Build Your RAG System Right the First Time: 6 Decisions That Make or Break It

After debugging 20+ broken RAG systems, I've identified the 6 decisions that determine whether yours works. Here's how to get each one right.

The RAG Developer's Trap

Every RAG developer falls into the same trap: you build the basic pipeline, it sort of works, and then you spend weeks tweaking prompt templates — while the real problem sits untouched in your indexing pipeline.

The 80/20 rule: 80% of RAG problems come from indexing, not generation. But 80% of debugging effort goes into generation.

Let's fix that.