Phase 8: Production Hardening & Operations · 55 min · Python · Docker · Kubernetes

Deployment Patterns & Client Handoff

Ship on day one. Roll out in phases. Hand off with confidence.

Hiring signal: FDE interviews at Palantir and OpenAI test deployment strategy: candidates who describe the Bootcamp approach (3-5 day intensive, ship on day one), phased rollout with eval gates, and canary releases with automatic rollback pass. Candidates who deploy big-bang to all users at once fail. The handoff process (documentation, training, shadow period, expansion identification) is what separates FDEs from contractors.

What you will learn

Apply the Bootcamp approach: 3-5 day intensive deployment, ship on day one, rapid iteration
Implement phased rollout: pilot → broader rollout → full production with eval gates at each phase
Configure blue-green deployment: two identical environments, instant rollback
Run canary releases: gradual traffic shift, eval monitoring, automatic rollback on regression
Execute client handoff: documentation, training, shadow period, expansion opportunity identification

What You'll Learn

This lesson takes approximately 55 min. By the end, you will be able to:

Apply the Bootcamp approach: 3-5 day intensive deployment, ship on day one, rapid iteration
Implement phased rollout: pilot → broader rollout → full production with eval gates at each phase
Configure blue-green deployment: two identical environments, instant rollback
Run canary releases: gradual traffic shift, eval monitoring, automatic rollback on regression
Execute client handoff: documentation, training, shadow period, expansion opportunity identification

The Problem

Ship on day one. Roll out in phases. Hand off with confidence. The deployment pattern: canary release to 5% of users, monitor metrics for 24 hours, expand to 25%, monitor again, then full rollout. Client handoff means documentation, runbooks, and training sessions that let the client's team operate the system after you leave.

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers The Bootcamp Approach: Ship on Day One, Phased Rollout with Eval Gates, Client Handoff Checklist, Practical Application, What Hiring Managers Look For, Resources, Key Takeaways, Next Steps — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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