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Data Ingestion & ETL
Pipelines
What it is
A structured pipeline that
collects, transforms, and loads
raw data into clean, usable
formats for ML training and
inference.
Used For:
Supplying Pre-processed
reliable data to models
Tools: Apache Airflow
Kafka
Spark
AWS Glue
🧠 Data is the foundation of ML — make it clean
and fast.
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Feature Engineering &
Feature Stores
What it is
A system for building,
storing, and serving
consistent ML features for
both offline training and
online inference
environments.
Used For:
Reusability and consistency in feature
values across environments.
Tools: Feast
Tecton
Vertex AI
🧠 Good features = good predictions.
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Model Training
Infrastructure
What it is
A scalable and reproducible
environment for training
models with distributed
compute, GPU support, and
version control.
Used For:
Pre-processed
Parallel model data to models
Experimentation Reproducibility.
training
Tools: MLflow
Kubeflow
Ray
W&B
🧠 Scale your training like a distributed system.
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Data Versioning &
Lineage
What it is
Tracks historical versions
of data and its flow across
training pipelines to ensure
reproducibility and
auditability.
Used in:
Pre-processed
Reproducing dataData
to models
Rollback auditing
experiments
Tools:
DVC
LakeFS
Pachyderm
🧠 Know exactly which data trained which model.
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Model Deployment &
Serving
What it is
Infrastructure that
exposes trained models
via APIs or services for
real-time or batch
inference in production.
Used in:
Making model predictions
available to end-users or
systems.
Tools: TensorFlow Serving
TorchServe
BentoML
FastAPI
🧠 A model not deployed is just a math file.
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Batch vs Real-Time
Inference
What it is
Two inference modes—
batch for scheduled
processing, and real-
time for on-the-fly, low-
latency predictions.
Used in:
Offline scoring vs live model
response.
Tools: Airflow
Kafka
FastAPI
🧠 Use the right serving mode for the use case.
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Vector Databases
What it is
Databases optimized for
similarity search on
embeddings using nearest-
neighbor indexing and fast
vector queries.
Used in:
Pre-processed
data
LLMto models
RAG systems.
Semantic search Recommendations
Tools: Pinecone
Weaviate
Qdrant
FAISS
🧠 Embeddings need fast, approximate lookups.
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Streaming for Online
Learning
What it is
Live data pipelines that
provide continuous input
for model predictions,
monitoring, or
incremental updates.
Used in:
Real-time ML systems and
feedback-driven workflows.
Tools:
Kafka
Flink
Spark Streaming
🧠 Real-time data = real-time value.
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Model Explainability
What it is
Techniques that explain
why a model made a certain
prediction, improving
transparency and
stakeholder trust.
Used in:
Pre-processed
Regulatory data to models
Debugging User trust.
compliance
Tools:
SHAP
LIME
Captum
🧠 Black-box models need transparent
explanations.
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Monitoring & Drift
Detection
What it is
Observes model
performance over time and
detects unexpected
changes in input data or
prediction quality.
Used in:
Maintaining accuracy in
production.
Tools:
WhyLabs
Arize AI
Prometheus
🧠 What works today may fail tomorrow —
monitor always.
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Feature Drift
Monitoring
What it is
Detects shifts in the
statistical distribution of
input features over time,
which could impact model
accuracy.
Used in:
Identifying early signs of model
degradation.
Tools:
Evidently
Alibi Detect
River
🧠 Keep an eye on the data, not just the
predictions.
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Model Security &
Governance
What it is
Frameworks and tools
that secure ML assets,
track model usage, and
enforce organizational
policies.
Used in:
Pre-processed
Access control Auditability data toEthical
models
compliance.
Tools:
MLflow
Seldon
Azure Purview
🧠 Models are assets — protect them like code.
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CI/CD for ML
Pipelines
What it is
Automated workflows that
test, validate, and deploy
ML models continuously like
traditional DevOps
pipelines.
Used in:
Fast, reliable shipping of model
updates.
Tools:
GitHub Actions
Jenkins
DVC
🧠 Ship ML code as confidently as app code.
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Retraining Triggers
What it is
Automated workflows that
test, validate, and deploy
ML models continuously like
traditional DevOps
pipelines.
Used in:
Automating model refresh cycles.
Triggers:
Time-based
Drift-based
Feedback loops
🧠 Smart retraining = stable performance.
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Multi-Model
Management
What it is
The practice of deploying
and monitoring multiple
models for different
users, regions, or
experiments.
Used in:
Pre-processed
A/B testing Personalization data to models
Shadow testing
Tools:
Seldon Core
BentoML
MLflow
🧠 Manage models like a portfolio.
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Shadow & Canary
Deployment
What it is
Strategies to test models
in production on a limited
audience or silently
before full rollout.
Used in:
Reducing deployment risks and
regressions.
Tools:
Istio
Seldon
Argo Rollouts
🧠 Test in production without breaking
production.
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Feedback Loops &
Online Learning
What it is
Systems that feed model
outputs and user
interactions back into
training pipelines to improve
accuracy over time.
Used in:
Continuous improvement and
personalization.
Tools:
Kafka
Redis
Streamlit + training pipelines
🧠 Test in production without breaking
production.
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Key Trade-offs in AI
System Design
What it is
Design decisions that
balance speed, cost,
complexity, and accuracy
depending on your
product goals.
Used in:
Prioritizing what's most important
for the use case.
Examples:
Latency Accuracy Serverless Kubernetes
🧠 Every design choice has a trade-off — choose
wisely.
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