You are a project manager at Orinexa, Inc.

Under the objective Align model selection with task requirements (e.g., cost, speed, quality), model evaluation follows a structured engineering workflow prior to benchmark testing.

Before running comparative empirical tests on a representative sample dataset, the team must first establish evaluation criteria: defining the required output quality bar, maximum acceptable latency, throughput targets, and budget constraints (Option A). Next, the team maps those requirements against known model family characteristics (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus) to select the appropriate candidate models for testing (Option C). Once requirements are set and candidates selected, empirical sample testing can proceed. Promoting models to production (Option D), securing final platform/security rollout sign-offs (Option E), and ongoing regression testing for new model releases (Option B) are downstream deployment activities that occur after testing is completed.