Best Practices and Tips
Security & Privacy
- Principle of Least Privilege: Grant agents only minimum required tools and permissions.
- Human-in-the-Loop: Configure approval workflows for high-risk actions (bulk emails, DB writes).
- Data Access Controls: Use role-based access and PII masking.
- Credential Management: Secure storage, rotation policies, never hardcode.
- Audit Logging: Log all actions for compliance.
- Prompt Injection Protection: Protect against malicious inputs.
Performance Optimization
- System Prompt Engineering: Use clear, structured prompts.
- Knowledge Base Optimization: Optimize file sizes, chunking, and naming.
- Context & Token Management: Balance quality with cost/latency.
- Tool Usage: Minimize calls, use parallel execution and caching.
User Experience
- Latency Management: Set expectations for long operations.
- Error Handling: Graceful degradation and user-friendly messages.
- Feedback Loops: Mechanisms for iterative improvement.
Production Readiness Checklist
- Configuration verification (prompts, tools).
- Security verification (permissions, approvals).
- Testing verification (happy path, edge cases).
- Monitoring setup (metrics, alerts).
- Documentation requirements (guides, troubleshooting).
- Compliance verification (GDPR, etc.).
Troubleshooting Guide
| Issue | Symptoms | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Agent not using tools | Responds “I don’t have access” | Check tool enabled, description clear, prompt instruction. |
| Hallucinating data | Invents information | Instruct agents to say “I don’t know” when information is missing. |
| Slow responses | Queries >1 0 seconds | Check context size, optimize KB, use parallel execution. |
| Tool auth failure | Unauthorized error | Verify credentials, check token expiry, confirm scopes. |