LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Concept and mechanism
A generative application should define its expected result and how quality is established. RAG supplies retrieved context; selection must preserve decision-changing information such as exceptions and conditions. A cited answer can remain incomplete if retrieval omits the relevant page. Structured outputs enforce a supported schema; valid JSON, structural compliance, and business correctness are different levels. When migrating APIs, review configuration: equivalent options can live in different fields. Current documentation uses different structured-format locations in Chat Completions and Responses. Do not copy a payload across contracts without adaptation and evaluation. The selected model and version must also support the chosen capability.
Guided application
In a fictional procedure assistant, prepare data covering simple questions, exceptions, missing evidence, and users with different rights. Compare versions by segment and document regressions. Use traces to separate retrieval, tools, and generation: if a tool takes eight seconds, changing the model can leave the main delay intact. Evaluate self-critique with external criteria and limits; repeated rewriting does not create missing evidence. Retain sources, actions, versions, and observable results without treating generated explanations as proof of internal reasoning. Caching also belongs to authorization design: answers derived from restricted documents must not be reused across incompatible contexts. Rights changes require suitable invalidation or revalidation.
A JSON answer with currency=EUR passes the schema but fails when the document states USD. Structural validation does not complete business validation.
Common pitfalls
Valid JSON as correct data; self-critique as independent verification; citation as completeness; global caching by question text.
Related topics: Architecture, project, and release · Agents, memory, and approvals · Visual and multimodal content
Evaluate the result, sources, and access context alongside answer format.
Reference: Schema constrained outputs and API differences · AI-103 skills measured2026-04-16; Microsoft Foundry documentation2026-09-30