Reason number 1
You might not want the above result, rather something like below would help you
Scraps from various sources and my own writings on Generative AI, AGI, Digital, Disruption, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Scaled Agile, XP, TDD, FDD, DevOps, Design Thinking, etc.
Reason number 1
You might not want the above result, rather something like below would help you
Where RAG retrieves knowledge dynamically, fine-tuning actually modifies the model’s brain — it teaches the LLM new patterns or behaviors by updating its internal weights.
Start with a pretrained model (e.g., GPT-3.5, Llama-3, Mistral).
Prepare training data — examples of how you want the model to behave:
Inputs → desired outputs
e.g., “User story → corresponding UAT test case”
Train the model on these examples (using supervised learning or reinforcement learning).
The model’s weights are adjusted, internalizing the new style, tone, or domain language.
After fine-tuning, the model natively performs the desired task without needing the examples fed each time.
| Aspect | RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) | Fine-Tuning | 
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Adds external info at runtime | Alters model weights via training | 
| When Used | When data changes often or is large | When you need consistent behavior or reasoning style | 
| Data Type | Documents, databases, APIs | Labeled prompt–response pairs | 
| Cost | Low (no retraining) | High (GPU time, expertise, re-training) | 
| Freshness | Instantly updatable | Requires re-training to update | 
| Control | You control retrieved sources | You control reasoning patterns | 
| Example Use | Ask questions about new policies | Teach model to write test cases in your company’s format | 
| Analogy | Reading from a manual before answering | Rewriting the brain to remember the manual forever | 
The real power comes when both are used together:
| Layer | Role | 
|---|---|
| Fine-Tuning | Teaches the model how to think — e.g., how to structure a UAT test case, how to handle defects, your tone/style. | 
| RAG | Gives it the latest knowledge — e.g., current epics, Jira stories, or Salesforce objects from your live data. | 
So the LLM becomes:
A fine-tuned specialist with a live retrieval memory.
| Step | Example | 
|---|---|
| Fine-tuning | You fine-tune the LLM on 1,000 existing UAT test cases and business rules. Now it understands your structure and tone. | 
| RAG layer | You connect it to Jira and Confluence via embeddings, so when you ask, “Generate UAT test cases for Drop-3 Call Centre Epics,” it retrieves the latest epics and acceptance criteria. | 
| Result | You get context-aware, properly formatted, accurate UAT cases consistent with AGL’s standards. | 
That’s enterprise-grade augmentation — the model both knows how to think like your testers and knows what’s new from your systems.
| Capability | Base LLM | + RAG | + Fine-Tuning | + Both | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General reasoning | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 
| Access to private or new data | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠ (only if baked in) | ✅ | 
| Domain vocabulary & formats | ⚠ | ⚠ | ✅ | ✅ | 
| Updatable knowledge | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | 
| Low hallucination | ⚠ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅✅ | 
| Cost to build | – | Low | Medium–High | Medium | 
| If your problem is... | Then use... | 
|---|---|
| “Model doesn’t know the latest information.” | ✅ RAG | 
| “Model doesn’t behave or write like us.” | ✅ Fine-Tuning | 
| “Model doesn’t know and doesn’t behave correctly.” | ✅ Both | 
That’s the progressive architecture:
RAG extends knowledge.
Fine-tuning embeds behavior.
Together, they form the foundation for enterprise-grade AI systems.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is an AI architecture pattern where a Large Language Model (LLM) doesn’t rely only on its internal “frozen” training data.
Instead, it retrieves relevant, up-to-date, or domain-specific information from an external knowledge source (like your documents, databases, or APIs) just before it generates an answer.
So the model’s reasoning process becomes:
Question → Retrieve relevant documents → Feed them into the LLM → Generate answer using both
You can think of it as giving the LLM a “just-in-time memory extension.”
User query comes in.
Retriever searches a knowledge base (PDFs, wikis, databases, Jira tickets, etc.) for the most relevant chunks.
Top-k relevant passages are embedded and appended to the model’s prompt.
LLM generates the final response, grounded in those retrieved facts.
Typical components:
| Component | Description | 
|---|---|
| LLM | The reasoning and text-generation engine (e.g., GPT-5, Claude, Gemini). | 
| Retriever | Finds relevant text snippets via embeddings (vector similarity search). | 
| Vector Database | Stores text chunks as numerical embeddings (e.g., Pinecone, Chroma, FAISS). | 
| Orchestrator Layer | Handles query parsing, retrieval, prompt assembly, and response formatting. | 
RAG bridges the gap between static models and dynamic knowledge.
| Problem Without RAG | How RAG Solves It | 
|---|---|
| LLM knowledge cutoff (e.g., 2023) | Retrieves real-time or updated data | 
| Hallucinations / made-up facts | Grounds responses in retrieved, traceable context | 
| Domain specificity (finance, legal, energy, healthcare, etc.) | Pulls your proprietary content as context | 
| Data privacy and compliance | Keeps data in your environment (no fine-tuning needed) | 
| High cost of fine-tuning models | Lets you “teach” via retrieval instead of retraining | 
| Use Case | What RAG Does | 
|---|---|
| Enterprise knowledge assistant | Searches company Confluence, Jira, Salesforce, and answers from those docs | 
| Customer support bot | Retrieves FAQs and policy docs to answer accurately | 
| Research assistant | Pulls academic papers from a library before summarizing | 
| Testing & QA (your domain) | Retrieves test cases, acceptance criteria, or epic notes to generate UAT scenarios | 
| Legal advisor | Retrieves specific clauses or past judgments to draft responses | 
| Benefit | Description | 
|---|---|
| Accuracy | Reduces hallucination by grounding outputs in retrieved data | 
| Freshness | Keeps responses current without retraining | 
| Cost-effective | No need for fine-tuning or re-training large models | 
| Traceability | You can show sources and citations (useful for audits, compliance) | 
| Scalability | Works across thousands or millions of documents | 
| Data Control | Keeps your proprietary knowledge within your secure environment | 
Modern LLMs (GPT-5, Gemini 2, Claude 3.5, etc.) can read attached documents —
but they still can’t:
Search across large knowledge bases automatically,
Maintain persistent memory across sessions,
Retrieve structured metadata or enforce data lineage.
RAG remains the backbone of enterprise AI because it allows controlled, explainable, and auditable intelligence.
RAG = Reasoning + Retrieval.
It gives LLMs a dynamic external memory, making them accurate, current, and domain-aware.
“Automation” and “agent” sound similar — but they solve very different classes of problems. Automation = Fixed Instruction → Fixed Outcome ...