The outcome
Create a reproducible retrieval workflow that answers from approved sources instead of model memory alone.
Step by step
A workflow you can repeat.
- 01
Define the corpus owner, allowed questions, freshness rules, access policy, citation requirements, and a benchmark with expected sources.
- 02
Load clean documents with stable IDs and metadata, remove duplicates and secrets, then choose chunking and embedding settings deliberately.
- 03
Build and persist the index, configure retrieval depth and filters, and ensure tenant or document permissions apply before generation.
- 04
Run the benchmark and inspect retrieved nodes separately from final answers for relevance, missed evidence, conflicts, and leakage.
- 05
Tune one retrieval variable at a time, version the corpus and index configuration, and schedule refresh and regression evaluation.
Working standard
What good use looks like.
- Evaluate retrieval before generation.
- Preserve source IDs and metadata.
- Enforce permissions during retrieval.
Official references