Bound the sources and research question
The work assignment is to build internal answers with traceable references. Define purpose, owner and permitted operating boundary before the first test.
The domain review baseline covers curated sources, permissions, chunking, retrieval tests and citation display. Assumptions and missing information remain visible in the result.
Match references to claims
- Assemble a curated source set with ownership, freshness status and access permissions.
- Select known questions with expected references and test text splitting and retrieval against them.
- Compare each answer with its displayed reference and flag unsupported claims.
- Explicitly test missing sources and excluded documents and define the update process.
Document uncertainty visibly
A test with known questions records retrieved passages, permissions and support for the answer. Cases without a suitable source or involving disallowed documents produce neither unsupported nor unauthorised answers.
Avoid: treating visible citations as proof of correctness. A source display is insufficient if the reference does not support the claim or access to its underlying document is not permitted.
Decision matrix
| Decision point | Proceed when | Stop when |
|---|---|---|
| Source baseline | Documented: curated sources, permissions, chunking, retrieval tests and citation display. | Scope, data or accountability remains unresolved. |
| Evidence review | A test with known questions records retrieved passages, permissions and support for the answer. Cases without a suitable source or involving disallowed documents produce neither unsupported nor unauthorised answers. | There is only an unevaluated demo without acceptance evidence. |
| Claim boundary | Owner, approval, fallback and next review date are defined. | Avoid: treating visible citations as proof of correctness. A source display is insufficient if the reference does not support the claim or access to its underlying document is not permitted. |
Keep it verifiable
Primary sources
- Microsoft: RAG end-to-end evaluationSource checked:
- Microsoft: Document-level access controlSource checked:
