Evals
Representative tests and review criteria used to measure a system against the intended work's agreed acceptance gates.
Category
What keeps it honest
Related terms
Evals are scored test sets built from representative cases, and they provide evidence for material model, system, and cutover decisions. The relevant set and acceptance threshold are agreed in the Decision Blueprint with the expert who owns the outcome; handoff terms state how the customer can run and extend it.
Why evals precede everything
An agent system without repeatable evaluation is easily judged by anecdote — the demo that went well or the complaint that reached a VP. A useful eval turns important behavior into inspectable evidence. Cutover should require the relevant eval, safety, operational, and operator-acceptance gates; a single aggregate score is not enough.
What a good eval looks like
A useful eval is built from representative cases, scored automatically where reliable, reviewed by the operator who owns the outcome, and tiered so fast checks can run often while broader regression sets run for material releases. The handoff scope includes the relevant suite and instructions for applying the same gates to future changes.
Often confused with
How it differs from similar terms.
| evals | Compared with | What's different |
|---|---|---|
| Evals | Benchmarks | Public benchmarks compare general capabilities. Deployment evals test representative cases and risks from the intended work; operating evidence and expert review remain necessary too. |
Want these terms worked through on one of your own decisions? Start with a Decision Blueprint