Production-Ready Criteria

A prompt is production-ready when it meets three criteria: outputs are stable across inputs, format compliance is consistent, and error rate is within tolerance. None of these criteria is subjective. Each is a measurable threshold. "I think it is good enough" is not a criterion — it is an invitation for the failure that happens in front of a client. Define your criteria before you start iterating, so you know when to stop.

1. Criterion 1: Stable outputs Run the prompt against five different representative inputs. The outputs should follow the same structure, cover the same dimensions, and comply with the same constraints across all five. One outlier warrants investigation. Two outliers mean the prompt is not stable.
2. Criterion 2: Format compliance Every output should comply with the specified format — correct structure, correct length range, correct section headers, correct field types. Format non-compliance is a constraint failure, not a model failure. If format is inconsistent, the format specification needs to be more explicit.
3. Criterion 3: Error rate within tolerance Define what an error is — factual hallucination, missing required field, scope overshoot — and define an acceptable error rate. For high-stakes outputs (legal, financial), tolerance may be near-zero. For draft content generation, occasional errors that require human review may be acceptable. Know your tolerance before you ship.

Vagueness is the enemy. Define what you want, or accept what you get.

— FORGE