Create Evaluation Test Set

Create Evaluation Test Set

Create a test set CSV file that can be imported into Copilot Studio's Evaluate tab for in-product agent evaluation.

Phase 1: Understand the Agent

Read the agent's YAML files to understand what it does:

1. Glob: **/agent.mcs.yml — find the agent
2. Read agent.mcs.yml — get the agent's instructions, description, and capabilities
3. Read settings.mcs.yml — check orchestration mode (generative vs classic)
4. Glob: **/topics/*.mcs.yml — list all topics
5. Read key topics (especially non-system ones) — understand trigger phrases, conversation flows, expected behaviors
6. Check for knowledge sources, actions, and connected tools

Phase 2: Design Test Cases

Create test cases that cover:

Category	What to test	Example
Core functionality	Main topics and capabilities	Questions matching trigger phrases
Knowledge/generative	Knowledge source responses	Questions the agent should answer from its knowledge
System topics	Greeting, Escalation, Goodbye, Thank You, Fallback	"Hi", "I want to speak to a person", "Goodbye"
Edge cases	Out-of-scope, ambiguous, off-topic	"Tell me a joke", "Book a flight for me"
Boundary testing	Things the agent should NOT do	Actions beyond its capabilities

Aim for 10–25 test cases with good coverage across categories.

Phase 3: Write the Expected Responses

The CSV import only supports two columns: question and expectedResponse. Test methods cannot be set via CSV import — they are configured in the UI after import. The default test method (General quality) is applied to all imported test cases.

Write expected responses with this in mind:

• For questions where you want General quality grading: write behavioral descriptions ("The response should recommend hotels in Paris with relevant details")
• For questions where you'll later switch to Compare meaning or Exact match in the UI: write realistic agent replies that the grader can compare against
• Leave expectedResponse empty for questions that only need General quality (it works without expected responses)

Available test methods (configured in UI after import)

Test method	What it measures	Requires expected response?
General quality (default)	AI-graded quality: relevance, completeness, groundedness, abstention	No (but recommended as a rubric)
Compare meaning	Semantic similarity — compares meaning/intent	Yes
Text similarity	Cosine similarity of text	Yes, configurable pass threshold
Exact match	Character-for-character match	Yes
Keyword match	Response contains expected keywords/phrases	Yes (keywords added in UI)
Capability use	Agent called expected tools/topics	Configured in UI
Custom	Custom grader with your own instructions and labels	Configured in UI

Phase 4: Write the CSV

Write the CSV file using the Write tool. The format must be:

"question","expectedResponse"
"User question here","Expected agent response or behavioral rubric"
"Question without expected response",

Column specification

Column	Required	Description
question	Yes	The user message to send to the agent. Max 1,000 characters.
expectedResponse	No	The expected response or behavioral rubric. Leave empty if not needed.

Important: The Testing method column is not supported on import — it is ignored. All imported test cases get the default test method (General quality). Configure other test methods in the UI after import.

Rules

• Max 100 questions per test set
• Max 1,000 characters per question (including spaces)
• File must be .csv format
• Use double quotes around all values
• For questions that will use General quality: write expected responses as behavioral descriptions
• For questions that will use Compare meaning or Exact match: write expected responses as realistic agent replies

Expected response examples

Behavioral rubric (for General quality):

"Find me a hotel in Paris","The response should include hotel recommendations in Paris with relevant details like names, locations, or prices."

Realistic reply (for Compare meaning — set method in UI after import):

"Hi there","Hello! How can I help you today?"

Exact expected text (for Exact match — set method in UI after import):

"What is 2+2?","4"

Phase 5: Instruct the User

After writing the CSV, tell the user:

To import into Copilot Studio:

1. Open your agent in Copilot Studio
2. Go to the Evaluate tab
3. Click New evaluation > Single response
4. Drag or browse for the CSV file
5. Review the imported test cases and adjust if needed
6. Optionally add more test methods (Capability use, Custom) in the UI
7. Click Evaluate to run, or Save to run later

After import, some things can only be configured in the UI:

• Pass thresholds for Compare meaning and Text similarity
• Keywords for Keyword match test cases
• Expected capabilities for Capability use test cases
• Custom grader instructions and labels