Trace a worked example

Goal: improve the invoice extractor API using structured outputs without breaking protected slices.

Mechanism reminder for structured outputs: Provide schema/grammar, decode under constraints or validate-and-retry, then run business rules on the parsed object.

Baseline and shock: if 970 of 1,000 outputs parse and 930 pass the schema, parse rate = 97% but end-to-end schema-valid rate = 93%; report both

Tradeoff in play for structured outputs: Strict schemas simplify downstream code but can make partial answers harder. Large nested schemas consume tokens and reduce model reliability. Retries can repair transient failures but may duplicate side effects unless generation and execution are separate.

Ship decision: Require integer cents + ISO dates + line-sum check; report parse and schema-valid separately on 1,000 docs.

Rollback triggers for structured outputs must cite parse rate, schema-valid rate, business-rule pass, retry count, p95 latency. If you cannot name a tolerated regression on the invoice extractor API, do not promote the change.

Keep the structured outputs decision record beside the invoice extractor API code paths that implement it. Future you will not remember why a default exists unless the evidence is linked from the config for structured outputs.

Also pin one numeric memory from this structured outputs chapter: if 970 of 1,000 outputs parse and 930 pass the schema, parse rate = 97% but end-to-end schema-valid rate = 93%; report both That number is not decoration; it is a template for how claims about structured outputs on the invoice extractor API should look in design docs. Scoped specifically to structured outputs / invoice extractor API / worked-trace.

People confuse structured outputs with neighboring buzzwords when debugging the invoice extractor API. Before changing prompts, ask whether the broken stage was evidence gathering, the structured outputs judgment itself, validation, or the product action. Fixing the wrong stage creates folklore (“we tried structured outputs and it failed”) that blocks the next team on the invoice extractor API. Scoped specifically to structured outputs / invoice extractor API / worked-trace.

Write a five-line artifact for this page: goal, inputs, check, owner, stop rule. Invent one fluent failure that the check would catch. Keep details specific to structured outputs rather than generic AI advice.

Write a five-line artifact for this page: goal, inputs, check, owner, stop rule. Invent one fluent failure that the check would catch. Keep details specific to structured outputs rather than generic AI advice.

Write a five-line artifact for this page: goal, inputs, check, owner, stop rule. Invent one fluent failure that the check would catch. Keep details specific to structured outputs rather than generic AI advice.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 1: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 2: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 3: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 4: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 5: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 6: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 7: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 8: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 9: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 10: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 11: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 12: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 13: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 14: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 15: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 16: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 17: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 18: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 19: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 20: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 21: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 22: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 23: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 24: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 25: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 26: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 27: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 28: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 29: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 30: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 31: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 32: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 33: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 34: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.

For structured outputs, add acceptance test 35: evidence source, threshold, and signer. Keep it unique to this chapter's scenario.