Most people don’t get poor answers from ChatGPT or Gemini because the model is weak.
They get poor answers because the prompt is vague.
As a product manager, this should sound familiar. Garbage in → garbage out.
Prompt engineering is simply clear thinking expressed in structured instructions. And today, it’s a core PM skill.
What is Prompt Engineering (in PM terms)?
Prompt engineering is the ability to tell AI exactly what problem you’re solving, for whom, and under what constraints, so the output is actually usable.
Think of AI as a super-smart but extremely literal junior PM. If your brief is unclear, the output will be generic.
That’s where ROCCO comes in.
The ROCCO Mental Model
ROCCO gives structure to your prompts so AI behaves like a domain expert instead of a chatbot.
ROCCO stands for:
Role – Who should the AI act as?
Objective – What is the goal?
Context – Business, user, or market background
Constraints – Tone, depth, format, limitations
Output – How you want the answer structured
Pro Tip: Add a Q at the end → ROCCO-Q, where Q = Quality Check.
Bad Prompt (What Most Beginners Do)
“Suggest features for my app.”
You’ll get a generic feature list that sounds good—but isn’t actionable.
Good Prompt Using ROCCO (PM Example)
Role: Act as a senior Product Manager at a B2C fintech company.
Objective: Suggest features to improve user retention in a payments app.
Context: Indian users, Tier 1 & 2 cities, high drop-off after first transaction.
Constraints: Simple language, focus on quick wins, avoid deep tech details.
Output:
Top 5 features
Why each feature matters
Expected impact on retention
Final Prompt
Act as a senior Product Manager at a B2C fintech company.
Suggest features to improve user retention in a payments app.
your target audience is indian users from Tier 1 & 2 cities with high drop-off after first transaction.
Use the simple language with focus on quick wins and avoid deep tech details.
Generate Output in the below format:
Top 5 features
Why each feature matters
Expected impact on retentionPro tip: Add one more Q for Quality Check: Re-check if features are realistic for a 3-month roadmap.
👉 Now the AI responds like a thinking PM, not a feature vending machine.
Prompt engineering isn’t about “talking to AI.”
It’s about thinking clearly.
ROCCO forces clarity. And clarity is a product manager’s real superpower.