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yao-meta-skill/references/output-eval-method.md
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2026-06-13 12:34:19 +08:00

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Output Eval Method

Output Eval Lab proves whether a skill improves the final user-facing result, not only whether it routes correctly.

When To Use

Use output evals for production, library, governed, or team-distributed skills. Scaffold skills can start with one smoke case, but production and above should show a positive with-skill vs baseline signal before promotion.

Case Design

Each case should include:

  • a real prompt or task shape
  • any required input files
  • a baseline output that represents doing the task without the skill
  • a with-skill output that represents the skill-guided behavior
  • assertions that can be checked without subjective guessing
  • optional human review notes for taste, completeness, or judgment

Assertion Rules

Prefer assertions that catch material quality:

  • required deliverable paths
  • required sections or contracts
  • required boundary or exclusion language
  • required evidence paths
  • forbidden generic placeholders
  • forbidden unsafe actions

Avoid assertions that only reward wording memorization. If a case can pass by parroting one phrase while failing the real job, the assertion is too narrow.

Score Reading

The first v0 scorecard reports:

  • baseline pass rate
  • with-skill pass rate
  • absolute delta
  • failed assertions and failure taxonomy
  • recommended next fixes

Production promotion should require the with-skill pass rate to beat baseline and should explain every failed assertion.

Anti-Overfitting

Keep a small public smoke set and a separate holdout set. Rotate real failures into the taxonomy instead of editing only the prompt that failed. Add near-neighbor cases whenever the output looks good but the boundary is still unclear.