Task-specific evals
The best evals are specific to the job the system performs. "Good answer" is too vague; "extract the renewal date, cite the clause, and return valid JSON" is testable.
Start from the task contract
- What input does the system receive?
- What output format is promised?
- What information must be correct?
- What evidence or citation is required?
- What should the system do when information is missing?
- What errors are cheap, expensive, or unacceptable?
This turns product expectations into grading criteria.
Common task patterns
| Task | Primary checks | Extra checks |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | label accuracy, confusion matrix | calibration, class imbalance |
| Extraction | exact fields, schema validity | citation, missing-field behavior |
| Summarization | coverage, faithfulness | no unsupported claims |
| RAG Q&A | answer correctness, groundedness | retrieval recall, citation quality |
| Tool use | valid arguments, correct tool | side effects, permission boundary |
| Creative assistance | usefulness, fit to brief | tone, originality, safety |
Rubric shape
- Define pass/fail criteria before comparing model outputs.
- Include examples of pass, partial pass, and fail.
- Separate correctness from style so a polished wrong answer does not pass.
- Keep the rubric stable across model comparisons.
Pitfall
Generic judges usually reward fluency. Task-specific rubrics reward the behavior that matters, even when the best answer is short, cautious, or says "I do not know".
Connects to: LLM-as-judge · prompt anatomy · expectations