Mid-level interview question
Why separate planning from execution?
Model answer
So a bad plan is rejected before anything runs. Otherwise a plan that can't reach the goal can burn hours of calls, or perform a write you can't undo.
Validate with heuristics in code (every tool exists, under a step limit) or a model judge; regenerate on rejection.
Practise the rest
6 Workflows vs agents questions, 492 in all, each with a model answer. Free.
More Workflows vs agents interview questions
- What's the difference between a workflow and an agent?
- Name some workflow patterns you'd try before an agent.
- Which planning failures can you catch before execution, and which can't you?
- Your agent loops “until the tests pass”. What does the harness need?
- How do you put people into an agent without making it useless?