Projects and project knowledge

0:00 Projects

If you find yourself pasting the same brand guide, the same price list and the same rules into Claude every week, this lecture will give you hours back. You will learn what a Claude Project is, when it is worth creating one, how to curate its knowledge so answers stay accurate, and how to write instructions that make every chat start at the right place.

0:28 Why Projects change the economics

Why do Projects matter? Because context is expensive to rebuild. Every time you start a blank chat for a client, you either paste the brand guide, the price list and the rules again, or you accept weaker answers. A Project is like a well organised client folder that your assistant has already read. You set it up once, and every conversation inside it starts from the same shared understanding. For teams, it also means two account managers get consistent answers, because they are drawing on the same approved material.

1:07 What a Project is

A Project is a workspace with two shared ingredients. Project knowledge is the set of files you upload once, like brand guidelines, product sheets, past reports and a glossary, which Claude can draw on in every chat inside that Project. Project instructions are standing rules that apply to every conversation there. Chats stay grouped together, and where memory is switched on, Claude keeps Project memory separate, so one client's details do not drift into another client's work. On Team and Enterprise plans you can share Projects with colleagues.

1:45 When it is worth it

Create a Project when the same context will be reused at least weekly. One per client if you are an agency. One per product line or brand. One per recurring deliverable, like the monthly board report or the weekly newsletter. And one per research theme or course of study. Do not create Projects for one off questions. A normal chat is faster.

2:12 The CARE test

Project quality is mostly a curation problem, so run every file through the CARE test. Is it current, the latest version and not v two final final? Is it authoritative, the approved price list rather than a sales rep's draft? Is it relevant, needed by most chats? And is it explicitly named, so a file called twenty twenty six September price list approved beats one called prices. When knowledge gets large, Claude retrieves the most relevant parts, and clear names and clean content make that retrieval work.

2:50 The number-one bug

Here is the most common complaint I hear. Claude keeps using the old price. Nine times out of ten, the cause is that both the old and new price lists are sitting in project knowledge. The model is not being stubborn. It is being given two conflicting sources. Delete the outdated file, and the problem vanishes. Fix the knowledge, not the prompt.

3:17 Writing instructions

Now instructions. Put durable rules here and task details in each chat. A good template names the role and audience, lists always rules, such as use product names and prices exactly as in the approved product sheet, label paid partnerships per market rules, mark missing facts as T B C. It lists never rules, such as no medical claims unless quoted from the claims file, and never invent testimonials or statistics. And it sets output defaults, such as ending every answer with a checks needed list. Keep it under a page, and move long procedures into a knowledge file or a Skill.

4:01 Simple example

Let's start with a simple, personal example. Create a Project called job search. Upload your CV, a short list of the roles you are targeting, and a one paragraph note on tone, such as confident, specific, no clichés. Now each time you find a vacancy, paste the advert into a new chat in that Project and ask for a tailored cover letter. Claude already knows your experience and your style, so the first draft is close, and it can point to the parts of your CV that match each requirement. That is a Project doing exactly its job.

4:44 Worked example: eight clients in Lahore

A Lahore agency set up eight client Projects, each with the brand guide, current product sheet, the disclosure rules for that client's markets, three best performing posts and a glossary. They share them on a Team plan, so any account manager can pick up any client. Once a month, a thirty minute knowledge hygiene slot removes outdated files and updates instructions based on errors logged that month. New hires now produce on brand first drafts in their first week, and wrong prices, their most common error, disappeared once old price lists were removed.

5:24 The trap test

Before you trust a Project, run a trap test. Ask for something the knowledge does not contain, like the price of a product that is not on the sheet. A well built Project answers T B C, or says it is not in the files. If it invents a number, tighten your instructions and check for conflicting documents, then test again. Also decide who owns each shared Project, share only with people who should see every file, and remove access when people leave the account.

6:01 Try this now

Try this now. Create one Project for a client, product or recurring report you work on every week. Upload three files that pass the CARE test, current, authoritative, relevant and clearly named. Paste in the instructions template from the lesson and adapt it. Then run two real tasks you would normally do this week. Finally, ask one trap question the files cannot answer, such as a price or date that is not in them. If Claude says it is not in the files, your Project is ready. If it invents something, tighten the instructions and check for conflicting files.

6:44 Watch me do it, part 1

Let me build the Noor Organics Project live. I click new project and name it Noor Organics, content and reporting. I upload four files, each with a dated name. The September twenty twenty six approved product sheet, the brand voice guide, the disclosure rules for the UK and UAE, and our three best performing posts. I notice an old price list from the spring is still in my downloads, and I make sure it does not go in. Then I paste the instructions template. Role and audience, the always rules, exact prices from the approved sheet, disclosure labels, T B C for missing facts, two options for hooks, and the never rules, no medical claims and no invented reviews. Save.

7:36 Watch me do it, part 2

Now I test it. Task one, three Instagram captions for the rose hydrating mist. The price matches the approved sheet, and each caption includes the paid partnership label for the UAE. Task two, two subject line options for the launch email. Good. Now the trap question. What is the price of the two hundred millilitre body oil? That product is not in the sheet, and Claude answers that it is not in the project files and marks it T B C. That is exactly what I want. One thing I notice is that the Arabic caption was a direct translation, so I add a rule, Arabic captions should be written natively, not translated. The Project is ready for the team.

8:28 Recap and next step

Recap. A Project combines shared knowledge, standing instructions and grouped chats. Create one for context you reuse weekly. Curate knowledge with the CARE test, and remember that conflicting files cause most errors. Keep durable rules in instructions and details in the chat. And run a trap test before you trust it. Your next step is in the lesson, build one Project for a real client or recurring task, with three to five clean files, and run two real tasks plus the trap test.