# Criteria
## Overview
The **Criteria** taxonomy page is where you manage all Criterion records in Birdie Settings.
Criteria are one of the core taxonomy types in Birdie. They define the rules used to evaluate service quality in QA workflows.
This page centralizes the operational work of managing Criteria as taxonomy items. Use it to review your catalog, create new Criteria, edit existing ones, and organize them into collections.
If you want the QA model behind Criteria, see [Criteria](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/criteria) and [Manual Evaluation](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/manual-evaluation).\
## Viewing and filtering
The main tab shows the full criteria catalog as a list.
Each row can include:
* **Criterion**
* **Criterion level**
* **Weight**
* **Critical** status
Use the controls at the top of the page to narrow the list:
* **Search** — find criteria by name
* **Select area** — show criteria related to one Area
* **Level** — filter by **General** or **Specific**
* **Group by collection** — switch between collection grouping and reason grouping
Click any criterion to open its details.
## Creating New Data
Click **New criterion** to create a new Criterion.
When creating a new Criterion:
1. Define the rule being evaluated.
2. Give it a clear and objective name and description to calibrate.
3. Calibrate the pending criterion.
4. Save it to add it to the catalog.
Use names that describe observable agent behavior.
## Modifying Existing Data
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Open the more menu
Click the **⋮** menu on the criterion you want to update.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Edit the criterion
Select **Edit**.
Review these fields before saving:
* **Criteria name**
* **Critical?**
* **Manual?**
* **Collection**
* **Weight**
* **Reason**
* **Fields**
* **Description**
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Save the changes
Save the criterion to apply the update.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Changing **Weight** or **Critical** affects the Quality Score everywhere this criterion is used.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
## Removing Data
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Open the more menu
Click the **⋮** menu on the criterion.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Select delete
Choose **Delete**.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Confirm removal
Confirm the action to delete the record.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
## Collections Tab
The second tab groups Criteria by **Criteria collection**.
This view helps teams organize Criteria by theme, process, behavior, or quality framework.
Use collections when you need to:
* keep criteria grouped by topic
* simplify QA administration
* make workspace organization easier
### Managing collections
Use collections to group related criteria under the same operational theme.
#### Create a collection
1. Click **+ Add collection**
2. Enter the collection name
3. Confirm with the check icon
#### Rename a collection
1. Hover over the collection
2. Click the pencil icon
3. Save the new name
#### Delete a collection
1. Hover over the collection
2. Click the trash icon
3. Confirm the removal
## Manual criteria and scoring
* Mark **Manual?** when a criterion must be reviewed by a person
* Manual criteria appear in [Manual Evaluation](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/manual-evaluation) when they are linked to a Reason
* **Weight** contributes to the Quality Score at Workspace, Area, Reason, and Agent levels
* **Critical** criteria do not use weight and fail the interaction when not met
## Pending criteria
If you see the alert **You have Criteria that need your attention**, open the pending list to review or finish calibration before the criteria can be used normally.
## Best Practices
* Write Criteria as objective evaluation rules.
* Keep one rule per Criterion.
* Avoid ambiguous or subjective names.
* Group related Criteria into collections for easier maintenance.
## Related Articles
* [Taxonomy](https://ask.birdie.ai/admin-and-settings/taxonomy)
* [Criteria](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/criteria)
* [Manual Evaluation](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/manual-evaluation)
* [Reasons](https://ask.birdie.ai/agent-quality-assurance/reasons)
