Labeling Patterns

Expert patterns for annotation pipeline design, quality assurance, and scalable labeling systems.

Pattern 1: Annotation Guideline Design

Good guidelines are the highest-leverage investment in label quality. Bad guidelines produce high IAA on wrong labels.

Structure

1. Task definition: What exactly is being labeled, and why
2. Label taxonomy: Exhaustive list with definitions and examples
3. Decision tree for edge cases: Binary yes/no questions leading to a label
4. Boundary cases: Examples explicitly in and explicitly out for each class
5. Adjudication protocol: Who resolves disagreements, how ties are broken