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CCAO-F · Domain 3 of 7 · 4 lessons · about 75 min
Domain 3: Product and Model Selection
Which Claude feature fits the job, how Haiku, Sonnet and Opus differ, trading cost, speed and quality, and managing context and memory. 12% of CCAO-F.
This domain is 12% of CCAO-F, about 7 of the 60 questions. It is about choosing the right tool before you start, so the rest of the work is easier.
Two kinds of choice run through it. The first is the feature: a plain chat for a one-off question, a Project for recurring work that shares files and instructions, research mode when the answer needs many sources, an artifact when the result is something to keep and edit. The second is the model: Claude comes in tiers, from the fast, low-cost Haiku through the balanced Sonnet to the most capable Opus. The context window ties them together: it is the amount of text Claude can consider at once in a conversation, and long conversations use it up.
The recurring test: match the choice to the task, not to the maximum. The most capable model for every request, or the most elaborate feature for a simple question, wastes time and budget. The cheapest option for work that needs deep reasoning wastes quality. The right answer names what the task actually needs (speed, volume, depth, persistence) and picks the tool that fits.
What the exam guide tests
The official CCAO-F guide lists 4 objectives for this domain. Exam questions are written against them, and so are the lessons: each row says where it is covered.
| # | Objective | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Select appropriate Claude product features (Projects, research mode, chat, artifacts) | 3.1 |
| 3.2 | Differentiate between Claude model types (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus) | 3.2 |
| 3.3 | Align model selection with task requirements (cost, speed, quality) | 3.3 |
| 3.4 | Understand and manage context limitations and memory considerations (when to restart, summarize, or persist) | 3.4 |
Lessons
- 3.1 Choosing the right Claude feature for the jobWhen to use a plain chat, a Project, research mode or an artifact in Claude, what each wrong choice costs, and how the exam tests the match.19 min
- 3.2 Haiku, Sonnet and Opus: how the Claude models differWhat sets Claude's Haiku, Sonnet and Opus apart, how to read a model's name and version, where you choose one, and how effort and thinking add depth.18 min
- 3.3 Matching the model to the task: cost, speed and qualityHow to weigh cost, speed and quality when choosing between Haiku, Sonnet and Opus, test the choice on real cases, and mix models across one workflow.20 min
- 3.4 Context and memory: when to restart, summarise or persistWhy long Claude chats drift, the signs it is time to act, and when to restart, hand off a reviewed summary, or persist context in a Project or memory.18 min
Practice question
From the CCAO-F bank, tagged to this domain. Every answer option is explained. Nothing is stored, nothing to sign up for.
42 CCAO-F questions on this domain, free
The domain quiz in the question bank draws 10 random questions from the 42 tagged to Product and Model Selection, scores them and explains every option. Repeat it until the weak spots are gone, then sit the 60-question timed simulator.
Open the CCAO-F question bank → Start lesson 3.1 →
The question bank is free. It asks for an account only because the quiz engine has to store answers to score them and show which domains are weak. The questions on this page need nothing.