Topic 4: Tool Use Evaluation
What You’ll Learn
This topic teaches you how to:
- Test agent tool selection
- Evaluate tool execution correctness
- Test tool chaining
- Handle tool errors
- Measure tool usage efficiency
Why We Need This
Business Need
- Reliability: Agents must use tools correctly
- Cost control: Wrong tool usage wastes resources
- User experience: Correct tool usage = better results
Technical Need
- Tool selection: Agents must choose right tools
- Execution: Tools must be called correctly
- Error handling: Handle tool failures gracefully
Industry Use Cases
1. API Integration Testing
Company: All companies using API tools Use Case: Ensure agents call APIs correctly
2. Tool Selection Validation
Company: Agent platforms Use Case: Verify agents choose appropriate tools
3. Error Handling Testing
Company: Production systems Use Case: Test agent behavior when tools fail
Industry-Standard Boilerplate Code
Tool Use Evaluator
"""
Tool Use Evaluator
Tests agent tool usage
"""
from typing import List, Dict
class ToolUseEvaluator:
"""Evaluate agent tool usage"""
def evaluate_tool_selection(self, agent, task: str, expected_tool: str) -> Dict:
"""Evaluate if agent selects correct tool"""
result = agent.run(task)
selected_tools = result.get('tools_used', [])
return {
"correct": expected_tool in selected_tools,
"selected": selected_tools,
"expected": expected_tool
}
def evaluate_tool_execution(self, agent, task: str) -> Dict:
"""Evaluate tool execution correctness"""
result = agent.run(task)
return {
"success": result.get('success', False),
"tool_results": result.get('tool_results', []),
"errors": result.get('errors', [])
}
Exercises
- Test tool selection
- Validate tool execution
- Test tool chaining
- Handle tool errors
Next Steps
- Topic 5: Evaluate reasoning
- Topic 6: Safety evaluation