Position Recency

Instructions at the end of a multi-instruction context dominate. Instructions at the beginning are dramatically weak.

Antipatterns

• Placing critical constraints at the top of the file. A "NEVER delete production data" instruction at line 1 is in the weakest position. Later instructions on unrelated topics will dominate, and the constraint may be ignored.
• Burying critical instructions in the middle. An important directive sandwiched between boilerplate sections gets minimal attention from the model. Middle positions are weaker than both the beginning and the end.
• Relying on emphasis alone. Bold text or uppercase ("IMPORTANT") does not compensate for weak position. A normal instruction at the end outperforms an emphasized instruction at the beginning.

Pass / Fail

Pass

# Project Setup

Use `uv sync` to install dependencies.

# Constraints

*NEVER modify `.env` files directly.*

Fail

# Constraints

*NEVER modify `.env` files directly.*

# Project Setup

Use `uv sync` to install dependencies.
Run `uv run poe qa` for testing.

Fix

Place highest-priority instructions LAST. Moving a critical instruction from the beginning to the end of a file dramatically increases compliance. For conflicting instructions, the last one wins — reorder or remove the conflict.

Limitations

Evaluates position of abstract (non-named) instructions. Named instructions are not penalized for position — specificity overrides position effects.