FDE Knowledge Framework and Learning Path

6 stages × 7 domains · 58 tasks

Stages can be revisited iteratively; the same capabilities are used across multiple stages. Select applicable tasks per project, and enable AI-related activities as needed.

LEARNING PATHS

Start learning from your stage

The overview helps you understand relationships; the paths help you sequence your learning.

Your learning plan

All topics

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Explain role boundaries and plan your own capability growth.

• FDE Knowledge Framework and Learning PathUnderstand the FDE big picture through six delivery stages, seven capability domains, and 58 tasks, and structure your learning along 46 topics to build delivery evidence. FDE knowledge framework · Delivery lifecycle · Capability matrix
• FDE Role and Capability ModelUnderstand the responsibilities, engineering capabilities, and collaboration boundaries of a Forward Deployed Engineer. Job responsibilities · Capability model · Growth path
• Engineering Fundamentals and Development EnvironmentFill in the basics of programming, systems, networking, Git, and debugging. Development environment · Git · HTTP

Form a verifiable problem definition and success criteria.

• Customer Interviews and Problem DefinitionBreak vague requests into users, scenarios, problems, and constraints. Customer interviews · Problem definition · Requirements research
• Business Processes and User ResearchIdentify bottlenecks, exceptions, and manual judgments in real workflows. Business processes · User research · Process optimization
• Scenario Selection and ScopingSelect the first scenario based on value, feasibility, data readiness, and risk. Scenario selection · Scope management · Prioritization
• Value Hypotheses and Success MetricsTranslate business goals into measurable baselines, targets, and acceptance evidence. Success metrics · ROI · Business baseline
• Project Kickoff and Delivery EconomicsBefore committing to delivery, clarify value hypotheses, total investment, responsibilities, and stop conditions. Delivery economics · Project kickoff · Investment estimation

Explain solution trade-offs and validate the biggest risks with prototypes.

• Data Modeling and Business SemanticsMap business objects, relationships, events, and metrics into usable data models. Data modeling · Business semantics · Data quality
• System Integration and Interface ContractsDesign cross-system data flows, interfaces, error handling, and consistency boundaries. System integration · OpenAPI · Interface contracts
• Prototyping and Technical ValidationValidate high-risk assumptions with minimal prototypes and define conditions to continue or stop. Prototype validation · PoC · Controlled experiments

Deliver runnable, tested, and traceable software changes.

• Data Ingestion and Processing PipelinesBuild ingestion pipelines that are rerunnable, traceable, and able to handle dirty data. Data pipelines · ETL · Incremental updates

Validate the effectiveness, cost, and safety boundaries of AI systems.

• AI Fundamentals and Capability BoundariesUnderstand models, prompts, RAG, agents, and deployment choices. LLMs · Prompts · RAG
• AI Application DeliveryTurn business requirements into testable, launchable AI solutions. AI delivery · Model selection · Launch
• RAG Knowledge EngineeringDesign the pipelines for document ingestion, retrieval, citation, and knowledge updates. RAG · Embedding · Vector retrieval
• AI Evals and AcceptanceDefine eval sets, business metrics, failure thresholds, and launch criteria. AI evals · Acceptance · Hallucination

Deliver launch evidence and maintainable operations documentation.

• Delivery LifecycleConnect problem definition, development iterations, trial runs, acceptance, and handover. Delivery process · Milestones · Project phases
• Acceptance and Operations HandoverClarify acceptance evidence, responsibility boundaries, and outstanding items. Acceptance · Operations handover · Trial run
• Deployment Platforms, Environments, and MigrationPlan the boundaries for networking, identity, configuration, builds, releases, and platform migration. Deployment platforms · Environment management · Configuration management

Use evidence to locate problems and verify recovery and follow-up improvements.

• Observability and Service ObjectivesUse logs, metrics, traces, and SLOs to discover user impact. Observability · SLO · Logs
• Troubleshooting MethodsBuild a diagnostic process from symptoms, hypotheses, and evidence to root cause. Troubleshooting · Root cause analysis · Incident response
• Common AI System FailuresDiagnose anomalies in retrieval, output, tool calls, performance, and cost. AI failures · RAG troubleshooting · Agent troubleshooting
• Performance, Capacity, and Per-Task CostOptimize task latency, system capacity, call budgets, and review burden together. Performance optimization · Capacity planning · Per-task cost

Form verifiable access boundaries and security testing checklists.

• Identity and Access DesignDesign access boundaries for users, services, tenants, and resources. Identity · Access control · Multi-tenancy
• Data Classification and Privacy ProtectionDefine boundaries for data collection, processing, retention, and deletion. Data classification · Privacy protection · Data lifecycle

Drive customer adoption and feed common needs back to product teams.

• Stakeholder Collaboration and User AdoptionDrive business owners, users, and technical teams to jointly accept value. User adoption · Stakeholder collaboration · Pilot training
• Product Feedback and Requirement AbstractionDistinguish single-customer customizations from product requirements with reuse value. Product feedback · Requirement abstraction · Productization
• Solution Reuse and Delivery at ScaleTurn one-off implementations into configurable, maintainable, reusable solutions. Solution reuse · Delivery at scale · Configuration management

Demonstrate full project capability through code, evals, and retrospectives.

• End-to-End Hands-On ProjectFrom problem interviews to launch retrospective, complete a reviewable showcase project. FDE in practice · Ticket assistant · Project exercises
• Case Documentation and Tool ManagementExplain case documentation methods and tool admission criteria, with real cases added progressively. Cases · Toolbox · Templates
• Project Delivery Template DirectoryPlan templates for problem definition, architecture decisions, evals, launch, and retrospectives. Delivery templates · ADR · Launch checklist
• Knowledge Base Governance and Documentation StandardsDistinguish outlines, concept guides, and operational manuals, and maintain content status and evidence. Knowledge governance · Documentation standards · Content review