AI CONSULTING & AUTOMATION / A PRACTICAL ANSWER
What must change before an AI pilot goes into production?
The short answer
Moving an AI pilot into production requires evidence about representative work and a plan for reliable operation. A promising demonstration is only one input. Before expanding access or authority, address security, permissions, evaluation, exceptions, support, ongoing costs and the ability to stop or recover the process.
What to establish
Review the pilot against its original criteria and identify the conditions it did not test. Consider the effect of more users, different inputs and connected systems. Confirm who approves deployment and who is responsible for incidents and ongoing quality.
How to assess readiness
Roll out at a scale that matches the available evidence and operating capacity. Keep monitoring, change control and a manual alternative in place. A phased release can reveal issues, but it does not replace resolving a known risk before a consequential action is enabled.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE / NOT A CLIENT RESULT
Make it concrete.
A summarisation pilot run by one specialist may rely on their undocumented corrections. Production readiness includes transferring that review knowledge and ensuring the wider team can recognise and handle the same problems.
Before you commission
- Identify untested conditions and operating dependencies.
- Confirm approval, monitoring and support ownership.
- Match rollout scope to evidence and recovery capability.
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Further reading
FROM THE QUESTION TO THE WORK
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