A Framework for Deciding Where Retrieval Work Happens

📰 Medium · RAG

Learn a framework to decide where retrieval work happens in RAG, optimizing performance by choosing the right approach for your corpus and questions

intermediate Published 15 Sept 2026

Action Steps

Profile your corpus to understand its size, complexity, and characteristics
Analyze your questions to determine their frequency, type, and required accuracy
Choose between sending everything, filtering first, indexing ahead, or searching in place based on your profiling results
Configure your RAG system to implement the chosen approach
Test and evaluate the performance of your retrieval work setup

Who Needs to Know This

This framework benefits developers and engineers working with RAG, helping them optimize retrieval work and improve overall system performance. It's particularly useful for teams dealing with large corpora and complex question sets.

Key Insight

💡 Profiling your corpus and questions is crucial to determining the most efficient approach for retrieval work in RAG

Full Article

Profile your corpus and questions, then choose between sending everything, filtering first, indexing ahead or searching in place. Continue reading on LearnWithNK »

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