Build an AI Pilot Evaluation Set

Sample ordinary and difficult cases, remove sensitive details where needed, and record the expected result and severity of each error.

Published September 22, 2026 · Dr. Connor Robertson

What to provide

Historical examples, verified expected outputs, edge cases, and common failure reports.

Starting prompt

Create a test matrix for this workflow: input type, expected result, source evidence, failure severity, and reviewer. Include missing-data and conflicting-data cases.

Trial case

Build examples with complete, missing, and contradictory source data. The test set should score whether the workflow flags uncertainty as well as whether it gets routine cases right.

Review gate

Subject-matter reviewers validate expected answers and prevent test examples from being used to tune only for the score.

How to score the result

Critical errors detected before rollout and coverage of known exceptions.

Use the current approved source and keep it available to the reviewer. Check a small set of finished outputs against the previous process before adopting this workflow.

Related workflows

Explore AI Governance and ROI for Small Business or the AI business strategy guide.