> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.buildbetter.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Document Purpose & Templates

> Understanding BuildBetter's document templates and customization

BuildBetter's document system uses templates to generate structured business documents from your calls, signals, and data. Templates ensure consistent, professional output tailored to your needs.

## What Are Document Templates?

Templates define the structure, sections, and AI instructions for generating documents. They ensure every document of a given type follows the same format and includes the right information.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Built-In Templates" icon="file-lines">
    System-provided templates for common business documents
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom Templates" icon="wand-magic-sparkles">
    Organization-specific templates you create for your unique needs
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Available Template Types

### Meeting Documents

* **Meeting Summary**: Structured notes with decisions and action items
* **Call Notes**: Detailed conversation capture
* **Action Items**: Extracted tasks and next steps
* **Decision Log**: Key decisions and rationale

### Product Documents

* **Product Requirements (PRD)**: Comprehensive product specifications
* **User Stories**: Formatted with acceptance criteria
* **Feature Specifications**: Technical details and requirements
* **Release Notes**: Update summaries for customers

### Business Documents

* **Interview Summary**: Key insights from user research
* **Strategy Document**: High-level analysis and recommendations
* **Q\&A Extract**: Questions and answers from recordings
* **Status Update**: Progress reports and blockers
* **Executive Summary**: High-level briefings

<Tip>
  Preview any template before selecting to see example output and understand the final structure.
</Tip>

## Template Components

Each template includes:

### Structure Definition

* **Sections**: Organized content areas (Overview, Requirements, etc.)
* **Headings**: Hierarchy and organization
* **Content blocks**: Specific information types

### AI Instructions

* **Generation prompts**: Guides AI on what to extract
* **Focus areas**: Emphasized content types
* **Tone and style**: How content should be written

### Default Settings

* **Generation strategy**: Focused Analysis or Theme Discovery
* **Data source**: Full Context or Key Insights
* **Permissions**: Default visibility level

## Creating Custom Templates

Custom templates allow you to define documents specific to your organization's needs.

### Access Template Management

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization > Document Templates
2. Click "Create Template"
3. Define template structure and settings
4. Save for use across your workspace

### Template Configuration

<Steps>
  <Step title="Basic Information" stepNumber={1}>
    * Template name and description
    * Category/type classification
    * Icon or visual identifier
  </Step>

  <Step title="Structure & Sections" stepNumber={2}>
    * Define document sections
    * Set section order and hierarchy
    * Configure conditional sections
  </Step>

  <Step title="AI Instructions" stepNumber={3}>
    * Provide generation guidance
    * Set content focus areas
    * Define extraction rules
  </Step>

  <Step title="Default Settings" stepNumber={4}>
    * Choose default generation strategy
    * Set default data source
    * Configure default permissions
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Generation Strategies

Templates can specify default generation strategies:

### Focused Analysis (One-Shot)

* Best for small datasets (under 100 signals or 10 calls)
* Simple, all-at-once processing
* Faster generation
* Ideal for single meetings or focused topics

### Theme Discovery (Divide-and-Conquer)

* Best for large datasets (over 100 signals or 10 calls)
* Advanced pattern recognition
* Identifies themes across sources
* Not suitable for counting or quantitative analysis

<Info>
  You can override the template default when creating a document if you need a different strategy for specific use cases.
</Info>

## Data Source Options

Templates can specify preferred data formats:

### Full Context (Qualitative)

* Uses complete transcripts and conversations
* Best for narrative documents
* Preserves nuances and details
* Only available with calls/folders (not datasets/signals only)

### Key Insights (Extractions)

* Uses pre-extracted signals
* Best for summaries and reports
* Focuses on highlights
* Less effective with 20+ sources

## Template Best Practices

<Check>
  **Define clear sections**: Well-structured templates produce better documents
</Check>

<Check>
  **Provide detailed AI instructions**: The more guidance you give, the better the output
</Check>

<Check>
  **Test with real data**: Validate templates with actual calls and signals before team-wide use
</Check>

<Check>
  **Use appropriate defaults**: Set generation strategy and data source based on typical use
</Check>

<Check>
  **Keep templates focused**: Specific templates work better than trying to be all-purpose
</Check>

## Using Templates

### During Document Creation

1. Select a template from the list
2. Review template preview (if available)
3. Add your data sources (calls, folders, signals)
4. Optionally override template defaults
5. Generate your document

### Template Selection Tips

* **Meeting summaries**: Use single-call templates with Full Context
* **Trend analysis**: Use multi-source templates with Theme Discovery
* **Quick reports**: Use Key Insights format for speed
* **Detailed docs**: Use Full Context format for depth

## Common Use Cases

### Product Teams

* Create PRDs from customer interview folders
* Generate user stories from research sessions
* Build feature specs from feedback signals
* Document technical decisions from architecture calls

### Sales & Customer Success

* Transform sales calls into opportunity summaries
* Create account reviews from customer meetings
* Generate status updates from check-in calls
* Build competitive analysis from market research

### Leadership

* Compile executive summaries from multiple sources
* Create strategic reports from planning sessions
* Generate board updates from leadership meetings
* Build investor docs from pitch practice

<Warning>
  Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and completeness before sharing externally. Templates guide the AI but don't guarantee perfect output.
</Warning>

## Troubleshooting Templates

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Poor Output Quality">
    * Review and refine AI instructions in the template
    * Ensure data sources match template expectations
    * Try different generation strategy
    * Add more specific focus/description when generating
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Missing Sections">
    * Check that template sections are properly defined
    * Verify source data contains relevant content
    * Ensure generation strategy matches data volume
    * Try Full Context instead of Key Insights
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Inconsistent Results">
    * Standardize source data quality (complete transcripts, speaker labels)
    * Use consistent generation settings
    * Test template with various data sets
    * Refine AI instructions for clarity
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  Start with built-in templates and modify them to create custom versions. This is faster than creating templates from scratch.
</Tip>