Law 37 · Architecture & Operations
Cascade Before You Escalate
Try the cheap model first. Only the hard cases deserve the expensive one.
The principle
Most queries don't need your most powerful model. Routing requests through a cascade, a cheap model first and a stronger one only when confidence is low, can match top-tier quality at a fraction of the cost. The price gap between models spans two orders of magnitude, so paying top dollar for every call is pure waste.
The mechanism, the warning signs, a worked example, and the apply-it recipe for this law are in the complete edition.
Unlock all 50 laws — $9.99Related laws
36
Don't Build an Agent When a Workflow Will Do
Agents buy flexibility with latency, cost, and unpredictability.
Architecture & Operations
38
The Multi-Agent Tax
Every extra agent multiplies your token bill, so make sure the task can pay it.
Architecture & Operations
39
Your Architecture Mirrors Your Org Chart
You ship a system shaped like your teams, so design the teams first.
Architecture & Operations