Ch 26: Production Readiness Checklist

Learning Objective

Use this checklist before moving a GenAI project from pilot to production.

Production Readiness Checklist

Business use case and success metrics are defined.Risk level and compliance requirements are reviewed.Approved data sources are identified.Prompt templates are versioned and tested.RAG retrieval quality is evaluated.Output validation is implemented.Prompt injection mitigation is implemented.PHI/sensitive data handling is reviewed.API authentication and authorization are in place.Logging avoids unnecessary sensitive data exposure.CI/CD pipeline builds, tests, scans, and deploys code.Docker image is reproducible and secure.Kubernetes deployment includes health checks and resource limits.Monitoring covers latency, cost, retrieval quality, and safety.Rollback plan and support process are documented.

Interview Answer Template

When answering architecture questions, use this structure: First define the problem. Then explain the architecture. Then discuss data flow. Then explain security and validation. Then discuss scaling, monitoring, cost, and tradeoffs.

Architect Takeaway

A strong GenAI architect designs the complete lifecycle — from business problem to production operations.