Glossary · Phase 6 · Modern LLM engineering
Critical path
The longest chain of steps that have to happen one after another. However many agents you add, the job can't finish faster than this.
The longest chain of tasks that depend on each other is called the critical path. It can't be split up. The same holds for any team, human or AI. Split work only where the pieces are truly independent, and expect the longest chain to set the pace.
Try it now
Three 90% steps only give 73%. Long chains need a much better step, or a checker at each hand-off.
Learn it properly
Multi-agent systems · Coordinating many agents on one large job. About 35 minutes.
Other terms from the same lesson
- multi-agent: Several AI agents working together, each with its own role, passing work between them.
- subagent: An agent started by another agent to handle one part of a job, reporting its result back.
Never trained an AI?
Teach a small one to write, right in your browser. It takes about 20 seconds and needs no account.