A customer set a $1,000 AI spend cap. Why did we let the bill reach $1,100?
Make your call first. Use the published answer and rubric to examine your reasoning when you are ready.
Case briefRead the inputs, then make your call
Fictional model-API account. All amounts are USD before tax within one billing period. Settled, completed-but-unsettled and in-flight usage are disjoint. Each stated maximum is enforceable for this exercise; no real provider policy is implied.
| Customer cap | 1000 |
|---|---|
| Settled charges | 930 |
| Completed usage awaiting settlement | 30 |
| In-flight requests | 8 |
| Maximum reserved charge per in-flight request | 5 |
| New requests arriving together | 20 |
| Maximum charge per new request | 5 |
| Follow-up | Three original in-flight requests finish at 3 USD each. Reconcile the account and decide what can start next. |
Your task. Reconstruct exposure, explain a possible overshoot and specify admission, settlement, timeout and customer-facing behavior for a hard cap.
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