Lesson 1 of 10 · Fine-Tuning vs Prompting: What to Choose
In this lesson. Prompts and examples now; weights later if you must.
What you will learn
- Speed of change
- Data need
- Exhaust simpler levers
Walkthrough
You will compare latency of change, cost, and data needs. Most teams should exhaust prompting, RAG, and tools first. This lesson is the decision frame.
Work through the ideas in order. After each point, pause and connect it to a task you already do — a document, a workflow, or a feature you own. The goal of Fine-Tuning vs Prompting: What to Choose is usable skill, not a pile of notes.
If something is unclear, rewrite it in your own words before you continue. Teaching the step back to yourself is the fastest way to see gaps.
Practice
Write the decision frame on one page for your team.
Keep the first attempt small. A finished example you can reuse beats a perfect plan you never run.
Check your understanding
- Can you explain the goal of this lesson in one sentence to a teammate?
- Where would you apply “Speed of change” in your own work this week?
- What would you change on a second pass of the practice?
Next. Continue to the following lesson when the practice has a real artifact, even a rough one.