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Main Authors: Schwartz, Reva, Westling, Carina, Briggs, Morgan, Fadaee, Marzieh, Nejadgholi, Isar, Holmes, Matthew, Rashid, Fariza, Carlyle, Maya, Taïk, Afaf, Wilson, Kyra, Douglas, Peter, Skeadas, Theodora, Waters, Gabriella, Chowdhury, Rumman, Lacerda, Thiago
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24055
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author Schwartz, Reva
Westling, Carina
Briggs, Morgan
Fadaee, Marzieh
Nejadgholi, Isar
Holmes, Matthew
Rashid, Fariza
Carlyle, Maya
Taïk, Afaf
Wilson, Kyra
Douglas, Peter
Skeadas, Theodora
Waters, Gabriella
Chowdhury, Rumman
Lacerda, Thiago
author_facet Schwartz, Reva
Westling, Carina
Briggs, Morgan
Fadaee, Marzieh
Nejadgholi, Isar
Holmes, Matthew
Rashid, Fariza
Carlyle, Maya
Taïk, Afaf
Wilson, Kyra
Douglas, Peter
Skeadas, Theodora
Waters, Gabriella
Chowdhury, Rumman
Lacerda, Thiago
contents This paper proposes CIRCLE, a six-stage, lifecycle-based framework to bridge the reality gap between model-centric performance metrics and AI's materialized outcomes in deployment. Current approaches such as MLOps frameworks and AI model benchmarks offer detailed insights into system stability and model capabilities, but they do not provide decision-makers outside the AI stack with systematic evidence of how these systems actually behave in real-world contexts or affect their organizations over time. CIRCLE operationalizes the Validation phase of TEVV (Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation) by formalizing the translation of stakeholder concerns outside the stack into measurable signals. Unlike participatory design, which often remains localized, or algorithmic audits, which are often retrospective, CIRCLE provides a structured, prospective protocol for linking context-sensitive qualitative insights to scalable quantitative metrics. By integrating methods such as field testing, red teaming, and longitudinal studies into a coordinated pipeline, CIRCLE produces systematic knowledge: evidence that is comparable across sites yet sensitive to local context. This, in turn, can enable governance based on materialized downstream effects rather than theoretical capabilities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_24055
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle CIRCLE: A Framework for Evaluating AI from a Real-World Lens
Schwartz, Reva
Westling, Carina
Briggs, Morgan
Fadaee, Marzieh
Nejadgholi, Isar
Holmes, Matthew
Rashid, Fariza
Carlyle, Maya
Taïk, Afaf
Wilson, Kyra
Douglas, Peter
Skeadas, Theodora
Waters, Gabriella
Chowdhury, Rumman
Lacerda, Thiago
Artificial Intelligence
Software Engineering
This paper proposes CIRCLE, a six-stage, lifecycle-based framework to bridge the reality gap between model-centric performance metrics and AI's materialized outcomes in deployment. Current approaches such as MLOps frameworks and AI model benchmarks offer detailed insights into system stability and model capabilities, but they do not provide decision-makers outside the AI stack with systematic evidence of how these systems actually behave in real-world contexts or affect their organizations over time. CIRCLE operationalizes the Validation phase of TEVV (Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation) by formalizing the translation of stakeholder concerns outside the stack into measurable signals. Unlike participatory design, which often remains localized, or algorithmic audits, which are often retrospective, CIRCLE provides a structured, prospective protocol for linking context-sensitive qualitative insights to scalable quantitative metrics. By integrating methods such as field testing, red teaming, and longitudinal studies into a coordinated pipeline, CIRCLE produces systematic knowledge: evidence that is comparable across sites yet sensitive to local context. This, in turn, can enable governance based on materialized downstream effects rather than theoretical capabilities.
title CIRCLE: A Framework for Evaluating AI from a Real-World Lens
topic Artificial Intelligence
Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24055