What the documents look like
Brand outlet discount operations exist to clear out-of-season inventory. The category does not maintain a new-arrival full-price image. The main data sources are ERP inventory age, POS sales, outlet mall campaigns, and historical discount records. The documents handled day to day are discount approvals, slow-moving inventory lists, price tags, and gross-margin calculation sheets. Data updates on a weekly and monthly cadence. Store service and internal training need retrieval and recall over these documents for question answering.
Each document type carries its own fields. A discount approval involves an approval status and an authorization boundary. A slow-moving list involves SKU and inventory age. A price tag involves a price marking. A gross-margin calculation sheet involves a calculation basis. The retrieval step only recalls citations from content already stored in a knowledge base. It does not perform approval, price verification, or authorization decisions.
Constraints at the retrieval step
A knowledge base is made up of libraries, collections, and data. The smallest search unit is the library. The knowledge base search node can associate one or more libraries that use the same vector model. Libraries using different vector models cannot be associated together. The correct action is to check the vector model identifier and exclude those that do not match. A cross-model retrieval is not run to compare missed recalls.
One retrieval combines text, images, semantic recall, full-text recall, question optimization, and reranking according to the input content and search parameters, then fuses the results into citation content. The citation content is output as an array and its length can be zero. The optional paths shown in the overall flow diagram do not all execute on every request. Image retrieval requires image input and model capability. Reranking requires a model and must be enabled in settings.
Hypothetical drill sample. The original text of a store's internal training material reads: "This store's discount approval form is submitted by the store and takes effect after approval by the regional manager; an unapproved discount must not be executed." A draft sentence to be judged reads: "The store may decide discounts on its own and execute them directly." The object of comparison is the same training material and the same field, "discount approval authority." The material states that the approving party is the regional manager. The draft sentence assigns the decision to the store. The two take mutually exclusive values on the same field, which constitutes a contradiction. The material does not state whether the store holds any authority beyond submission. That part remains unsupported.
Configuration and implementation checks
| Configuration item | Setting or check relevant to this page | Relation to the sample |
|---|---|---|
| Associated knowledge bases | One or more libraries using the same vector model may be associated | Check the vector model identifier of the library holding the training material |
| Search mode | Semantic retrieval, full-text retrieval, hybrid retrieval | Compare the recall of each mode on a question about discount approval authority |
| Citation limit | Unit is tokens | Test whether content stays complete using actual materials of differing length |
| Minimum relevance | A 0-1 value, effective only in semantic retrieval or with reranking | Label relevant and irrelevant samples before adjusting the threshold |
| Question optimization | Coreference resolution and question expansion | Compare the original question with the optimized question and check whether the subject was altered |
| Result reranking | A ReRank model performs a second ordering | Confirm the model exists and is enabled in settings before comparing scores |
The minimum relevance value is a filter threshold, not a final ordering rule. RRF is a fusion process for mixed results, not an enable switch. Retrieval and similarity do not carry out permission or entity isolation. The same-vector-model requirement for associated libraries does not extend to business registration sites or other external systems.
Three common errors
- Treating a retrieved citation as approval authorization. The sample material states that the approving party is the regional manager. Recalling that sentence shows only that the content was retrieved. It does not show that the store holds execution authority. The check input is the sample original text and the draft sentence. The comparison is the value of the field "discount approval authority." The observable result is that the two values are mutually exclusive.
- Treating an unstated matter as a negative finding. The material does not write about other store authorities. This is unsupported or pending verification. It cannot be stated as the store having no authority. The check input is the sample original text. The comparison is whether the field appears. The observable result is that the field is absent.
- Treating an optional path as executing on every request. Image retrieval requires image input and model capability. Reranking requires a model and must be enabled in settings. The check input is a request with no image and reranking not enabled. The comparison is the actual execution path. The observable result is that the corresponding path does not appear.
How to verify the setup
- Input the sample original text and the draft sentence. Compare the value of the field "discount approval authority." When the two mutually exclusive values, store self-decision and regional manager approval, both appear, the condition is judged a contradiction. The expectation is a contradiction. No actual test is claimed.
- Input the sample original text and a query about other store authorities. Compare whether that field is stated. When the field is absent, record it as unsupported. The expectation is unsupported.
- Input a clearly written paper empty result []. Check whether the downstream design keeps the path open when the citation content length is zero. The expectation is that the path stays open. No claim is made that a fabricated rule retrieval necessarily returns [].
These checks observe and record failure branches. They do not guarantee a first-hit result, full recall, or that an unrelated query is necessarily empty. Cross-model libraries cannot be associated together. Check the identifier first, exclude the non-matching library, and record the actual observation. A pending review does not demonstrate the absence of an operating authority. Signing, reaching cooperation, and contract effectiveness are three distinct facts. A quote validity period does not indicate a supply period. Where the material needed for verification is missing from the accessible target retrieval scope or from a clearly defined manual input, record the gap.