LOCKEDIN / FORWARD-DEPLOYED ENGINEERING 101
Understand it.
Then build it.
You can be an experienced engineer and still be new to agents. Start with what each thing is and how it helps a person do useful work. Explore 48 original introductions across software, agents, cloud, security and delivery. Start here without a model key; each topic connects to deeper instruction and practice.
- 101UnderstandPlain language, visual walkthrough, vocabulary
- 102Build with guidanceOriginal lessons, examples and knowledge checks
- 103Practise and explainRunnable labs, failure cases and handover
- 01Define success
- 02Compare fairly
- 03Inspect failures
Measuring useful behavior
How do model benchmarks and evaluations differ?
A benchmark compares systems on a defined task set and scoring method. An application evaluation checks whether your whole system meets its actual requirements. A model's public benchmark score cannot establish that your retrieval, tools, permissions and workflow work correctly for a customer.
An FDE needs evidence for choosing a model and for deciding whether a release is safe and useful.
CONNECT IT TO WHAT YOU KNOW
Start with something familiar.
A processor benchmark does not prove your accounting application calculates invoices correctly. Component performance and product acceptance answer different questions.
Use representative cases, a simple baseline and explicit failure criteria. Keep tuning examples separate from held-out evaluation cases, and record model and configuration changes.
Words worth knowing
- Baseline
- A simple existing method used for comparison.
- Held-out set
- Cases kept out of development and tuning.
- Rubric
- Explicit criteria used to judge a result.
ONE EXAMPLE / FICTIONAL CASE
Watch the work take shape.
Compare two models on the same maintenance drafts, including missing evidence, unauthorized requests and ambiguous equipment descriptions.
- 01Define success
- 02Compare fairly
- 03Inspect failures
Define success
Specify supported answers, correct tool behavior, refusal cases, latency and cost requirements.
A task-specific rubricFROM RECOGNITION TO REASONING
Build a six-case evaluation packet.
- 01
Include two ordinary cases, two missing-evidence cases and two access-boundary cases.
- 02
Write expected behavior before seeing model output.
- 03
Decide which failures block release even if average quality is high.
Six cases with a rubric and blocking conditions.
Compare your reasoning when you are ready
A model that writes excellent prose but leaks one tenant's data is not acceptable. Aggregate quality must not hide a critical boundary failure.
Keep notes in your own working copy. Moving through these cards does not record completion.
TURN THE IDEA INTO USEFUL WORK
You can now go deeper.
Use representative cases, a simple baseline and explicit failure criteria. Keep tuning examples separate from held-out evaluation cases, and record model and configuration changes.
Academy lessons use your existing training access. Free guides stay open.