Prompting for Effective LLM Reasoning and Planning with Microsoft Foundry

Go beyond simple prompts and learn to design robust, Azure-native AI agents. In this course, you’ll use Microsoft Foundry and the Agent Service to build role-based agents that reason, plan, and act with real-world tools and data. You’ll master advanced prompting techniques—including Chain-of-Thought, ReAct, and systematic prompt refinement—to turn raw model capabilities into reliable, controllable behavior. You'll chain agents into multi-step workflows, adding validation gates and feedback loops so agents can inspect, correct, and improve their outputs. Through focused, hands-on labs, you’ll apply these patterns to a realistic supply chain scenario, culminating in a multi-tool agent that can analyze data, call utilities, and support complex operational decisions end to end.

Course

Intermediate
12 hours
Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Subscription · Monthly

Cancel Anytime
Unlimited access to hundreds of top-rated courses
Hands-on projects with expert feedback
Personalized career coaching and interview prep
Program Certificates

Skills you'll learn

11 skills

Implementing Feedback Loops
Azure AI Services
Agentic Reasoning Frameworks
AI Agents
Feedback Loop Design

Prerequisites

3 prerequisites

Prior to enrolling, you should have the following knowledge:

Basic Prompting
Basic Python
Generative AI Fluency

You will also need to be able to communicate fluently and professionally in written and spoken English.

Course Outline

13 lessons
1 project

Prompting for Effective LLM Reasoning and Planning with Microsoft Foundry

Introduction to Prompting for Effective LLM Reasoning and Planning with Microsoft Foundry
Introduces the core concepts of Agentic AI, the course structure, prerequisites, and learning environment.
The Role of Prompting in Agentic AI
Learn what AI Agents are and how they work. Understand the critical role prompting plays in guiding them to reason, plan, and act to achieve goals.
Role-Based Prompting
Explains the theory of using roles or personas to control the tone, style, and expertise of an LLM's output.
Implementing Role-Based Prompting with Microsoft Foundry
Explore how to implement role-based prompting in Azure Agent Service, including configuration, best practices, and use cases for tailored conversational AI experiences.
Chain-of-Thought and ReACT Prompting
Explains the conceptual frameworks for Chain-of-Thought (CoT) for guided reasoning and ReAct (Reason+Act) for enabling agents to plan and take actions.
Applying COT and ReACT Prompting with Microsoft Foundry Agent Service
Explore how to implement Chain-of-Thought (COT) and ReACT prompting in Azure AI Foundry Agent Service.
Prompt Instruction Refinement
Explains the theory of systematically refining prompt instructions by modifying components like Role, Task, Context, Examples, and Output Format.
Applying Prompt Instruction Refinement with Microsoft Foundry
Explore how to refine prompt instructions using Azure AI Foundry Agent Service for effective AI-driven solutions.
Chaining Prompts for Agentic Reasoning
Explains the conceptual framework for building multi-step AI workflows by linking the output of one prompt to the input of the next, and the importance of validation.
Chaining Prompts with Microsoft Foundry
Explore how to create and chain prompts using the Azure AI Foundry Agent Service to build dynamic, multi-step conversational AI workflows.
LLM Feedback Loops
Explains the conceptual framework for building self-improving systems where an agent uses feedback from its own actions to iteratively refine its output.
LLM Feedback Loops with Microsoft Foundry
Explore how to implement and manage feedback loops in LLM applications using Azure Foundry AI Agent Service for model improvement and reliability.

Project: AeroTurbine Solutions: Building an Agentic Supply Chain
Build a multi-agent supply chain workflow in Microsoft AI Foundry that generates BOMs, checks inventory, analyzes suppliers, and creates purchase orders, validated through resources and test runs.

Program Instructors

3 instructors

Unlike typical professors, our instructors come from Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies and have demonstrated leadership and expertise in their professions:

Brian Cruz

Head of AI Engineering, Advocate

James Willett

Principal Software Engineer & Tech Educator

Peter Kowalchuk

Engagement Director at C3.ai

Brian Cruz

Head of AI Engineering, Advocate

James Willett

Principal Software Engineer & Tech Educator

Peter Kowalchuk

Engagement Director at C3.ai

About this program

Master systematic prompt refinement and multi-step agent workflows on Azure. Build a multi-tool agent for real supply chain decisions.

Subscription · Monthly

Cancel Anytime
Unlimited access to hundreds of top-rated courses
Hands-on projects with expert feedback
Personalized career coaching and interview prep
Program Certificates

Prompting for Effective LLM Reasoning and Planning with Microsoft Foundry

Skills you'll learn

Prerequisites

Course Outline

Program Instructors

About this program

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