Troubleshooting RAG systems
Barnett and colleagues in their paper Seven Failure Points When Engineering a Retrieval Augmented Generation System (2024), and Li and colleagues in their paper Enhancing Retrieval-Augmented Generation: A Study of Best Practices (2025) emphasize the importance of both robust design and continuous system calibration:
- Foundational setup: Ensure comprehensive and high-quality document collections, clear prompt formulations, and effective retrieval techniques that enhance precision and relevance.
- Continuous calibration: Regular monitoring, user feedback, and updates to the knowledge base help identify emerging issues during operation.
By implementing these practices early in development, many common RAG failures can be prevented. However, even well-designed systems encounter issues. The following sections explore the seven most common failure points identified by Barnett and colleagues (2024) and provide targeted solutions informed by empirical...
