12 Weeks Extraction System Question Explained
This worked AI Engineer Interview practice question tests Problem Framing. Try the answer first, then review why B is the best choice.
Short answer
The correct answer is B. Compare the shadow-traffic gaps against the customer's launch thresholds per document class, and decide to narrow, continue, or stop based on whether the dominant template can meet them..
The decision variable is the distance between shadow evidence and the customer's launch bar, class by class — the dominant template failing may sink the case no matter what else improves. The key is to match the exact action in the prompt to the tool, command, or concept that performs that action directly. Here, B. Compare the shadow-traffic gaps against the customer's launch thresholds per document class, and decide to narrow, continue, or stop based on whether the dominant template can meet them. is the only option that satisfies the scenario without adding unrelated behavior.
The Question
After 12 weeks your extraction system beats the manual baseline by 15 points offline, but shadow traffic shows 11s p95, $3.20/document, and frequent failures on the customer's highest-volume template. A VP offers four more weeks to 'optimize it into production.' How do you frame the decision?
Why B is correct
The decision variable is the distance between shadow evidence and the customer's launch bar, class by class — the dominant template failing may sink the case no matter what else improves. The key is to match the exact action in the prompt to the tool, command, or concept that performs that action directly. Here, B. Compare the shadow-traffic gaps against the customer's launch thresholds per document class, and decide to narrow, continue, or stop based on whether the dominant template can meet them. is the only option that satisfies the scenario without adding unrelated behavior.
Why the other options are wrong
Option A does not match the requirement in the prompt. The correct answer is B because The decision variable is the distance between shadow evidence and the customer's launch bar, class by class — the dominant template failing may sink the case no matter what else improves.
Option C does not match the requirement in the prompt. The correct answer is B because The decision variable is the distance between shadow evidence and the customer's launch bar, class by class — the dominant template failing may sink the case no matter what else improves.
Option D does not match the requirement in the prompt. The correct answer is B because The decision variable is the distance between shadow evidence and the customer's launch bar, class by class — the dominant template failing may sink the case no matter what else improves.
Key idea: Problem Framing
Every question is a production situation an AI engineer interviewer can put to you: a failing endpoint, a cost spike, an agent that loops, an eval that disagrees with users. The best answer is almost always the one that measures or contains the problem before it changes the model or the prompt. If you miss a question, note which habit it tests: decompose before you fix, put the security boundary where the side effect happens, and trust an eval only after you check what it covers. The 12 open-ended questions with answer guides are at aijobprep.app/questions/ai-engineer.html.
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