Answers
What is LLM evaluation?
In short
LLM evaluation is the systematic measurement of an LLM-powered system's quality — answer correctness, retrieval relevance, latency, cost and failure modes — against a defined eval set.
Short answer
LLM evaluation is the systematic measurement of an LLM-powered system's quality — answer correctness, retrieval relevance, latency, cost and failure modes — against a defined eval set.
What this actually means in practice
Without eval, you cannot improve a system; you can only react to user complaints. Mature LLM teams ship eval before they ship the product, and they run it in CI on every change.
The most common pitfall
Shipping an LLM feature with no eval — and then having no way to tell if changes made it better or worse.
What to do next
Define a 50-prompt eval set with rubrics; run it on every change.
Frequently asked questions
Does Forth Systems help with this?
Yes — Forth Systems works with banks, payment institutions, insurers and infrastructure operators on exactly this kind of work. Engagements start with a fixed-scope assessment so you see the shape before committing.
How experienced is the team?
Engagements are staffed by named, UK-based senior engineers — not a rotating offshore pool. References from the second line of comparable clients are available on request.
Where are you based?
Edinburgh-based, delivering UK-wide with onsite presence in London and across Scotland as required.
How fast can we start?
Most engagements start within 2-4 weeks of a signed SoW, faster where an existing supplier framework is in place.