diff --git a/ace/utils/database.py b/ace/utils/database.py
index 256e5eb..26db317 100644
--- a/ace/utils/database.py
+++ b/ace/utils/database.py
@@ -17,8 +17,13 @@
 logger = get_logger(__name__, component="database")
 
 
-def _enable_sqlite_wal_mode(dbapi_connection, connection_record):
-    """Enable WAL mode for SQLite to support concurrent reads."""
+def _enable_sqlite_wal_mode(dbapi_connection: any, connection_record: any) -> None:
+    """Enable WAL mode for SQLite to support concurrent reads.
+
+    Args:
+        dbapi_connection: Database API connection object
+        connection_record: SQLAlchemy connection record
+    """
     if "sqlite" in str(connection_record):
         cursor = dbapi_connection.cursor()
         cursor.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")
diff --git a/ace/utils/embeddings.py b/ace/utils/embeddings.py
index 1e461bd..b69df33 100644
--- a/ace/utils/embeddings.py
+++ b/ace/utils/embeddings.py
@@ -18,7 +18,13 @@
 _original_print = builtins.print
 
 
-def _suppress_bitsandbytes_message(*args, **kwargs):
+def _suppress_bitsandbytes_message(*args: any, **kwargs: any) -> None:
+    """Suppress noisy bitsandbytes initialization messages.
+
+    Args:
+        *args: Positional arguments to print
+        **kwargs: Keyword arguments to print
+    """
     if len(args) == 1 and isinstance(args[0], str) and "cadam32bit_grad_fp32" in args[0]:
         return
     _original_print(*args, **kwargs)
diff --git a/ace/utils/json_mode.py b/ace/utils/json_mode.py
index 4dbe472..741a72e 100644
--- a/ace/utils/json_mode.py
+++ b/ace/utils/json_mode.py
@@ -42,9 +42,14 @@ def _resolve_model(preferred: Optional[str] = None) -> Optional[str]:
 
 @lru_cache(maxsize=1)
 def _load_dspy():
+    """Load DSPy module with error handling.
+
+    Returns:
+        dspy module if available, None otherwise
+    """
     try:
         import dspy  # type: ignore
-    except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive import guard
+    except (ImportError, ModuleNotFoundError) as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive import guard
         logger.error("json_mode_adapter_unavailable", error=str(exc))
         return None
     return dspy
diff --git a/examples/multiplication_analysis/difficulty_analysis.py b/examples/multiplication_analysis/difficulty_analysis.py
index 6d06ad2..dda2e04 100644
--- a/examples/multiplication_analysis/difficulty_analysis.py
+++ b/examples/multiplication_analysis/difficulty_analysis.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def analyze_difficulty_distribution(session):
             parts = problem.replace("×", "*").split("*")
             a = int(parts[0].strip())
             b = int(parts[1].strip())
-        except:
+        except (ValueError, IndexError, AttributeError):
             continue
 
         difficulty = calculate_problem_difficulty(a, b)