Module 04 Summary

What this module established

The user's question and the retrieval query are different objects, and the translation between them is a guess. Expanding fixes vocabulary mismatch, narrowing fixes an over-broad corpus, splitting fixes compound questions - and applying the wrong one, or applying expansion by default, moves the query away from the corpus entirely.

Carry forward

• Exact constraints - dates, sections, permissions - belong in filters. Embedding them converts a hard guarantee into a soft preference.
• Measure a rewrite on retrieval accuracy over a fixed case set. Scoring the answer conflates a retrieval win with a lucky guess.
• Keep the original query as a fallback. A rewriting bug otherwise presents to users as a refusal, which stops them asking again.

Before moving on

Move on when you have run your whole case set both ways and can report cases fixed, cases broken and the net - including at least one case the rewrite made worse.

Mark complete