan that reads clearly but names no client, matter or person. Troubleshooting: If the plan is hard to read without real names, use consistent codes (Company A, Company B) and keep the code key in your own firm-approved file, never in the project.

1. Collect public reports and methodology notes you have the right to use.
2. Save each as a PDF or text file with a clear name.
3. For each file, note in your own log the title, publisher, URL and the date you retrieved it. This is your source log, and it stays outside the project.

What you should see: A short folder of public files and a log. Troubleshooting: Leave out anything behind a license unless your license allows you to upload it to an AI tool.

1. Open ChatGPT and look in the sidebar for Projects.
2. Choose the option to create a new project.
3. Name it with a code, such as [Matter code] planning, not the real matter name.
4. If a window asks for project settings, review them. Look for any option about memory or about what the project can see from other chats, and choose the narrowest setting that works for you.

What you should see: An empty project page with a place for chats, files and instructions. Troubleshooting: OpenAI's help pages describe projects as grouping chats and holding custom instructions and uploaded files. Where each option sits can change between versions, so look for those three things on the project page, and check OpenAI's own pages for which plans include projects.

Find the project instructions area and paste the block below.

This project supports an applied economist with planning and public-source questions on one engagement. The engagement is identified only by the code [Matter code]. All names are placeholders.

Rules for every chat:
- Never ask for client data, documents produced in litigation, protected material, or non-public figures. If the user pastes any, tell them to remove it.
- Never invent a data value, citation, paper, author or series ID. Any source you suggest is a lead for the user to check on the primary source, and you must say so.
- Never produce a figure the user will rely on. The user's own spreadsheet and code compute every number.
- Never write an expert opinion, a legal conclusion, or a statement of what a court, agency or rule requires. Say "ask counsel" or "ask the project lead".
- Never choose a model or an assumption.
- Label every plan or draft "Draft for project lead review".

Uses: plan drafts, questions about the public files in this project, and a running list of open questions.

Running list: when the user types "add open question: ...", add it to a numbered list headed "Open questions". When the user types "show open questions", print the whole list. Do not remove an item unless the user says to.

What you should see: The instructions saved on the project page. Troubleshooting: The running list lives in the chat, so copy it into your own notes at the end of each session.

1. Find the option to add files to the project.
2. Upload the public background files and plan-public-version.
3. Check that each file is listed.

What you should see: The files listed on the project page. Troubleshooting: If an upload fails, check the file type and size against OpenAI's file upload pages.

1. Open a new chat inside the project.
2. Paste the prompt in "Your First Real Task" below.
3. Read the draft and mark anything that is not from the plan you uploaded.

What you should see: A plan draft that restates your workstreams in the project's voice and ends with "Draft for project lead review". Troubleshooting: If the reply names a real organization, a statistic or a paper that is not in your files, treat it as unverified. Delete it, or look it up yourself on the primary source.

1. Compare the draft with plan-public-version. Every workstream and owner should be in your plan.
2. For any public source the chat names, find it on the publisher's own site before you use it.
3. Copy only the checked material into your real plan, in your firm's approved system.

What you should see: A real plan changed only by things you checked. Troubleshooting: If the chat gave a source you cannot find, drop it.

1. At the end of each session, type show open questions.
2. Copy the list into your own notes.
3. Remove answered items in your notes, and tell the project lead what is still open.

What you should see: A numbered list in your notes that matches what you asked. Troubleshooting: If the list looks shorter than you remember, check your earlier chats in the project.