International Business Machines Corporation

Ian Michael Bennett

Corville O Allen

Torsten Bittner

Kay Mueller

Kay Muller

Mechanisms are provided for validating a candidate answer to an input question. A candidate answer to an input question is identified using a natural language processing of the input question and a corpus of information from which the candidate answer is identified. A validator is selected to apply to the candidate answer based on a characteristic of a correct answer for the input question. The validator is applied to the candidate answer to evaluate whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. Validation information is generated based the evaluation of whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. The validation information is stored in a validation status object associated with the input question.

Extensible validation framework for question and answer systems

A method for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system is provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.

Expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system

A system, and computer program product for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.

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Ian Michael Bennett