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PBJ Test Reveals How Well You Give Instructions

Hacker News •
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The PBJ test challenges users to explain how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to a literal-minded robot named Robbie. Most people fail because they skip obvious steps and use vague language, assuming the robot will "just know" what to do.

Built by The Deliberate Company, this free 3-minute challenge exposes how people think about processes. The test reveals that good instructions require completeness, precision, and attention to atomic details like wiping the knife or removing safety seals.

Users progress through 16 rounds of selecting steps Robbie needs, then receive scores across three dimensions. The experience shows exactly what happens when instructions are followed literally, teaching valuable lessons about process design that apply to business operations and beyond.